Smart Car Blog

Smart Fortwo Meet at Infineon Raceway, Sonoma – Hosted by WORKS

Who: Bay Area Smart Owners and Soon-To-Be-Smart-Owners
What: Tech Sessions, Autocross, Discounted WORKS “Smarter” performance products and Barbeque
When: June 28 – 11 a.m.
Where: WORKS @ Infineon Raceway (Sears Point) – South Shops just past the go kart track
Why: Because it is summer, there are a lot more Smarts on the road, and this is long overdue…
Cost: $30 per person - $10 to NASA, $20 to WORKS.

I appreciate the Bay Area Smart community’s patience with me in organizing this meet. It has been a lot of work getting to this point – much more than any of us originally bargained for - but by the look of things, it will have been well worth the wait.

Just to give a little sense of what has been involved. We have not only had to expedite the development of the WORKS “Smarter” line of performance parts, but also had to work with NASA to secure the driving course, secure insurance to cover our driving during the event, hire an ambulance, secure volunteer driving instructors, and ensure that engineers and staff are available, not to mention getting all the food and drinks lined up. Phew!

Aznom’s smart creation is out to tender, or so they say. The smart fortwo Aznom Tender to Track has all the right ingredients to change a man’s mind about how feminine smart is as a car and a brand. Aznom, for the sharp eye, is Monza splled backwards, the name associated with a famous Italian race track on which dreams have been created and lost over countless years.

Now the partnership with Autodromo Nazionale di Monza has resulted in this Aznom smart, quite sporty and exclusive in its layout. Interior is laden with carbon-fiber detailing that blends in with the alcantara and leather interior. Master Rossano Brambilla is responsible of the carbon inlets that skillfully wrap around such items as the round old school clock.

Leather seats not found on the standard car feature as comfort creatures as they blend with alcantara seat interior to create a luxurious yet sporty living environment. Even the steering wheel cannot escape the alcantara/ carbon-fiber/ leather trinity, and ends up taking all three. It works though. All ten cars being dressed this way will look the same, the only difference being their serial numbers, which are hard to find unless you have binocular eyes.

With the New York Auto Show pumping out new rides and showing off crazy designs by each automaker, it makes me wander if Scion took a look over at smart's old rides and said that they can make a comeback of the smart crosstown.





More on the Hako:

NEW YORK, March 19, 2008 -- Scion unveiled its Hako Coupe Concept vehicle at a press conference today at the New York International Auto Show. Scion's Hako Coupe was developed by Tokyo Design Division, which studied global, youth-inspired trends. Japanese and American youth cultures often influence each other and are interpreted with a unique twist. The Hako Coupe Concept was inspired by the iconic xB and the emergence of American vintage style among young Tokyo trendsetters.

"Scion's Hako Coupe Concept embodies a distinct global perspective on today's youth," said Jack Hollis, Scion vice president. "This type of forward thinking complements the Scion philosophy of intently listening to our customers and being willing to take risks to help us see where our brand should be. We took the xB's iconic boxy shape and explored something more vivacious, yet just as emotionally appealing. This concept is the sporty version of a box."

Dying to know what cool accessories Smart USA... well wait no longer!

Who would have guessed? The Smart Fortwo is only a few months from arriving here in the states, the media is buzzing about this car, and the wait list over at smart usa is growing by the day, so what does smart gmbh do to us? They go ahead and open up one amazing Smart House to show off their sleek design and uber cool Smart Car to even more people!

MORE PHOTOS INSIDE!!!

The Smart House is not only an amazing modern condo converted to showroom setting, but a hot spot in the already trendy Abbot Kinney. The smart team has the placed decorated amazingly... fitting the smart fortwo feeling and look in to more then just a car but also a lifestyle.

While you are there, be sure to take a test drive in the latest Smart Fortwo, sip on drink and snack from the smart team, and just soak in the amazing environment and amazing imagery!

As part of the promotions leading up to the US sales launch of the Smart ForTwo next January, the US distributor has converted a Venice Beach CA building into a Smart House. The interior of the Smart house is designed to evoke the lifestyles of the the primary purchasers of the Smart: young urban hipsters, whatever the hell that means. The main goal of the house is of course to sell cars and so visitors will be able to check out four of them on the inside with more outside available for test drives.

SMART CAR ‘FORTWO’ BY MERCEDES BENZ
By Steve Purdy
Detroit Bureau
Source The AutoChannel

The buzz at the North American (Detroit) International Auto Show in January included rumors that parent company Mercedes Benz might seriously consider bringing the cute little Smart Car to US shores. They were able to score a small piece of premium floor space back near Scion where they displayed the most popular Fortwo (referring to the car being “for two” people) model, along with a Forfour, a roadster, and the four-seat sport-utility version designed specifically for the US. While gauging reaction to the car the marketing and PR folks for Smart convinced us that it could be a winner here.

We sure didn’t want to miss an opportunity to do some serious research and have some fun with the little thing so we arranged a test drive from Toronto where Mercedes Benz of Canada has its corporate headquarters and keeps its press fleet. The Smart Car was introduced in Canada just last fall. They’ve sold about 2,300 units so far through 45 M-B dealers across Canada who have the Smart franchise.

You might recognize the ‘city car’ in the photo above if you pay attention to car magazines or have been to Europe in the past few years. Other manufacturers make tiny city cars in Europe but the Smart Car defines best of the genre. “In 1994 Mercedes Benz and the Swatch (watch company) group created a joint venture called Microcompact Car. The main target was to create a new urban transportation method,” we were told by Richard Trevisan, manager of Smart Canada Division of M-B. Mercedes, as we might imagine, created the mechanical concepts, which they had been working on since the 70s, and Swatch did the marketing concepts, including the interchangeable body panels which allow the customer to change the color of his car at will.

Major components are made mostly in Germany but the car is assembled in France. Though tiny it is considered a premium car and is priced from $14,000 to about $24,000 Canadian. Three trim levels are available. The materials, design and workmanship of the Smart Car are truly top drawer.

News broke shortly after the NAIAS that the Smart Car division was struggling to make ends meet and at risk of going away entirely as a brand, in spite of worldwide sales since 1998 of 630,000 units in 36 countries. That crisis has passed. As we write this review the Smart Division is being reorganized for efficiency, dropping the roadster and sport-ute models. The good news is the brand is safe for now. Bad news is, it will not be coming to the US in the near term. That’s really bad news we decided after just a few days with the car because it’s quite a hoot to drive and to see just buzzing around town.

As you can see by the photo above, the tiny car has no butt. The rear tires stick out beyond where the body ends. And its nose slopes away steeply from the top at an angle reminiscent of the BMW Isetta of the late 50s. Over all it looks unlike anything ever produced in North America. The interior has an almost Art Deco quality but with a modern interpretation. Details are both functional and artful.

Before we leave M-B HQ with the car we get a thorough walk-around with ace sales gal Sarah Roelofson. The lovely Ms. Roelofson sold BMWs nearby until the opportunity to sell the Smart Car came along. We have no question that she is sold on the car as she parks ours behind hers showing us that two fit nicely into one parking place. She does a remarkable job of narrating the car and all its features for the camera. She’s a natural. She also shows us the Smart Car’s superstructure displayed inside the show room - reportedly the only display of its kind anywhere. The rigid passenger compartment is constructed as a secure cage using race car-building techniques. Crumple zones are designed so that the forces of front or rear impacts are directed down under the sturdy passenger compartment where they are absorbed and dissipated.

Our road test tour will take us from M-B HQ on the northeast side of Toronto about two hours west to quaint Stratford, Ontario where the famous annual Stratford Festival runs all summer and includes more than a dozen professionally produced plays, both Shakespearian and modern.

It takes the entire 4 or 5 miles from M-B HQ back to the 401 freeway to just get acclimated to the controls of our peppy Smart Car Fortwo. Of course I want to shift it myself keeping it out of the automatic mode. I have two options, paddle shifting on the steering wheel or the traditional floor shifter between the seats. Or I can alternate between the two if I like. I also find, embarrassingly, that the smart little Smart Car will take it upon itself to shift for the inattentive driver who doesn’t always shift within a safe range.

Not knowing exactly what to expect I skitter full throttle through the cloverleaf entrance onto the 7-lane 401 super highway, into heavy traffic not amenable to accommodating a car that can’t keep up. So I keep up – with considerable effort.

Powered by an 800cc, 3-cylinder turbo-diesel engine mounted under the rear package tray, it makes just over 50 horsepower and 74 lb.-ft. of torque. Power gets to the rear wheels by way of the choppy 6-speed transmission. Either way the shifts are slow and definitive but fun none-the-less. Our friends at M-B insist that it will easily get 60 miles per Imperial gallon of diesel fuel. That’s about 48 mpg US.

Our support vehicle, a new Ford Escape Hybrid, is just ahead of me. We’re video taping the car for an upcoming TV show so they’re watching me carefully dodge in, around and between 18-wheelers, and every other manner of vehicle. We’re driving into a stiff head wind. I have the sliding canvas top open all the way and the side windows down. Traffic is moving about 100 kph (62 mph), when it’s moving at all, while we’re still in the city. As we get to the edge of metropolitan Toronto traffic picks up to around 130 kph (80 mph). My right foot is flat on the floor. I can’t seem to get more than 130 out of her even though the speedometer goes to 140. I close up the top with the power switch. It seals tight. Then I close the power side windows. Without that wind resistance I can make 140 easily keeping up with the brisk westward flow of traffic.

What does the diminutive Smart Car feel like at 80 mph between two semis in a brisk wind on the 401, you ask?

Surprisingly stable, I must say. Certainly, I feel the jostle and sway of being buffeted about but there is never a feeling of insecurity or instability. Very impressive. The suspension, as you might guess, is quite firm, but as we shift up and down to keep the power maximized at around 2,500 to 3,000 rpm we rock back and forth boat-like because of the short wheel base and the relaxed pace of transition from gear to gear.

My colleagues in the Escape ahead said the best video shot is the Smart Car dancing along in the center lane flanked by huge rigs on either side.

West of Toronto we exit the 401 at Kitchener and head west on Highway 8. We arrive at the appointed hour to meet our host from the Stratford Tourist Bureau who will show us around town and arrange some interviews. We’ve been thinking of the Smart Car as an icon for youngsters but we’re seeing awestruck looks coming from all generations including our middle-aged host.

As we bounce around town for the next couple of days getting a feel for the area and the car we continue to be amazed at the attention and interest the Smart Car generates. This is certainly not your car if you’d like to be unnoticed, particularly in the chartreuse color of our test car. It has been available in Canada long enough for quite a few folks to know what it is. Many folks look up, point and holler, “Smart Car”. The others look up, point and holler, “What’s that?”

According to our M-B folks its not just being sold in urban area as we might expect. It’s popular in small towns as well where people have relatively short distances to drive and want the fun and economy of this odd duck. Division Manager Trevisan tells us that the best-represented demographic group among Smart owners is what he calls DINKS – that is, “dual-income, no-kids”. Judging from the dozens of folks around Stratford with whom we talked, from a group of juvenile delinquents at the local trade school to an old fellow from Quebec admiring the swans with his much-younger wife, the appeal of the Smart Car easily spans generations.

I can’t imagine that this great little car would find anything less than an enthusiastic reception among US car buyers.

So, we heartily recommend that our friends at Daimler-Chrysler and Mercedes Benz reconsider bringing it here. I’ll sure be a likely customer.

I’m just one real DINK. There are lots more of us.

While we are at... here is volume 4 of the Smart USA Newsletters.

Care to step back in time 6 months and catch up on the smart car news. Well after diggin high and low, we were able to come up with Volume 2 of the Smart USA Newsletter.

Well, less of a hybrid and more of a fuel miser….



Hot on the heals of the all electric Smart comes the Smart Micro Hybrid, but don't go thinking the diminutive 4Two is going all Prius on us by strapping on a load of batteries and an electric motor, oh no. The important gizmology is in a system that kills the engine when the car is stationary, and as the Smart is now a familiar sight in congested cities and crowded streets we imagine this will save a lot of otherwise wasted fuel. Simple huh?

Smart, being a German brand are a little more accurate claiming 13% better economy and a corresponding reduction in CO2 emissions from 112g/km to 103g/km.


The only noticeable change is the arrival of a ECO light on the dash, all else staying the same as a regular petrol or diesel 4Two's. Sales of the coupe and cabrio Micro Hybrid 4Twos begin at the end of the year.


Soon all cars will hopefully be made this way, but until then one of the worlds greenest cars just got greener.

Did you only hop on the Smart train in the last few months? Well incase you missed all the newsletters via Smart USA, we got em all!

Want to take a run down memory lane with the smart usa newletter volume 3. Check out the strides and leaps smart USA has already achieved in more then just bring thier car to the US but also in producint good press material.



See the entire thing after the jump!

According to smart USA"s latest newsletter, they will be launching a "smart fan site" of their own in the coming month! That would be awesome but it leaves me with a few questions... who the hell is going to run that thing. has any automotive-maker ever attempted this before? Does smart USA think they have any idea what it takes to run a community site and the type of backlash that they may be opening themselves up to? Best of luck Smart USA!



Follow the link to read what smart USA is saying!!!

From the smart USA newsletter:

"For those of you who recently made a $99 reservation on a 2008 smart fortwo – congratulations! You have become part of the exciting launch of the smart brand in the USA. But what’s next? Over the next few weeks, smart USA will begin posting important information on our website (and on our e-newsletters) about key aspects regarding the launch.

The next step in the reservation process:
The USA models of the smart fortwo will begin production within the next few months. As such, smart USA will begin contacting reservation holders about taking reservation preferences to the next step. Over the next few months, batches of reservation holders will be contacted to confirm their vehicle preferences, choose any factory options, and send their smart fortwo configuration to the factory.

Technical specifications:
As noted above, the smart fortwo will enter production within the next few months. At that time, full technical specifications will be confirmed and posted on our website. This will also include information on all factory-installed options and dealer-installed accessories.

The smart USA enthusiasts’ site:
Next month, smart USA will launch an official “fan site” for the smart owners. This site will allow enthusiasts from across the country to interact and discuss their smart fortwo’s. smart USA will also allow enthusiasts to help name our site through a special poll. So please keep an eye on your inbox over the next few weeks to participate in the naming of our owners’ site."

Smart Cars to hit U.S. streets next year

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Say bye to big trucks and hello to the Smart Car. The European made vehicle will be the smallest car in the country. They go on sale next year, but already hundreds of Utahns have put in their order.