smart News

  • 2013 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive (European version)

    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 May. The motivation is fairly straightforward. According to Automotive News, Smart wants to "minimize the anxiety" that the battery may die during an owner's tenure--a worry for many potential customers. Smart hasn't yet set a monthly battery rental price for U.S. customers, nor a purchase price...

  • 2011 Land Rover LR4
    Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz Ponder Tiny Luxury Crossovers

    One of the next major growth areas for automakers in the premium arena is the subcompact crossover segment, which currently has only a few players and is experiencing strong growth. The segment is especially popular in emerging markets where buyers enjoy the benefits of traditional SUVs, such as...

  • 2011 Smart Forvision Concept
    2014 Smart ForTwo: More Details, Renault Version Nixed

    Smart's tiny Fortwo city car is being replaced in early 2014, and more details are emerging on the next generation small car. Changes include new engines, new transmissions and a size increase--but partner Renault will no longer be producing its own two-seat equivalent. CAR Magazine reports that...

  • 2013 smart fortwo electric drive on the production line
    How Do You Make An Electric Car? Smart Shows You

    If you read our reviews a few months back, you'll be aware that the 2013 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive is a much better car than its predecessors. In third-generation form, it's quicker and has a greater range, but is now available to buy as well as lease--and it's the cheapest electric car on sale...

  • 2010 Smart Escooter Concept
    Smart Pairs With Vectrix For 2014 Electric Scooter

    A few months back, after riding the Smart eBike, we concluded that it might actually be the best vehicle the company makes. That makes the upcoming Smart electric scooter something worth waiting for--and to build it, the company is getting assistance from electric motorcycle experts Vectrix...

  • Smart 'Forjeremy' Electric Drive art car
    Smart 'ForJeremy' Electric Drive Looks Ready To Fly

    It isn't unknown for Smart to unveil an unusual concept car every now and then--the For-US pickup would be a good example. But thanks to fashion designer Jeremy Scott, Smart has unveiled probably its oddest vehicle yet. Based on the current Fortwo Electric Drive model, it isn't hard to see what...

  • Smart eBike electric bicycle

    Smart is all about breaking preconceptions. Small cars can't be safe? Not the case. Cheap cars have to be dull? Not a bit of it. Here are a few more: Polo is only played by high society folk on horses, Spring Break is a wild vacation, and electric bikes are just a tool for commuting. Not according to Smart. Polo can be played on bikes in an urban environment, Spring Break is a UK bike polo team doing just that, and they're using Smart's eBike to do so. Just like regular polo, bike polo is fast-paced and requires plenty of coordination and balance, and with only three players on each side...

  • Smart eBike electric bicycle
    Smart eBike Ride: Electric Bike The Best Vehicle Smart Makes?

    After testing the 2013 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive, we were given the opportunity to try out another of Smart's electric vehicles. Unlike the city car however, this vehicle has only half the number of seats, and half the numer of wheels. It's also, technically speaking, a hybrid--using an electric...

  • 2013 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive
    2013 Smart Electric Drive: Better Than Earlier Electric Smarts?

    Smart's third-generation Electric Drive model might look similar to the car it replaces, but it's a very different vehicle under the skin. To discover just how different, our latest drive in the new electric Smart let us compare with our experiences from the previous model--and the differences are...

  • 2013 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive (European version)
    Smart Electric Drive Ad Ignores Eco Theme, Goes Big For Small Car

    Hey Chevy, listen up: Aliens in electric car ads don't have to be annoying--just ask Smart. The maker of diminutive city cars has ditched all references to performance, specifications and efficiency in its latest ad (via Autoblog) for the third-generation Fortwo Electric Drive, instead giving us a...

  • 2013 Smart Electric Drive, Brooklyn, NY
    2013 Smart Electric Drive Test: Lowest-Priced Electric Car In U.S.

    If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Smart took that advice to heart; its 2013 Smart ED3 is the third generation of its all-electric version of the two-seat ForTwo minicar. And it's the first one that's really a viable car under normal driving conditions. It's also the least expensive...

  • Smart ForStars concept, 2012 Paris Auto Show
    Smart Forstars Concept: Paris Auto Show Live Photos

    Smart might be struggling to sell its ageing ForTwo at the moment but its design department is certainly keeping busy. The 2012 Paris Auto Show, which got underway last Thursday for members of the press, allowed Smart to unveil yet another concept car previewing the next Fortwo, expected to be...

  • Smart ForStars Concept

    Is this the most aggressive-looking Smart concept car yet? With a longer wheelbase, coupe-like roofline and frowning eyebrows over the headlights, it's certainly a step up from the usual squat city cars, and it gives us yet another indication of what the next generation ForTwo might look like. Known as the Forstars concept, Smart says the name is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the coupe's glass roof, allowing you to gaze at the skies at night. While sharing the tall stance of regular Smart ForTwo models, there's more than a hint of the old Smart Roadster Coupe about the concept's styling...

  • 2013 Smart ForTwo Iceshine Special Edition
    2013 Smart ForTwo: Strong Enough To Wear A Full-Size SUV As A Hat

    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...

  • 2011 Tesla Roadster Final Edition, photograph copyright Damon Lavrinc / AOL
    Not Driven An Electric Car Yet? Try These Five First

    If you've not yet driven an electric car, we think you're really missing out. Even if you consider yourself an electric car cynic, it's worth having a drive in one, experiencing the smoothness and silence, and the surprising acceleration available even in less powerful models. Whether you're a...

  • Car2Go Smart Fortwo, in Portland
    Portlandia Steps Up For Electric-Car Sharing: We're Not Surprised

    You've probably heard about what a model green city Portland, Oregon is, or how Portlanders shy away from car ownership—and, perhaps, how they can be a little uncomfortably earnest and politically correct. Is that how it really is? In short, yes. Now Portland, Oregon residents have another...

  • 2013 Smart ForTwo Iceshine Special Edition
    2013: Smart ForTwo Iceshine Brings Exclusivity To Niche Market

    How do you make a niche market car with low sales figures more attractive to buyers? By releasing a limited-edition, of course. Enter Smart, Mercedes-Benz’s microcar devision, and its plans to follow its summer-themed Smart ForTwo Sharpred Special Edition with a winter-themed special edition...

  • 2013 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive (European version)
    2013 Smart ForTwo Electric Production Starts, Due Q4, 2012

    Earlier this week, Daimler started production of the 2013 Smart ForTwo electric drive at its Hamback, facility in France. The third-generation all-electric Smart ForTwo, the 2013 model is the first electric Smart that will be sold as well as leased. Unlike previous versions, which we felt were...

  • Smart eBike  -  April 2012

    Going electric makes a lot of sense for the smallest city-commute vehicles—like the Smart Fortwo Electric Drive, which is still on the way. But in the meantime, it looks like a different Smart electric vehicle will arrive first: the Smart eBike. The Smart eBike is a bicycle, but an electrically boosted, hybridized bicycle at that. With a 200-watt electric motor system, fed by a 423-Whr lithium-ion battery, and four different power levels, it aims to get more people out of their cars and taking on hills or longer distances than they might in a standard bicycle. Built on the basis of...

  • Smart ebike electric bicycle
    Smart Electric Bike On Sale In Europe, Due In U.S. Soon

    Smart's ebike electric bicycle is now available to order across Europe, before the first bikes hit retailers in late May, going on sale in the U.S. soon after. The bike reinforces the brand's stance on urban mobility, providing consumers with another option for city commutes beyond the regular...

  • 2013 Smart ForTwo
    2013 Smart ForTwo: Fresh Styling, New Electric Drive Model

    The Smart ForTwo minicar has had a rough ride in the U.S. of late. After debuting to stupendous sales in 2008, as gas prices soared, its sales have plummeted to just a few thousand a year. But the little Franco-German two-seater is being lightly refreshed for 2013, under new distribution through...

  • 2013 Smart ForTwo
    2013 Smart ForTwo Facelift: Will It Help Sales?

    It's hard to believe, but the current Smart ForTwo has been soldiering on in the U.S. North American market for five years now. Mercedes-Benz offshoot Smart has never enjoyed much popularity in the U.S. The concept makes less sense than it does in its native Europe, where gas is more expensive and...

  • Smart For-Us pickup concept live photos, 2012 Detroit Auto Show
    Smart For-Us Electric Pickup Concept: 2012 Detroit Auto Show

    We'd be tempted to say that Smart is playing to stereotypes by unveiling a pickup concept at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). However, there's nothing stereotypical about a small, all-electric, city-car based, convertible pickup. In fact, the Smart For-Us Concept we previewed a...

  • 2012 smart fortwo electric drive, 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show
    Next-Generation 2012 Smart ForTwo Electric Car Delayed

    Earlier this year Daimler unveiled the third generation Smart Fortwo Electric Drive at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show. Offering much improved acceleration, range and charging capabilities on the previous generation Smart ForTwo Electric Drive, it has the potential to be the first truly...

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