smart News
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If smaller is better, then you can’t really do much better than the Smart ForTwo. The Fortwo is the city car originally designed in partnership with Swatch, back in the 1990s. This year it’s been redesigned with American drivers in mind. That doesn’t mean bigger—just better. DON'T MISS: Tesla Motors Releases Quarterly Sales: 10,030 Cars Sold Globally Jan-Mar If you’ve seen the Smart tooling around town, you might think it looks a little toylike. The new version? It’s more mature, but somehow it's more lively-looking. The hood is a little more bulbous and...
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2016 Smart ForTwo: First Drive Of European Version
The 2016 Smart ForTwo minicar will arrive at U.S. dealers this fall. When it does, it will be playing the redemption card every chance it gets. Smart was created to counter the increasing global trend toward urbanization. One way to make cities more manageable is a microcar that fit the needs of...
Matthew Askari -
New 2016 Smart ForTwo Will Keep Older Electric Drive Model In Lineup
Attracted by the new look, much-improved feature set, and better fuel economy ratings of the all-new 2016 Smart Fortwo? You’ll have to wait another six to eight months before you’ll find it at U.S. dealerships. On the other hand, if it’s the next generation of the all-electric...
Bengt Halvorson -
Smart Electric Drive Ad: Where Winning Drag Races Really Counts
Whatever you think of the diminutive city cars produced by Daimler's Smart brand, the company certainly has a talent for marketing. The latest ad from Smart Canada has the same sort of self-deprecating humor that Volkswagen used for years when advertising its Beetle--another rear-engined small car...
Antony Ingram -
2016 Smart Fortwo Faces Mercedes S-Class In Crash Test: Video
Reassuring people that its tiny Fortwo city car is safe must be a constant struggle for Daimler's Smart brand. In Europe, where the diminutive cars roam around streets barely wider than the car, it's not such a problem. But in the U.S, where half the population drives 5,000-lb pickup trucks, people...
Antony Ingram -
2016 Smart ForTwo And ForFour: World Debut Live Photos
Daimler will be hoping that third time is the charm with the new third-generation 2016 Smart Fortwo and its four-seat counterpart. The all-new models have now been revealed in all their glory at the launch event in Berlin, and while several facets of the brand's values remain, a whole lot has...
Antony Ingram -
The new Smart ForTwo and Smart ForFour minicar models have just made their world debuts in Berlin, and we've got the details. Thus far, only the two-seat Smart ForTwo has been confirmed for the U.S. It will launch as a 2016 model. While the Smarts will offer buyers in most markets a choice between two three-cylinder engines, the U.S. will receive only the more powerful turbocharged option, good for 90 horsepower and 100 lb.-ft of torque. ALSO SEE: White House Responds To Tesla Direct-Sales Petition: Sorry, Talk To Congress That engine will be mated to an all-new dual-clutch...
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Next-Generation Smart Fortwo, Forfour Previewed In Official Video
Daimler's Smart brand has spent the last few years releasing concepts that preview the look of its next-generation city car, but the car itself has remained frustratingly under wraps. Now we've got our best look yet at the form of the new cars, in an official video from Smart itself. The video...
Antony Ingram -
Smart Tipping Continues: Tiny Cars Upended In San Francisco, Again
Some trends are harmless: think hula hoops. Some trends don't hold up well in the harsh glare of history: think acid-washed jeans. And some trends constitute felony vandalism: think Smart tipping. After an outbreak in early April in which three Smart cars were turned over, another pair of Smart...
John Voelcker -
New Smart Fortwo Minicar Slides In Sweden, Due This Fall? (Video)
It's fair to say the Smart brand hasn't been one of Daimler's bigger successes, but bosses will be hoping the third-generation car is closer to "third time lucky" than "three strikes and you're out". Smart's latest video suggests that new third-gen car is on its way soon, as camouflaged cars...
Antony Ingram -
New San Francisco Sport: Smart Tipping (Cows Are So Passe)
Smart ForTwo city cars are apparently quite easy to tip over.
Stephen Edelstein -
Renault Twingo Live Photos: Smart Forfour Partner Launched At Geneva
The car you see here, the Renault Twingo, will not be sold in the U.S. A car like it will be, though--Smart's next Forfour, and indeed the two-seat Fortwo, have been co-developed with the French brand, so there'll be plenty of similarities between the two. Renault's version of the car is a...
Antony Ingram -
A fuel-efficient five-door hatchback a little smaller than a subcompact--for less than $10,000? That sounds like a pretty good deal. Unfortunately, it's a deal only available to Canadian buyers--because the 2015 Nissan Micra is being offered just in that country, not in the United States. MORE: Driving Nissan's Micra Minicar, Which We Can't Legally Do Any Other Time Last week, Nissan announced at the Toronto Auto Showthat the 2015 Micra would carry a base price of C$9,998, the lowest entry price of any car sold in Canada. That's $2,000 less than the entry price of a Chevrolet Spark or...
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New Renault Twingo Previews Next Smart ForTwo
Car companies aren't in the habit of persisting with loss-making enterprises, so it's a surprise that Daimler has continued with its Smart city car brand as long as it has. Perhaps the next generation will fare better than previous models, thanks to a tie-up with French automaker Renault. We've now...
Antony Ingram -
2014 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive: What It's Like On The Road
With minimal changes from the model launched last year as the least expensive electric car in the U.S., the 2014 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive remains the smallest and shortest plug-in electric car sold in the U.S.--as well as the only one offered as a convertible. The two-seat electric Smart comes...
John Voelcker -
Daimler Boss Says Smart Car Is "More Relevant" Than Ever
Cars described as "ahead of their time" are usually regarded fondly, but often commercially unsuccessful--the resulting vehicles often too unusual for many consumers. Daimler's Smart brand and the Fortwo minicar fits that bill and could well be described as ahead of its time, but company boss...
Antony Ingram -
Tiny Smart Cars Lose $5 Billion For Mercedes-Benz: Report
The Smart has lost more money than any other European car, a new report says.
Stephen Edelstein -
Smart FourJoy Concept For Frankfurt, Previews Next ForFour
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...
Antony Ingram -
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. Individually, the electric smart was rated best for side impact protection, scoring a full five stars. It received four stars for front impact and rollover tests, and three stars in the pole side impact test. Driver and passenger front, side and knee airbags are standard in the Fortwo, contributing...
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2013 Smart Electric Drive Cabrio: Brief Drive Of Electric Convertible
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...
John Voelcker -
2013 Smart Electric Drive Coupe Lease Price Lowered To $139
The prices just keep falling on plug-in electric cars. The latest to announce a new, lower lease price is Smart, which cut the monthly cost of a three-year lease on its 2013 ForTwo Electric Drive Coupe from $199 to just $139. That's not the lowest single electric-car lease we're aware of in the...
John Voelcker -
Battery Leasing Lands In U.S., Electric Smart Drivers Love It
Maybe there's a future for battery leasing among U.S. electric-car buyers after all. Nissan had considered leasing battery packs separately before launching its 2011 Leaf, but ended up choosing to sell or lease the entire car. So the 2013 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive is the first car in the country...
John Voelcker -
2013 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive: Yes, Better Without Gasoline
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...
Bengt Halvorson -
Sharing Savvy: Smart & Ford Discuss Fuel-Efficient Three-Cylinder Engines
In spy movies, information is used as a form of currency; it's traded for hostages, treasure, and occasionally, more information. But the practice isn't just limited to films. It takes place in the business world, too, and the auto industry is no exception. According to AutoNews, Ford and Daimler...
Richard Read