The Smart ForTwo isn't for shy people. Even though Smart USA has sold about 30,000 of these tiny two-seaters in the U.S., the little rollerskate attracts a lot of attention. On the road or in a parking lot, the ForTwo is a conversation piece, and people will come up and talk to you. Some will tell you about the Smart they saw in Europe. Others will ask if it has the guts to make it onto the highway. Most will assume it gets great gas mileage (it doesn't). But one thing's for certain, during our week with the ForTwo, there was a 100-percent conversation rate wherever we went. Anthropophobes, be warned.

Follow the jump to see what it's like to spend wheel time with a Smart ForTwo Cabriolet.



Photos Copyright ©2009 Sebastian Blanco / Weblogs, Inc.

With smart fortwo sales in the U.S. not going as well as hoped, smart USA has decided to offer its first incentive on the diminutive little car. That incentive lets qualified buyers get 4.2-percent financing on a 2009 fortwo through the end of July. There's another deal brewing for the fortwo that's tied in to the recently-signed cash-for-clunkers law. The highlight: it will be possible to get a new fortwo for just $99 a month. The details as we know them are as follows:

smart USA will allow qualified consumers using the federal rebate to purchase a new smart fortwo for as low $99 a month. The smart fortwo will qualify for the highest voucher level of $4,500 upon the trade in of an eligible vehicle. This special financing was designed to provide an additional monetary incentive for consumers to replace older vehicles that guzzle fuel and emit high levels of greenhouse gasses with new, highly efficient ones like the smart fortwo. It will launch later this summer when the rebate system officially takes effect.

More on this as it's announced. Sound like a good deal?


[Source: smart USA]

Mitsubishi and Subaru were the first to start production, but the list of major automakers that are going electric is growing. As rumored, the Daimler is adding its name to the list with an announcement today that the smart ed "is ready for small series production." Apparently, the trials that have been going on in the UK since December 2007 have proven successful and the company is ready to re-commit to putting the smart ed into production with lithium-ion batteries. Details on how many smart ed's will be produced and when the first deliveries will take place were not given, other than the UK will get some production cars "in early 2010." During the Detroit Auto Show, smart said that the cars would be available by the end of this year. Next year should also see 1,000 smart eds start testing in the U.S. More details available after the jump.


[Source: smart]

Earlier this year at the Geneva Motor Show, European tuning company Brabus showed off a modified version of the smart fortwo ED. At the time, Daimler claimed that the electric vehicle came equipped with "fine natural materials [that] demonstrate harmony with the environment," whatever that means. Naturally, the concept was painted up in an interesting shade of green inside and out to denote its eco-friendliness.

Now that a bit more time has passed since its unveiling, details are beginning to leak out about what else the Brabus smart ED is equipped with. For instance, there's an exhaust note generator that features multiple engine notes to choose from. Feeling the need to sound like a big block V8? No problem. How 'bout the sewing machine pitter-patter of the standard fortwo? Just flip the switch and the front-mounted loud speaker is at your command.

As far as we can tell, there aren't any real changes made to the standard smart ED's drivetrain, which means the Brabus should sport a top speed of 60 miles per hour and a range of 70 miles, though an extra dollop of sportiness ought to be dished out via revised suspension settings and slightly meatier five-spoke alloy rims.


[Source: Inside Line]

Penske Automotive Group, distributors of the smart fortwo here in the United States, recorded an impressive 24,622 total sales of the diminutive city car in 2008, and dealers widely reported that they could have sold even more had they been available. With that in mind, the nascent company set what seemed at the time like a realistic sales target for 25,000 units in 2009. That may have been a bit optimistic.

So far this year, Smart USA has sold 7,451 fortwos, which is down nearly 16-percent from the first five months of 2008. May sales, though, were down an alarming 56.6 percent to 1,169. To stem the rushing tide of order cancellations and slow sales, Penske has decided to offer its first-ever incentives on the fortwo. From now until the end of July, buyers may qualify for 4.2-percent financing through Daimler Financial Services for the purchase of a new 2009 smart fortwo.

If this incentive has a positive impact on sales, expect it to be extended a bit longer. Further, Penske is considering making it possible for dealerships to order new cars without accepting the refundable $99 reservation from a customer that's currently required, which could have the desirable effect of placing more new vehicles on dealer lots for buyers to choose from.


[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

According to Channel 4 in the UK, the electric smart fortwo will be storming that country in full force by the year 2012. For what it's worth (which is probably a lot to Daimler), that date coincides perfectly with the UK government's plan to begin promoting electric vehicles with a range of incentives and subsidies worth £250 million.

By 2010, the electric smart should be in limited series production, featuring lithium ion battery packs supplied by Tesla. If early reports are to be believed, the cars will be available in the U.K. for roughly £150 per month, which is a heck of a lot cheaper than the current smart ED's £375 per month lease payment.

At this point, there's no indication of what kind of range or performance we should expect from these new second-generation electric smart fortwos. In addition to London, look for the electric smarts to show up in other major European cities like Paris, Milan and Rome.


[Source: Channel 4]

The diminutive little smart fortwo may be the darling of microcar fanatics the world over, but it's seemingly always been plagued with at least one major shortcoming: it's rough, jerky and otherwise unrefined automated manual transmission. The automaker is finally stepping in to do something about it.

For the 2009 model year, all smart fortwos come with revised computer programming that's supposed to smooth out the car's shifting routine, fixing what smart refers to as "a little hesitation between gears" in the '08 models. That's great news, and we hope it helps. Fortunately, current owners are also in luck, as smart is sending all 24,622 owners a letter offering a free upgrade. The letter says:

We will upgrade your transmission software to the new 2009 operating mode which provides improved shifting dynamics as well as instant changing between automatic and paddle shifting just by touching the up or down shift paddles.

[Source: USAToday via KickingTires]

Judging by the number of cars on Chinese roads that look very much like a smart ForTwo, one might be forgiven for thinking that they had been on sale there for years. However, it turns out the diminutive city car has never been officially offered for sale there. There are plenty of local manufacturers building lookalikes at cut-rate prices which could actually pose a problem for Daimler. The ForTwo is being priced in China from $22,000 to an astonishing $29,000! At those sticker prices the Chinese masses are unlikely to leave the local brands with prices as low as $6,500. However, there are undoubtedly some who will go for the real thing, even at a premium price.


[Source: China Car Times]

Smart officially began selling the tiny fortwo in the U.S. market in January 2008 and by the end of that year 24,622 examples had been sold. To celebrate, the U.S. distributor is teaming up with conservation group American Forests to plant an equal number of trees. The trees will go into the Cache River State Natural Area 150 from St. Louis. Since the gas-fueled U.S. fortwo has unexceptional fuel economy for its size (33 city/41 hwy for the coupe), a little bit of carbon offset certainly can't hurt. Smart USA will also continue the program for 2009, planting trees for each car sold.


[Source: smart USA]

You know what state needs more smart fortwos? Texas. That must have been Daimler's thinking before approving an expansion of the car2go carsharing service there. Daimler started car2go in Ulm, Germany last October and it will be coming to Austin, Texas - that little blueberry in the big red cherry pie of a state - this fall. There are now more than 200 fortwo cdi models that anyone in Ulm, visitor or resident, can rent by the minute, hour or day, 24/7. Costs range from 19 euro cents a minute to 9.90 euros an hour to 49 euros a day. Unlike other car-sharing services, registering for the car2go service is free. Daimler didn't release any information on possible pricing for the U.S. service.

Calling the Austin expansion "the next logical step," Daimler's Thomas Weber said that carsharing in the little fortwos is an "answer to current and future mobility needs in metropolitan areas." The main goal of the Austin service is to figuring how best to export the model to other countries. Basically, Daimler needs to figure out the issues with language, laws and layout. When the service starts this fall, only a small group of Austinites will be given access to the vehicles. Like in Ulm, if things go well, the user base will be expanded. Austin's fleet will start with 200 fortwo mhd (micro-hybrid) models. Hook 'em, smart.


[Source: Daimler]