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Smart to end sales of America's smallest car this year

Tue, 30 Apr 2019 06:59:55 -0400

Mercedes-Benz is pulling the plug on the Smart brand in the United States.

The microcar division will discontinue sales in the U.S. and Canada at the end of the 2019 model year, the automaker has confirmed.

Smart launched in the U.S. in 2008 by selling 24,622 of its two-seat ForTwo models, but that figure fell to 14,595 in 2009 and the company was only able to deliver 1,276 cars in 2018 as it became an all-electric brand.

SELF-DRIVING SMART WANTS TO SET YOU UP

At less than nine feet long, the French-made ForTwo is the smallest car sold in the United States, but has a starting price of $23,900 and an EPA combined range of just 108 miles per charge.

Smart will live on in foreign markets, however. Parent company Daimler last month announced that it was entering a 50/50 joint venture with Chinese automaker Geely that will see production move to a new factory in China in 2022.

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Self-driving Smart wants to set you up

Wed, 30 Aug 2017 10:22:00 -0400

The Smart Fortwo has finally evolved into its ultimate form: an electric autonomous urban people moving pod.

The minicar maker has created a self-driving Fortwo concept that it suggests would be a perfect fit for parent company Daimler’s car2go car sharing operation.

The Smart Vision EQ Fortwo doesn’t have a steering wheel, just a bench seat for two passengers with storage underneath. A screen on the front of the car where a grille would normally be can display messages, such as the name of the person who hailed it or “on my way” for when it’s zipping through town with no one aboard.

Its transparent doors open by pivoting upward over the rear wheels where they can’t smack into pedestrians and passing cyclists, and they have embedded screens that can turn partially opaque to display information and advertising.

Smart doesn’t say how far it can go on its 30 kWh battery pack, but if its battery is low, or it’s not busy it can find solar powered charging station and to up on its own.

When it's on the job, car2go users would summon one via an app than can also match them with other users with similar interests who are heading the same way, displaying their profiles on the dashboard to help start up a conversation.

Perhaps Smart should’ve named it “Dolly” instead.

Whatever it’s called, there are no plans for production, yet, but the vehicle will make its public debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

US probes complaints of engine fires in tiny Smart cars

Wed, 21 Dec 2016 08:39:00 -0500

U.S. safety regulators are reviewing eight complaints that the engines in tiny Smart Fortwo cars can catch fire.

The investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covers about 43,000 of the two-seat cars from the 2008 and 2009 model years.

The agency said in documents posted Tuesday that in six cases, owners saw smoke, the check engine light, or heard an unusual noise before seeing flames. The other two fires weren't observed until the cars were stopped. All eight owners told the agency that flames rapidly engulfed the cars. No injuries have been reported.

In one of the complaints, the owner of a 2008 Fortwo from Dallas told NHTSA that he heard a loud pop from the rear engine compartment while driving on the North Dallas Tollway on Oct. 12. The owner pulled over to check the noise and saw flames coming from the engine.

"Had I not pulled off to the shoulder when I did, my story would not be coming directly from me but from my obituary," the owner wrote. "Mercedes-Benz has been notified of this death trap, yet have not chosen to recall or check into the issue."

Owners who complain to NHTSA are not identified in the agency's database.

NHTSA said it will investigate the cause of the fires and how often they happen. A recall is possible although none has been issued.

Mercedes-Benz, which makes Smart cars, said it is cooperating with the inquiry and it does not know of any injuries. Customers with concerns should call the company at (800) 367-6372.

NYPD plans to expand Smart car fleet to replace scooters

Fri, 02 Dec 2016 07:28:00 -0500

The New York City Police Department has announced plans to expand its fleet of Smart cars to replace the three-wheeled scooters that officers utilized for decades.

The New York Times reports the NYPD is among the first public safety organizations in the world to introduce the cars, with 150 vehicles already in service.

The department has contracted to add at least 75 more Smart cars, which are made by German automaker Daimler AG.

In addition to being described as more approachable by civilians, the vehicles are said to be safer, cheaper and easier to operate than the scooters. And unlike the scooter, the Smart car goes fast enough for highway travel.

NYPD officials have emphasized that the Smart car is still seen more as a scooter than a squad car.

Smart Fortwo crash-tested against Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Mon, 21 Jul 2014 14:49:27 -0400

Daimler's Smart brand has faced many challenges in the past, but overcoming common perception is probably toughest of all. So used to huge SUVs and pickups are many customers, that they refuse to believe anything as small as the Smart Fortwo can be safe.

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Smart has always contested this, and its latest video is its latest attempt to highlight the safety of the all-new 2016 ForTwo. To do so, it has crashed the new city car into the biggest sedan the company makes--the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. The test is representative of the kind of crash tests usually performed by safety agencies, albeit typically against a solid concrete block. Each car is positioned at an offset to the other--a tough test, as it focuses energy on a smaller point of the vehicle than a full head-to-head crash, where energy is transferred around the vehicle's entire frame.

And there's quite a bit of energy to absorb. At 5,088 pounds, the S-Class has 2.1 times the mass of the 2,478 lb Smart. For the record, the new Smart is a good 400-500 lbs heavier than its predecessor. That should make it less of a 'pinball' in an accident, but does mean the small frame has greater energy to dissipate in an accident. In this case, that's 108 kilojules in the 28 mph test. The Mercedes has over 222 kJ of kinetic energy at the same speed.

It's clear to see the effect this energy has in the super slow-motion footage. As the two cars collide, the Smart is stopped instantly and on its short wheelbase, lifts its rear tires off the ground. The Mercedes, by comparison, continues on for much longer. Each car though also shows the benefits of its design. The S-Class absorbs damage dealt by the Smart in the length of its hood. The Smart, with less length to absorb such impacts, fares visually worse--though it's clear in the footage that Smart's 'Tridion' safety cell has acted in the way it was designed to. The driver's door, for instance, remains intact, if slightly displaced. And kinks are visible in the safety cell, showing where impact has been transferred around the cabin, rather than through it.

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Unfortunately, the video doesn't go into a great deal of detail, but Daimler describes forces on the car's occupants as being "within biomechanical limits"--in other words, risk of injury is relatively low. The test does have its limits--the closing speed is representative of cities rather than rural highways, and few accidents are quite as perfectly 'fifty-fifty' as a laboratory test. It won't be enough to convince some people, in other words--but it's evidence that even the smallest of vehicles benefits from big-car safety features these days.

2016 Smart Fortwo, Forfour revealed

Thu, 17 Jul 2014 08:34:37 -0400

There’s big news in the very small car world.

Smart has unveiled its all-new 2016 Fortwo and ForFour microcompact cars.

The smallest car sold in America is still just 8.8 feet long in two-seat, two-door form, and features the model’s unique “Tridion Safety Cell” design, but everything else about the car has been fully updated.

When it goes on sale in Europe this fall, it will be available with three different rear-mounted three-cylinder engines in power outputs of 60 hp, 71 hp and 90 hp.

Each will be available with either a 5-speed manual transmission, or dual-clutch automatic, replacing the clunky robototized manual that was one of the most criticized features of the original car.

Another was the cheap interior. The new one is more spacious and of a much better quality, with a modern design and higher content level, including a touchscreen infotainment system protruding from the dash.

New high tech driver aids include available collision warning and lane keeping assist.

Sales of the Fortwo have never lived up to expectations, with less than 5,000 delivered so far this year. While the new model is expected to hit showrooms this fall, the four-door, four-seat Forfour has not yet been confirmed for U.S. sale.

The Organic Solar-Powered Smart

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 15:13:30 -0400

Yes, it has plastic wheels, but it's no toy.

The Smart Forvision is the answer to one of the toughest questions facing electric carmakers: how to get the most out of the batteries that power them?

The concept is a collaboration with automotive supplier BASF that employs a number of cutting edge and futuristic technologies to increase the energy efficiency of the tiny little electric car by 20 percent, while giving a possible peek at the shape of the next generation of the two-seater that will be on the road in a couple of years.

At the top of the list, and the car, are transparent solar cells that utilize light-activated organic dyes to generate electricity to power the Forvision's multimedia and climate control systems, even in low light. They also act as light-emitting diodes and can illuminate both the cabin and exterior of the car.

Along with the lightweight plastic wheels, body panels are made from carbon fiber reinforced epoxy resins that are 50 percent ligher than steel, and a lightweight seating foam, which is upholstered in a heated e-textile that reduces the need to use the less-efficient cabin heating system. Even when you do turn it on, infared-reflective "heat shielding" on the windows helps to keep the interior cool in bright sunshine, as does a special metallic-look paint embedded with glass flakes.

The cabin itself is a futuristic take on the simple, economical design of the current Smart Fortwo Electric Drive, with oval shapes contrasting with the complex polygons that make up the exterior.

Far from production ready, the Forvision, which debuts at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, does hint at the types of technologies on the way as fuel economy and emissions standards become more stringent in the coming years.

Click here for more from FoxNews.com Autos

Smart Unveils Petite Pickup Truck

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:11:37 -0500

What’s the best way to America’s heart? Build a pickup truck.

At least that’s what the Germans are hoping.

Mercedes-Benz’ little sister brand smart (lowercase ‘s’ intended) will debut what may be the world’s smallest pickup truck at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January.

Called the smart for-us, the tiny two seater is admittedly a tounge-in-cheek concept of an ultimate urban cargo carrier.

Short enough to fit between the axles of a Ford F-150, the for-us has electric drive, an electric tailgate and outlets to charge two of smart’s upcoming electric e-bikes in the bed. There's no rearview mirror. Instead, it has a mounting point for a smartphone that links to a rear-facing camera in the back of the vehicle.

Read: 2011 Ford F-150 EcoBoost

The once independently marketed smart brand has seen a steady decline in sales since was launched in the United States in 2008, leading to it being absorbed by Mercedes-Benz USA earlier this year. Only 1,942 cars have been sold through November 2011.

Perhaps a truck isn’t such a bad idea. It sure can't hurt.

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Scientists Create World's Smallest Electric 'Car'

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:54:58 -0500

Think "Nano Car" and Indian maker Tata's budget minicar might come to mind. A Smart ForTwo is pretty small too, and there were even smaller cars driving around Europe in the 1950s during fuel shortages.

None of them were quite as small as a new "car" created by scientists at the University of Twente in the Netherlands, though.

According to the BBC, the "car" is made up of a single molecule, made of just a handful of atoms. Four branches sprout from the ends and since they rotate when an electric current is applied, they can be considered wheels and the molecule itself an electric car, of sorts.

The tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope, which ends in a point only a few atoms across, supplied an electric charge in ten bursts. When electrons jump from the tip of the microscope to the molecule car the "wheels" change shape and rotate. All this is achieved in a vacuum and at -266 degrees celcius, or -446.8 Farenheit.

With a range of around six billionths of a metre it makes most of today's electric cars look positively intergalactic, but since it's too small to sit in - or indeed see without an incredibly powerful microscope - we suspect range anxiety isn't an issue.

Contrary to appearances it's not just about fun and games. The idea behind molecular machinary is to help develop future technology development in all sorts of fields.

Tibor Kudernac, a chemist at the university, points out that "In all biological systems are a vast number of molecular machines or rotors based on proteins that do important things very well; muscle contraction is based on protein motors".

Click here for more from AllCarTech

2013 Smart ForTwo: Strong enough to Wear a full-size SUV as a hat

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 08:28:43 -0400

You either like the 2013 Smart ForTwo minicar, or you don't.

Few are ambivalent to a shape and a concept so divisive as the Smart, but U.S. sales would suggest that rather more people dislike it than appreciate its cheeky nature.

One popular misconception about the ForTwo from those rather less keen on it, is that you take your life into your hands every time you step behind the wheel. People equate size with safety, so the 8-foot Smart just doesn't look very safe.

That's where stunts like the video above come in--and as you can see, the 36 mpg ForTwo has all the strength you'd hope for, for something built by Mercedes-Benz.

In fact, Smart claims the Tridion safety cell can withstand over 3.5 tons, comfortably holding up a full-size SUV on its roof. A popular analogy is that of a football helmet, which is both strong, and in the event of an impact, spreads impact forces around the rather softer innards--be that your head, or in the Smart, your whole body.

You may also remember the crash test carried out several years ago by U.K. car show Fifth Gear, where an old-style Smart was smashed into a concrete barrier at 70 mph.

It ably showed the safety cell's strength, though the show's conclusion was that in that particular impact, the driver may not have survived--humans are a little more soft and squishy than their cars.

The current ForTwo is undoubtedly safer than an early example of the first-generation car (and has a larger, longer body through which to distribute impact forces), but such conclusions may not do a lot to reassure those who don't feel comfortable in such a small car.

Even if it can wear a full-size SUV as a hat.

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Smart ForJeremy spreads its clipped wings

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:04:04 -0400

So, do you think this one will fly out of showrooms?

Smart has unveiled the production version of its winged ForJeremy, first shown in concept form at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show.

It’s a slightly toned down take on the original collaboration with American fashion designer Jeremy Scott, but still plenty bizarre for an offering from a major automobile manufacturer.

The wings on the back are half the size of the ones on the concept, but still a lot bigger than the ones Scott is famous for adding to his line of Adidas sneakers. The wheels are also toned down, as is the interior, but the car still features luxurious diamond-stitched upholstery and a leather wrapped dashboard.

Three limited edition models are planned -- two with electric drivetrains and one with a 102 turbocharged three-cylinder -- with prices ranging from about $43,000 to $53,000, about twice as much as the standard Smart Fortwos they are based on.

Sound like a lot? That’s pretty much the same markup Scott’s playful redesigns of the sneakers go for, and a lot less than the premium Aston Martin charges for the Cygnet, its dressed up version of the Toyota iQ, the Smart’s aptly named competitor.

U.S. sales of the ForJeremy are planned, but pricing and availability will be announced later this year.

No word on how soon one will show up in a Red Bull advertisement.

Vandals flip Smart cars in San Francisco

Mon, 07 Apr 2014 12:43:17 -0400

Vandals spent the early morning hours targeting Smart cars in San Francisco Monday, flipping three vehicles in the Bernal Heights and Portola neighborhoods, KTVU reports.

The attacked caused damage to all three of the cars.

Police were investigating whether this was a synchronized attack on smart cars or teenagers playing a prank. The first incident of vandalism was reported at around 1 a.m. when the first smart car in Bernal Heights was found flipped on its roof.

Ten minutes later, another smart car was found on its side a couple blocks away. The last incident of vandalism happened around 1:30 a.m. in the Portola neighborhood at Bowdoin and Sweeny streets.

One witness told KTVU he saw a group of eight people in hooded sweatshirts walk up to his roommate’s smart car and flip it vertically.

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