They are soooooooo cute, those little smartfortwo cars that get all the attention and can park almost anywhere.

There are three different new 2012 models, the pure coupe, the passion coupe, and the passion cabriolet convertible. An all-electric model is coming soon.

The smartfortwo cars are built by Mercedes-Benz and even though small in size, are one of the safest vehicles on the road with stability control, anti-lock brakes, a protective “safety cell” with eight air bags for superior crash protection.

They get excellent gas mileage (38 MPG on the highway), are comfortable, have plenty of head and leg room, and come with a unique automatic/manual transmission. They come in a number of stylish base colors, with interchangable color body panels.

The company is currently offering a $99/month lease deal on the 2012 smartfortwo pure coupe. It’s for 36 months and requires $999 cash down. This is the cheapest lease payment we’ve ever seen on a brand new car for 36 months. If you are in the market for a great little first car at the lowest monthly payment, this is the one.

Car companies frequently offer special monthly lease deals but Honda does it a little better. They offer their deals in two different flavors — with a down payment and without — which is unique.

Special lease offers from car companies typiclly require a down payment (cap cost reduction), first month’s payment, and possibly a security deposit. It’s only a good deal if you adhere to the rules and make the down payment as required. If you choose not to make a down payment, it’s a different deal and one that is not so good anymore. Honda’s deals are different.

Honda offers special lease deals nearly every month on at least one style with each of it’s model lines. They can do this by reducing the sale price, reducing the finance rate (lease money factor), and boosting the lease-end residual value. All of these things, in combination, make for an attractively low monthly payment. In fact, these deals are much better than a customer could negotiate for himself. The “catch” is that the deals only apply to certain styles and not to all.

Therefore, customers have to decide if they want the style being promoted. To choose another model or style would require a normal, non-promotional lease at normal terms. However, Hondas are one of the most leaseable brands out there — due to high residual (resale) values — and are nearly always good deals when compared to other brands.

As you may already know, car manufacturers offer sales incentives nearly every month. Some are better than others in any particular month.

The most common type of incentive is a rebate, which is given to customers at the time they buy the particular vehicle model and style on which the rebate is offered. It is applied as a down payment and is especially attractive to customers who might be short on their own down payment cash.

Rebates, when at least $2000, are generally better than 0% APR loan deals and save you more money. As you may know, if a car company is offering both a rebate and 0% APR (or other low-interest loan rate), you must choose one or the other, but not both.

American car companies (General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford) have traditionally offered the best and highest rebates, although there have exceptions. Rebates are usually largest at the end of the model year, during the months of September, October, November, and December. Car companies and dealers are trying to sell off last year’s models to make room for incoming new models.