SMART auto news

Official: Squint Really Hard: Smart ForTwo gets modest update

Smart has put the ForTwo under the knife in an attempt to give the maligned A-segment vehicle a few more years of life. The ForTwo now wears a smarter-looking revised fascia with a bolder Smart emblem, more expansive grille and redesigned lower valance. The front clip is paired with more defined rockers and a similarly restyled rear valance. Throw in a few more wheel options and the package helps freshen the vehicle quite a bit. Unfortunately, engineers left the engine bay alone. That means buyers will still be met with the same abysmal engine lineup and automated manual transmission found in the current vehicle.

Smart plans to continue to offer five option packages, including Brabus and Brabus Xclusive. The refreshed ForTwo will land in dealers in the UK in April, with U.S. sales commencing shortly thereafter as a 2013 model.

Word has it the next-generation ForTwo won't see the light of day for another two years at least. Will the 2013 nip/tuck draw enough buyers into show rooms to keep Smart afloat until then? We imagine it won't hurt, but the company is facing increased competition from big players like Scion and Chevrolet, and its sales numbers are terrible to begin with. Vehicles like the the more efficient iQ and the Spark probably won't help the ForTwo's chances. Hit the jump for the full press release.

Continue reading Squint Really Hard: Smart ForTwo gets modest update

Detroit: Smart For-Us brings truckness to the urban jungle

The Smart team looked to none other than actor/comedian/SNL-alum Jon Lovitz to introduce its pickup truck concept. We're not sure what is stranger: the other J-Lo at an auto show press conference or a Smart with usable bed space.

The Smart For-Us concept features a 75-horsepower electric motor that twists up 98 pound-feet of torque. The battery is a 17.6 kW/h lithium ion battery pack, which is more juice than a Chevrolet Volt. Smart promises zero to 60 times in the range of five seconds and an 80 mph top speed, which isn't bad for a green machine with a bed. Smart claims that the battery pack can go from 20 percent charged to 80 percent in 3.5 hours, while a full juicing takes place in eight hours.

The For-Us boasts a smallish but undoubtedly handy 11.6 cubic feet of space. Smart no doubt isn't interested in going toe-to-toe with the likes of the F-150 and the Silverado, but it's still difficult to see such a concept model ever making its way to production.

Hit the jump to read over the press release, and feel free to peruse the live high resolution pics from the Detroit Auto Show floor.

Continue reading Smart For-Us brings truckness to the urban jungle

Official: Smart For-Us pickup making its world premiere at the Detroit Auto Show

The lads and lasses at Smart have teased numerous different versions of their urban two-door in an effort to get more Americans to pay more attention to it. Car2Go is a worthy attention getter, and the Smart For-Us concept might be another, because who among us red-blooded U.S. of A'ers doesn't love a pickup truck - even one the size of a ladybug?

It "translates the practical loading concept of a pickup to the reality of 21st century urban traffic for the first time" with a longer wheelbase and wider track, a tiny bed, a 75-horsepower, 98-pound-foot electric motor, a "friendly yet assertive face" and (unlike other Smarts?) "extremely short overhangs."

We'll be at the Detroit Auto Show next month to capture all 11.6 feet of it. Until then, you can read about it in the press release after the jump and have a look at sketches in our high-res gallery of images.

Continue reading Smart For-Us pickup making its world premiere at the Detroit Auto Show

Frankfurt: Smart Fortwo Brabus by WeSC gets two-tone gold treatment and its own headphones

Smart has teamed with Swedish clothing firm WeSC to create the special edition Smart Brabus tailor (yes, another one), and it's scheduled to be revealed at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. It's powered by a 101-horsepower turbocharged gasoline engine and features a matte and high-gloss golden exterior from Brabus. The tailor-made Fortwo gets jet black alloys and a body kit.

Inside, the Smart Brabus by WeSC gets standard air conditioning, leather seats and a leather steering wheel. WeSC has even designed special headphones that give a "nod to the car's look, as can be seen in the perforated black ear pads and high-gloss golden highlights," according to Smart.

The special edition Fortwo and WeSC-designed headphones will be available starting in spring of 2012, but Brabus is taking advanced orders for the car and its questionable aesthetics right about... now, though we don't have any delusions that it will be available in the States.

Continue reading Smart Fortwo Brabus by WeSC gets two-tone gold treatment and its own headphones

Frankfurt: Daimler gets in on the electric bicycle game with Smart E-Bike

Cars don't get much smaller than the Smart ForTwo, but that, apparently, still isn't small enough for Daimler. So after having unveiled electric scooter and bicycle concepts at the Paris Motor Show last year, the Smart brand has announced plans to putting the latter into production in time for this year's Frankfurt expo.

Why electric bikes, you ask? If for no other reason, then because of their sheer growth. Smart notes that in its home market of Germany alone, the market for e-bikes rose nearly threefold from 70,000 in 2007 to 200,000 units in 2010. Across Europe as a whole, the market has shot up from 200,000 in 2007 to 500,000 in 2009 and 700,000 in 2010. Those are some compelling numbers, so little wonder Daimler is getting on board.

Created in collaboration with electric bicycle specialists Grace, the Smart e-bike packs a 250-watt electric motor juiced by a 400 Wh lithium-ion battery that can provide a selectable level of boost to the rider's pedaling. Disc brakes front and rear do the stopping power, recharging the battery from the regenerative braking system. The battery can provide up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) of cruising depending on how much power is dialed in, and can even charge a mobile phone through the integrated USB socket.

The smallest Smart yet will be launched in Europe and North America early next year, after being unveiled at the Eurobike show in Friedrichshafen and the Frankfurt Motor Show next month. In the meantime you can scope it out in the high-res image gallery and the press release after the jump.

Continue reading Daimler gets in on the electric bicycle game with Smart E-Bike

Official: 2012 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive hits 75 mph, whizzes to 60 in 13 seconds

The third-generation, 2012 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive ditches its 16.5-kWh Tesla-engineered battery pack in favor of a 17.6-kWh unit manufactured by Deutsche ACCUmotive and, in the process, gains a much needed boost in acceleration, top speed and a slight increase in range.

Scheduled to launch next spring, the 2012 Fortwo Electric Drive features an EM-motive 55-kW (74-horsepower) electric motor, a massive increase from the 30-kW (40-hp) unit found in the 2011 Fortwo electric. The boost in power means that the 2012 Fortwo Electric Drive can hit a highway-capable top speed of 74.6 miles per hour and scoot from 0 to 60 mph in less than 13 seconds. Though still lethargic, that 13-second time is a vast improvement over the estimated 23.4 seconds required for the 2011 Fortwo electric to wheeze its way to 60 mph. The third-gen 2012 dashes from 0 to 37 mph in five seconds flat, a useful 1.5-second improvement over the outgoing model.

The Deutsche ACCUmotive lithium-ion battery pack should enable the 2012 Fortwo Electric Drive to travel an estimated 86 miles between charges, up slightly from the 83-mile range of the outgoing electric two-seater. Smart says an empty-to-full charge takes approximately eight hours and that a quick-charge option exists for the third-gen electric.

In terms of styling, the 2012 Fortwo features an enlarged grille opening, stylish LED daytime running lights, wider door sills and some minor modifications to the rear.

Smart says production of the 2012 Fortwo Electric Drive will eventually hit a "five-figure number" and that the electric two-seater will be sold in at least 30 countries across the globe. Smart has yet to release pricing for its third-gen electric. Look for us to have more details on the Fortwo Electric Drive when it hits the stage during next month's Frankfurt Motor Show. Check out our high-res image gallery and the official press release after the jump.

Continue reading 2012 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive hits 75 mph, whizzes to 60 in 13 seconds

Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #239 LIVE

We record Episode #239 of the Autoblog Podcast tonight, and we're bringing back a live cast now that we've had some practice. Check out our discussion topics below and chime in to help determine what else we'll talk about this evening. You can subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10PM Eastern tonight.

Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #239

• Possible Dodge Magnum successor
• Subaru taking WRX off on its own?
• Mercedes-Benz to try reviving Smart in the U.S.

Subscribe to the Autoblog Podacast and hear your questions asked:

[UStream] Interact LIVE at UStream - 10PM Eastern on Monday, July 18, 2011

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes

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Mercedes will try to resuscitate Smart with new execs, ads, incentives

The Smart brand has been in flux for the last few years. Sales have fallen off a cliff from the days when the Penske Group moved nearly 25,000 units in 2008. In 2010, just 5,927 Smart ForTwos went home with new owners. Mercedes-Benz had enough of watching sales submarine, and plucked back distribution rights, sales and marketing of the brand. Now, the German automaker is looking to inject new life into Smart.

How does Mercedes hope to revive the ailing subcompact brand? For starters, Smart has a new executive team in place, which forms a new group called Daimler Vehicle Innovations USA. This group reports directly to Mercedes-Benz USA sales leader Michael Slagter. The newly formed Smart team is lead by Tracey Matura, who was plucked from her role as general manager of MB's strategic retail development group.

Matura will work with Mercedes-Benz dealers to incorporate Smart vehicles into their showrooms. In the past, it was required of a Smart dealer to utilize a separate, or even standalone, showroom space. Now, Matura will simply ask for a corner of an existing Benz showroom, and, given the size of a Smart ForTwo, the corner doesn't need to be very big.

Right now, 75 Mercedes dealerships also sell Smart products, and Matura aims to get that number up to 100 by year's end. Read all about the new Smart plan after the break.

Continue reading Mercedes will try to resuscitate Smart with new execs, ads, incentives

Smart Fortwo gets the deluxe treatment from Boxfresh

Hard as it might seem to believe from its decidedly more spartan packaging, the Smart ForTwo is made by the same people responsible for the Maybach limousine and countless Mercedes-Benz luxury automobiles. But as seems to be the craze these days, the Daimler city car division has teamed up with a British clothing label called Boxfresh for a substantially more luxurious version.

The special one-off starts with a Brabus-spec cabrio, packing 31 more horsepower than standard for 101 - not exactly earth-shattering output numbers here, but a lot for such a tiny car. Boxfresh has resprayed it in what looks like a matte gunmetal finish; the interior is swathed in a rather sumptuous-looking tan leather. A heavy twill canvas folding roof tops it all off.

As you can see from the many artful close-ups in our image gallery, the attention to detail looks immaculate. We dare not ask how much such a trim job cost. This is, after all, a one-off for the time being, with the commercially-available product of their collaboration set to be announced later this year.

One way or another, it's not likely to make the jump Stateside - we just hope this isn't what Brabus was hiding under the tarp in that video from last week.