Starting this October Smart is making its micro-hybrid-drive system standard equipment on the ForTwo in Europe with the 61hp and 71hp gas engines. The micro-hybrid system is just an automated start-stop system and doesn't include and regenerative braking capability. The system has already been available as an option in the more powerful engine since 2007. Smart claims the auto start-stop reduces combined fuel consumption on the NEDC test by eight percent. Those who drive mainly in dense urban areas (which is likely most Smart drivers) can see savings of up to 20 percent. The setup shuts off the engine whenever the driver is braking and the vehicle speed drops below 5mph and automatically fires it up when the brake is released.

Diesel powered Smarts also get an upgraded closed particulate filter for 2009 that removes even more of the soot from the exhaust. All Smarts are also getting interior upgrades including new gauges for the new model year. We'll probably see the interior changes on US bound Smarts but there has been no word on whether we will see the powertrain upgrades. The Daimler press release is after the jump.

[Source: Smart]

click the Toyota iQ for high res gallery

With the rather healthy sales numbers currently being posted by the smart fortwo in the U.S., Toyota seems very excited about the prospect of offering its iQ here. Still, the tiny car will be launched first in Japan, followed by Europe at the beginning of next year. High gas prices seem likely to sway Toyota to consider the diminutive machine for America, though. According to chief engineer Hiroki Nakajima, Toyota's iQ could be a bit higher than smart's, as the Japanese model will feature two extra seats and should post better fuel economy numbers. Like the smart, though, it will be priced more in line with the current crop of small cars and is not meant to undercut them in price. Instead, the iQ is to offer a premium driving experience.

In Europe, the iQ will be offered with a 1.4 liter diesel engine. If the model ever makes it over here, count on either the 1.0 or 1.3 liter gasoline engine underhood. If that does indeed happen, will we ever get tired of making ridiculous puns about the iQ and smart names? Nah.


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

When the smart brand was initially launched in Europe, the vehicles were featured in some very unusual manners. For instance, towers of smart fortwo cars were placed inside glass containers, which looked sort of like the spinning display stands for watches. These displays made sense considering the idea for the vehicle originally came from Swatch. Now, though, it looks as if smart's parents, Daimler, have continued the innovative marketing approach with a smart vending machine. As cool as it would be if the vending machine actually offered little cars, it instead dispenses brochures for both the smart coupe and cabriolet.

From what we can tell, this vending machine is from Japan, which isn't surprising considering how gadget obsessed young people in that country tend to be. We have seen something similar to this in American Mini dealerships, though those displays don't actually feature a real car inside the glass container.

[Source: PlaySmart.jp via Gizmodo]

Calling a very small car a "roller skate" has been an ongoing joke for many years. We've been hearing it since the days of the Nash Metropolitan, through the Geo Metro years, right on up through today, many times in reference to the smart fortwo. Judging from the photograph above, though, somebody has gone and taken the joke to a whole new level. Try as we might, we just can't find any additional information on the internet regarding these four-wheelers, but we can tell that these roller skates are meant for kids judging on the size. That's all well and good, considering that we don't know of too many grown adults who would want to spend very much time rolling around on these bad boys.

As a side note, this is not the first pair of footwear we've seen which was obviously inspired to an automobile. Click here for visual proof.

[Source: Carscoop]

We're not going to comment regarding the capabilities of Best Buy's Geek Squad, the team of technology-savvy guys and gals working at the big box retailer which makes house calls to fix computers and the like. We will say, though, that their choice for the geeky-team-vehicle of a black and white Volkswagen Beetle (the new one, not its elder) seems fitting. Here's a topic or conversation, though: Could they find a geekier vehicle? Well, some people seem to think of the smart fortwo is a chick car, though that theory seems to have been mostly debunked. Would the smart be a better fit for the Nerd-Herd Geek Squad? If you think so, perhaps you'll be happy to find that the diminutive smart is actually in use as the nerd-mobile of choice in the UK. I don't know about you, but if I were a geek (watch it, buddy!), I'd rather be seen in a smart. Just saying...

[Sources: Best Buy U.K. and The Scooter Scoop]

One of the biggest questions to consider with tiny cars like the Smart ForTwo is what happens in a crash? The Smart is only eight and a half feet long. The first generation Smart has been tested numerous times over the years and always done reasonably well especially in comparison to other really small and even some considerably larger cars. When the feds tested it recently for the official test it did fairly well with scores of 4 and 3 stars for driver and passenger frontal protection. There was concern about the driver door opening during the test.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does its own testing on cars and trucks with different tests from the government standard. IIHS does a 40mph offset frontal test as well as a 31mph side impact test and a 20 mph rear impact test. The Smart scored the maximum good rating on both the front and side tests and an acceptable on the rear impact test. Considering the almost complete absence of crush zones on the Smart, it's always amazing to see how well the structure along with the belts and air bags protect the occupants. The full report is available here. The Video is after the jump.

[Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety]

Smart has been field testing a fleet of battery-powered ForTwo ED models in Britain for several months. Now Auto Motor und Sport out of Germany is reporting that an updated version could begin testing in the U.S. as early as 2009. The current model uses high temperature sodium-nickel-chloride Zebra batteries. The new generation will switch to a lithium ion pack and could be tested in the Los Angeles area. There are no specs available at the moment, but Smart's Anders Jensen has said that if the testing provides positive results the car could move to production quickly. Given the relatively disappointing fuel economy of the gasoline-powered version of the ForTwo, an electric drive model could prove quite popular. The layout of the Smart makes it amenable to alternative drivetrains, with a battery pack able to slide under the double floor and an electric motor easily replacing the internal combustion engine.

[Source: Auto Motor und Sport]

The new Green Party mayor of Tübingen Germany is fully in support of the city's "10% less CO₂ by 2010" policy and he's got a new ride to demonstrate it. Boris Palmer has selected the Smart ForTwo MHD as his official ride when on city business. The MHD version of the Smart features micro-hybrid drive, which essentially an automatic start-stop system. The Smart MHD is the most fuel-efficient gasoline-powered Smart averaging 54.7mpg (U.S.) on the New European Driving Cycle. That's an improvement from the 50mpg achieved by the conventional gas unit. Carbon dioxide emissions of the Smart MHD are only 103g/km. The micro-hybrid turns off the engine whenever the car comes to a stop and automatically re-starts whenever the brake pedal is released. Although the U.S. market won't be getting the diesel-powered Smart anytime soon, we probably will get the micro-hybrid in a year or so.

[Source: Daimler]

We've seen two reviews now of the smart ed, one favorable, the other... not so much. Regardless, we hope that smart is able to offer an electric version of their little runabout sooner rather than later. Whether using the Zebra batteries of the ed or newer lithium ion packs, an electric smart car is just what the market needs in the U.S. We'd like a diesel and the micro-hybrid too, of course.


Halfway there: Number 10.

A lot of Americans who were anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Smart ForTwo on our shores have been disappointed by the mileage figures that reach only into the upper thirties. Over in Europe, Smart offers the ForTwo with automatic start-stop systems and in a diesel configuration that is the most efficient internal combustion car currently available. The Smart ForTwo CDi is rated at 71mpg (U.S.) but American drivers won't be getting a crack at it anytime soon. Unfortunately, that diesel isn't Tier 2 Bin 5 compliant meaning Smart wouldn't be able to offer it in some of their biggest potential markets like California and New York. According to SmartUSA president Dave Schembri, the diesel Smart also wouldn't provide the performance Americans would expect. I haven't yet driven the new second-generation Smart diesel. However, the first-generation model that passed through the ABG garage last summer certainly had leisurely acceleration. Nonetheless for a car that is primarily an urban runabout, it's probably perfectly adequate. Perhaps if diesel popularity picks up in the next couple of years and Smart's popularity is sustainable the company will reconsider.

[Source: MLive]

Many words have been spilled here and elsewhere about the Smart ForTwo since well before its recent debut in the U.S. market. One area that has not received much attention (perhaps for a good reason) is the Smart's prowess when being thrashed on a race track. We have just gotten our first reader report on how the ForTwo comports itself when tossed in among the big dogs like Mitsubishi EVOs and Honda S2000s. Turns out it wasn't a total loss. For those that have been following the ongoing saga of Tesla Motors, you might remember David Vespremi, who formerly handled communications from San Carlos.

David and his wife recently took delivery of a new ForTwo Cabrio (check out who came along to the dealership when they took delivery). According to David, the ForTwo has a real go-kart feel to it. While it has under-steer to spare, the rear wheel drive chassis apparently has the right fundamentals to have some fun. The shift logic of the automated manual gearbox leaves much to be desired, although David says the shifts have gotten a lot smoother as the clutch has been broken in over a couple of thousand miles of driving. A new air intake helped with performance and David says they are getting mileage in the upper thirties even with very spirited driving.

[Source: David Vespremi]

We can think of a few electric cars which have gotten less-than-stellar reviews, probably deservedly so. The first reviewer that we know of to tackle the smart ED, though, was rather in favor of the diminutive electric machine, enjoying the 60 mile-per-hour top speed and 72-mile range. Top Gear, though, was less than impressed, citing a distinct lack of range and suggesting that "the Smart looks less appealing than a bike." Granted, smart thinks that the review unit provided to Top Gear must have had some ailments, but perhaps the system still has some growing-pains to overcome before it's truly ready for the mainstream market. It's likely that the Zebra battery would be replaced with lithium ion's in any real production version, in any case. Still, we remain wanting to get a crack at the smart ED ourselves. Thanks for the tip, Forrest!

[Source: Top Gear]

If you belong to the segment of the population that thinks that the newly-offered-in-America smart fortwo is not manly enough, adding a wind-up key accessory to the hind-end of your new city car isn't likely to help. For those of you who couldn't care less what other people think of you (and think that the idea of adding a wind-up key to your cute car makes it über-cute), may we suggest going to distance and choosing the version which is actually powered, so it "un-winds" as you drive. You know, if you're going to do something, you may as well just do it right.

Take a look at the gallery below for more vehicular-examples of the Windup Key, a 22-by-10 inch faux windup piece made from 6061 aluminum in your choice of powdercoated finish or even chromed.


[Source: smart car of America forum]

click above image for more pics of the smart fortwo

cute [kyoot] (adjective)

1. attractive, especially in a dainty way; pleasingly pretty by means of smallness, prettiness or quaintness
2. affectedly or mincingly pretty or clever; precious

Guys: want to drive around in a smart fourtwo, a car which has been called "cute" more times than Katie Couric? That's the question that Mens Vogue set out to answer, and their findings might surprise the overtly-masculine among us. As might be expected, driving a smart in an urban setting, such as in New York, proved to be fun and relaxing, despite the smart's cute and perky demeanor. Perhaps driving a smart in a more rural setting would prove less appropriate, but, that's not what it was designed for.

Still not convinced? The car proved useful for picking up girls ... and nothing's more manly than that.

[Source: Mens Vogue]

The smart limited two, unveiled in Geneva.

It's a good time to be selling Smarts in the U.S. The North American distributor, Roger Penske, told Automotive News (subs req'd) that he thinks that, on top of the 25,000 Smarts he's getting from Europe this year, he could "easily" sell 15,000 more. The trouble is that the Smart factory simply can't produce more than they currently are, so those 15,000 extra sales will either be delayed or lost to other brands. Penske said he's waiting to hear from Mercedes about possibly making more Smarts for the U.S.

Since the refundable deposit for ordering a Smart online is/was only $99, Smart USA said that as many as 25 percent of pre-orders are being canceled in some markets. Still, Smart USA's president told AN that the overall number of cancellations is "low," and the cars that were once destined for a particular buyer are not sitting on the lots because of high demand.

In the grand scheme of of the American car market, 25,000 Smarts - or even 40,000 - is not a lot. Still, if anyone was curious whether Americans could embrace a truly small vehicle or not, I think we have the answer.


[Source: Diana Kurylko and Richard Truett / Automotive News (subs req'd)]