Smithfield -- When a news crew walked through the door of a Third Street storefront on Tuesday, Mike Chestnut knew what they wanted.

Outside in the parking lot was Chestnut’s car, a “smart fortwo” made by the American division of Daimler AG’s smart brand. At less than nine feet long and just over five feet high and wide, Chestnut’s smart car is more than three feet shorter in length and about a foot narrower than a Mini Cooper.

As gas prices continue to burn a hole in consumers’ pockets, Chestnut said his car’s size and efficiency had drawn more than a few questions from curious passersby.

“Everywhere I go, someone asks me about the fuel efficiency,” said Chestnut, a magistrate in Johnston County. “The funny thing is, I didn’t buy it for the gas mileage. I just like the way it drives.”

Still, Chestnut noted the significant difference he pays at the pump to fill up his two vehicles — the smart fortwo, no more than $100 a month, and a Ford F250 Supercrew truck, about $400 a month.

“It’s hard not to notice the difference,” said Chestnut, who uses his truck to haul voting machines for the county. “If I didn’t need my truck, I’d probably sell it and just stick with the car.”

Chestnut uses the Third Street storefront to work on voting machines that need repair. When a reporter and photographer dropped in the other day, Chestnut was talking with a couple of friends, Dave Hansley of Pikeville and Bill Stewart of Four Oaks.

Hansley still drives the Ford F100 pickup he bought in 1964. It’s still a gas hog — about 12 miles to the gallon — but that was no big deal in 1964, when gas was about 20 cents a gallon.

“Nowadays, 20 cents might not even get you out of the parking lot,” Hansley said.

Hansley also drives a Chevy Impala that gets 28 miles to the gallon on the highway. Friend Stewart owns a 2004 Nissan Frontier and a 1983 Nissan pickup, both of which get about 20 miles to the gallon, he said.

Both men said they had no plans to buy a smart car, which ranges in price from about $11,500 to $16,500. But if they change their minds, they will find only one dealer in the Triangle.

Shaun White, a salesman at the smart dealership in Cary, said the dealership had sold about 36 smart cars since opening. The cars, first developed in Europe, are slowly catching on in the United States, he said.

But because SmartUSA doesn’t actually stock cars at its dealerships, White said prospective buyers must pay a $99 fee to reserve a car. It could then take more than a year for the car to be produced and shipped to a dealership for purchase, he added.

Chestnut said it was worth the wait. “It’s a good little car,” he said.