Minicars

The 2013 Tokyo Motor Show is almost upon us. And while the Los Angeles Auto Show might hold more relevance for the U.S. market, Tokyo's offerings can never be discounted entirely. Weird and wonderful some may seem but many feature the kind of technology we'll soon be seeing in our road cars. And of...

Will it be third time lucky for the Smart Fortwo minicar? That's what Smart's parent company Daimler must be wondering, as disguised versions of the third-generation Smart undergo final testing out in the wild. The latest model, spotted here by Motor Authority spy photographers, show a car very...

Scion's slow-selling iQ minicar might not be long for this world, and the news has come from an unusual source. Aston Martin chief Ulrich Bez has revealed to Autocar that the Cygnet was canned because Toyota itself is stopping production of the iQ--sold in most markets under the Toyota brand, but...

We don't tend to feature Aston Martins here on Green Car Reports. Beautiful though they are, custodians of an enviable racing history and cultivators of an image few other automakers attain, they're about as far away from "green" as cars get. With big V-8 and V-12 gasoline engines, they're about...

The Smart has lost more money than any other European car, a new report says.

Fans of the Smart Fortwo--and they are out there, if not necessarily in the United States--have been patiently waiting for what seems like an eternity for the next-generation car. But, like an enormous candy bar dangled just out of reach of a child, the company has instead churned out concept after...

For such a small car, the Elio three-wheeled vehicle certainly has a big following. It might not meet everyone's idea of what constitutes a great car, but for those looking to reduce their driving costs or their impact on the environment, a small, inexpensive, resource-light three-wheeled vehicle...

They aren't practical for all, but some of the ideas for future urban electric cars are certainly intriguing. Renault was the first to take the concept seriously with the Twizy, but since then several Japanese companies have had a go, and Europe has also tackled the urban congestion problem with a...

The 2013 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive is the latest electric vehicle to have undergone the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's crash test procedures. Following frontal crash, side impact, and side pole impact tests, the Electric Drive was awarded four from a possible five stars overall...

If you want an electric car, there are now 14 different models with plugs to choose from. But if you want an electric convertible, there's just one: The 2013 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive Cabrio. The little two-seat battery electric vehicle with the roll-back cloth roof is now on sale along with the...

You don't need us to tell you that the Japanese car market is about as far-removed from the U.S. market as it's possible to get. Where big trucks still dominate in North America, vehicles that almost fit in the average truck's pickup bed make up almost half of all Japanese car sales. Those cars are...

If you’re still smitten with the design and styling of the Smart Fortwo, you’re probably going to be happier with the version that never needs a gas station. That’s the conclusion we emerged even more confident about, after the hour earlier this month we spent with the Smart...

It probably seemed like a good idea at the time, but with hindsight Tata's desire to sell the world's cheapest car hasn't quite worked out the way they hoped. In a nation where many still can't afford a car, the $2,000 Nano was set to be a revolution. But five years after launch, reports Bloomberg...

It seems automakers in Europe have found the key to increasing electric car sales: battery leasing. With 97 percent of European Smart Fortwo Electric Drive customers choosing to lease the battery, rather than buy it outright, Smart USA will now offer buyers the same option, when the car debuts this...

Smart is doubling up on electric vehicles with its next generation small cars--as its Electric Drive will come in both two- and four-seat formats. It's been known for a while that Smart would revive the ForFour name with its next city car. The company previously sold a car with this name in Europe...

The next 18 months will see a number of plug-in vehicles enter the market from Volkswagen, as the company has promised for several years. Today, first details of the Volkswagen e-Up minicar were released--with the car being shown at the company's Annual Press and Investors Conference, held at its...

How much would you pay for a car that could fit in the bed of most pickup trucks? If that car is a 1958 FMR Tg500 Tiger, like a Messerschmitt with four wheels, the answer is $280,000. Well, you might not pay that personally, but somebody did, as hundreds of microcars were auctioned at the Bruce...

Who'da thunk it? Young buyers may love Camaros and Mustangs, but when it comes to smaller cars, American brands have traditionally played second best to imports. But the Chevrolet Spark minicar is proving much more successful, bucking all the trends. It's even stealing plenty of buyers off its...

What motivates you to buy a green car? For some, it's the desire to do just a little to help the environment. For others, it might be the technology. Some may simply want to save money. If the latter is a major factor, you may be interested to know that the cheapest car to run over five years is...

If you've heard of a 1951 Atlas Babycar, 1954 Cuno Bistram or a 1956 Eshelman Deluxe Adult Sport Car, you've probably visited The Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum in Madison, Georgia. Filled with the tiniest, oddest cars you could ever contemplate, the museum was a shrine to the largest collection of...