OTTUMWA — Tony Fischer always enjoyed having a car just a little different from the others around town.

He owned a Plymouth Prowler and a Mini Cooper. He was an early adopter for the Dodge Magnum with a Hemi engine.

So it’s not surprising he continued the trend with his new car, one of two Smart cars in Ottumwa. The cars are a popular trend, hyped for their ability to get great mileage even for urban driving.

And they look like nothing else on the road.

The Smart cars are small. They’re just short of 9 feet long from bumper to bumper. They’re about as tall as they are wide, 5 feet by 5 feet. Fischer easily towers over the car when he stands beside it.

The cars are relatively inexpensive, if you can find one. The lowest priced model starts at $11,590. The high-price model adds $5,000 to the sticker to start. But finding them isn’t easy. Smart only has 74 dealerships in the United States — none in Iowa — and they typically have long waiting lists for buyers.

In fact, Fischer had to use an alternative option to get his.

“I lucked into it. Usually you have to wait a year, year-and-a-half once you put your $99 deposit down,” he said.

Some owners won’t wait for their name to get to the top of the list, or will have their name in at multiple dealerships. That means that sometimes when the car comes in, there’s no one to purchase it. The car is an orphan.

When that happens, the dealer will go down the list of buyers to see if anyone else wants the car. Fischer jumped at the option when the call came.

“This was an orphan car,” he said.

Fischer lost a couple options when he took his car. It doesn’t have air conditioning or power windows. There are no paddle shifters on the steering wheel. He’s thinking about buying air conditioning but figures he can live without the others.

Getting an estimated 40 mpg in town helps. That’s what Fischer thinks he’s getting right now.

The Smart car has come under fire from some who point to other, larger cars that can get better gas mileage. And it’s true, some cars do get more distance without sacrificing passenger space. But Smart owners point out those cars are hybrids. The Smart car relies on a three-cylinder gas engine with no electrical motor.

That debate isn’t a big issue for Fischer. He likes the car, and he loves the looks it gets from people who haven’t seen anything like it. The car is an impromptu ad for Ottumwa Car Credit, where Fischer works.