2007 Smart ForTwo photos hit the web
UPDATE 1: Tipster Nicolas emailed to let us know that the full unveiling will happen tomorrow in Stuttgart, as reported by Le Blog Auto.
So much for embargoes. Glamour shots of the new 2007 Smart ForTwo are making the rounds on the web, and our sister site, Autoblog Spanish, was kind enough to share them with us. Larger and apparently better-equipped than the outgoing ForTwo, this is the one DCX is bringing Stateside for Roger Penske to sell to us.
Details are scarce at the moment, but we do know that the ForTwo sports a nifty interior. As for the exterior? Well, it looks like a Smart -- stubby and friendly-faced, with a healthy dose of Euro-style. The doors appear to be the single largest body panels on the car, an aspect some potential buyers might find less than confidence-inspiring, given that the itsy-bitsy Smart will share the road with H2s, Expeditions, Armadas, Escalades, Suburbans, and many other larger vehicles... such as the Honda Civic.
It'll be utterly polarizing (read: unbelievably popular), be featured on every single newscast in America at launch, and probably be the "in" thing to have in certain urban locales. Observers, both interested and casual, have a lot to look forward to here.
(Additional photos after the jump)
[Source: Autoblog Spanish (translated)]
2007 Smart ForTwo:
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
srivendel 1:42PM (11/07/2006)
Good evolution of a smart (pupn intended) design. Assuming these come with the full raft of airbags, ESP, ABS, etc they will sell like hotcakes in urban markets.
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smart 11:47PM (1/09/2008)
Thanks for creating this great article on the smart, I would like to personally invite you to the new smart site just launched.
The new smart website is focused on the 451 smart fortwo ( 2008 smart car ) and its web address is: http://www.451s.com
451s.com was created to help bring together worldwide smart owners and smart enthusiasts. While this site is focused on the 451 smart fortwo sold in America and Canada it is open to all smart's and the worldwide smart community.
http://www.451s.com
smart 11:47PM (1/09/2008)
Thanks for creating this great article on the smart, I would like to personally invite you to the new smart site just launched.
The new smart website is focused on the 451 smart fortwo ( 2008 smart car ) and its web address is: http://www.451s.com
451s.com was created to help bring together worldwide smart owners and smart enthusiasts. While this site is focused on the 451 smart fortwo sold in America and Canada it is open to all smart's and the worldwide smart community.
http://www.451s.com
Nill 2:06PM (11/07/2006)
PLEASE, DCX, bring all the options over when you sell it here! The Smart's saving grace is that it is well equipped for a small car.
And a diesel option wouldn't hurt either, hint hint.
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Brooks 2:01PM (11/07/2006)
This rates a big "finally!" The car makes so much sense for urban areas that it's bizarre that they haven't imported it before.
And I don't think the writer knows what "polarizing" means. It is not a synonym for "popular".
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james 2:03PM (11/07/2006)
heh, there are six of these (along with a forfour and two roadsters) a few miles north of me...at Merc's USA hq in Montvale, NJ. they're done up in what i can only describe as a Target (the store) wrapping paper pattern. a polka-dot looking pattern of red bullseyes.
-james
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Giggles of Doom 2:08PM (11/07/2006)
Sharp looking little cars. An improvement over the old ones in my eyes.
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Kowell 2:56PM (11/07/2006)
And the differences are????? Smarts have been riding here in Canada for 2 years and I can't spot any difference.... as for the equipment, they come butt naked and having them fully equip brings the price as high as a lightly equipped midsize sedan. For the size it'S cheaper to just buy 2 SubCompacts.
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Kowell 2:58PM (11/07/2006)
The interior quality also makes a Hyundai Accent look like a luxury car.
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Mr_Oak 3:28PM (11/07/2006)
Can't wait to see the accident scene pics when one of these get hit by a Yellow Cab in NYC.
What do I do with it when I have to go to Boston, Washington or beyond. Are these things even going to be allowed on the NJ Turnpike.
Here is the problem,this car is great for NYC right? The thing is though 99% of NYC residents take the subway, bus or hail a cab. Most of the cars in Manhattan are Cabs,Limos and out of towners, Most Manhattan residents who own cars, leave them parked and ride the modes of transport mentioned here earlier, except on special occasions or to get the hell out of town. Great car to take to the Hamptons for the weekend The cost of owning a car in NYC also includes the hefty parking garage fees. $300 - $700+ per month. Do I get a discount for owning one of these?
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rob Lowe 5:42PM (11/07/2006)
Based on what I see in Canada...I think these cars though interesting are going to be a hard sell when people cross shop with other vehicles based on price and features. For those who just want another expensive accessory to define themselves and their lifestyles....yeah...the car will have an appeal
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Eric D-J 3:46PM (11/07/2006)
Who was driving the new topless one behind me on Crescent Heights here in Los Angeles early this weekend. Sadly the car turned before I could let them pass me so I could get the photo op.
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Ken Wolf 2:07PM (11/08/2006)
Only plus I see to this vehicle, is "while driving to work at the GM Tech Center on I 75, my wife will have no need to buy a casket when I am killed in an accident". Just bury me in it.
ken
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CJ 4:59PM (11/07/2006)
Bring out the tiny car haters! Let's start the SUV vs. Smart comments!
If you don't like 'em, don't buy 'em! It's about time we started to get some of the automobiling options other countries get. Although they are a bit less useful than in Europe, since we don't park on the sidewalks.
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C. McFeeny 4:47PM (11/07/2006)
Just because its small doesn't mean that they haven't engineered it to withstand a mighty beating in the eventuality that the car will get into an accident. Before you yahoos fly off the handle with your ignorant comments why don't you look up some information on how the Smart is engineered? The whole of the body is practically a roll cage just like in a race car.
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Tiago do Vale 4:33PM (11/07/2006)
I think it would go through the NY cab... So is the smart rigidity (and the NY cab lack of stiffness).
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aaron 9:24PM (11/07/2006)
As usual with the Smart lots of misinformation. A base Smart Car in Canada still comes with ESP and anti-lock brakes, side (in a Smart this includes curtain) and front airbags. In Canada we only have the Diesel,which will hopefully return. Video of crash testing of the old Smart is widely available on the net and pretty impressive - I would say you would be a lot better off in the little Tridon safety cell than in a lot of cars.
Most obvious difference is the headlights and front grille. The sharpest change is the re-shaped posterior which makes the car look a lot less sawed off. The premium in Canada is in part because of the diesel but it will be interesting to see how pricing changes with the introduction to the US. It is very true about pricing in regards to purchasing a sub-compact but in Canada this class of car rarely comes with ESP, anti-lock brakes or a full compliment of air bags. You see them on the highways in Canada all the time - right alongside the big transport trucks (FYI no passenger vehicle is going to save you in a collision with a transport).
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Mehul Kamdar 4:31PM (11/07/2006)
Lovely little car and I would buy one. Would be lovely to drive in downtown Chicago.
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jim 4:51PM (11/07/2006)
Let us hope that they bring in some of the interior and exterior color options you see in Europe. My fear is they will offer exteriors in only black, white, two shades of blue, beige, and a couple of reddish shades. With the interior in black, gray, and tan. With phony wood trim as an option.
Having a built to suit option similar to what exists for Mini would be nice.
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pk 4:57PM (11/07/2006)
Well, well, well, the stupidity and ignorance that has been ingrained for so long into the American car buying public is coming out once more. And the guy from GM in comment 10 (ken), thinks it's cool promoting it.
there were some issues with the first generation smart, like the shifter that was a bit slow (thank you DCX), and the car yawed a bit too much. But safety never was an issue.
The thing is safe in a crash against an S class (or M, or G), check out all th videos on the web, and the safety ratings the car gets.
The best news, is, for those who live in places where there is "parallel parking" (not Detroit, I guess), well, if you don't know how to parallel park, good news for you, it is legal to park this thing head on. Two fit in a north-east coast parking spot, three in a Texas sized spot.
Well, to be honest, in Texas I wouldn't want that car (although you are sitting almost at SUV height), it's probably still not a highway cruiser.
But the rest of the world is not Detroit, or Texas...
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