SMART


Retiring Saturn chief Lajdziak to take over Smart USA sales and marketing

Saturn general manager Jill Lajdziak spent several months this summer and fall working closely with Roger Penske and his staff, trying to iron out the details of the brand's proposed purchase from General Motors. As we all know, that agreement fell apart when Renault's board of directors vetoed a deal to supply cars to a Penske-owned Saturn. When GM decided to shutter Saturn, Lajdziak promptly announced that she would retire from General Motors at the end of this month. Apparently, in spite of the Saturn deal's collapse, Penske was impressed ... Read more →

Spy Shots: Smart ForTwo+2 in the works? Jeremy Korzeniewski

Smart, the German-born automaker that revived the stagnant microcar market in the first place, has seen itself fall behind in the city car wars with Toyota's oh-so-clever iQ taking the top spot with ...

Frankfurt 2009: Smart + Tesla + Brabus = High Voltage Jeremy Korzeniewski

In addition to the Tailor Made concepts that Brabus trotted out for the Frankfurt Motor Show, the German tuning firm also showed off a new version of its electric Smart Fortwo called the Unlimited ...

REPORT: Daimler and Renault collaborating on four-door Smart Jeremy Korzeniewski

Reports of a collaboration between Daimler and Renault on a new four-door model to join the Fortwo in Smart dealerships just won't die, leading us to believe there may be a ring of truth behind ...

Mint.com flowcharts the state of the auto industry Chris Shunk

We all know the state of the auto industry right now, especially with regard to the Detroit three. We'd say it's somewhere between normal and completely screwed. Sales volume has been mostly woeful, ...

IIHS tests roof strength on microcars, Smart Fortwo comes out on top 4 months ago on Autoblog

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has just tested the latest batch of the smallest cars on the market to determine the strength of their roofs in the event of a rollover accident. Coming out on top with a "good" rating was the Smart Fortwo, which isn't all that surprising – due in ...

Triple Play: Mercedes reportedly files patent papers for three-seat Smart 4 months ago on Autoblog

Trying to give buyers more chances to get into a Smart, the company produced a four-seat hatch called the ForFour in 2004. It sold so poorly that the car was axed after just two years. In spite of that, Autocar says that parent Mercedes-Benz has filed patent papers for an embiggened Smart. This ...

Smart Tipping: Amsterdam villains reportedly pushing Fortwos into canals for fun 4 months ago on Autoblog

Note to Smart Fortwo owners in the Netherlands: Don't park your itty-bitty city cars near easily-accessible bodies of water. If you thought the car's errant transmission and its rough-and-tumble shifts were your biggest concern, you've likely never heard of the latest craze sweeping Amsterdam: ...

Smart, or Stupid? Teenager cooks up Michael Jackson microcar tribute 4 months ago on Autoblog

Eric Callisto read the reactions from Michael Jackson fans and decided that the city-sponsored Los Angeles memorial service wasn't enough. So, like any web entrepreneur the Logansport, Indiana native created a site to serve that outpouring. At Ultimate MJ Tribute, fans of the King of Pop can ...

Autoblog Podcast #135 5 months ago on Autoblog

Episode #135 of the Autoblog Podcast is here. Chris, Sam and Dan took time out to chat about GM's fast-moving reorganization, Smart's dubious $99/month deal, raising gas taxes as a better way to increase fuel economy, and Shunk's new car dilemma. To wrap up, we hit a question, and that's it ...

Smart's $99/month 'Cash for Clunkers' deal has a big, dirty secret 5 months ago on Autoblog

Cash for Clunkers won't be official for a few weeks, but some automakers are already looking to cash in on the once in a lifetime opportunity to take up to $4,500 off the price of a new car or truck. Smart is offering its quirky little Fortwo runabout for just $99 per month with the trade-in of a ...

Review: 2009 Smart ForTwo Cabriolet undone by tricky transmission 5 months ago on Autoblog

The Smart ForTwo isn't for shy people. Even though Smart USA has sold about 30,000 of these tiny two-seaters in the U.S., the little rollerskate attracts a lot of attention. On the road or in America's parking lots, the ForTwo is a conversation piece, and people don't hesitate to come up and ...

Fortwo 4 Less: Smart offers first incentives in U.S. 6 months ago on Autoblog

Penske Automotive Group, distributors of the Smart Fortwo here in the United States, recorded an impressive 24,622 total sales of the diminutive city car in 2008 and dealers widely reported that they could have sold even more had they been available. With that in mind, the nascent company set ...

Smart offering 2008 ForTwo owners a transmission upgrade? 7 months ago on Autoblog

If you poll owners (and reviewers) of the Smart ForTwo you'll find one consistent gripe: the transmission. The automated manual gearbox herks, jerks and is about as dynamically pleasing as petting your dog with a broom. Apparently, Smart is listening, and in addition to tweaking the software ...

Wise Choice: The not-so-Smart ForMore SUV that never was 7 months ago on Autoblog

Nearly every automaker on the planet has suffered from bouts of over-reaching and Smart is hardly an exception. Daimler's micro-car division succumbed to the desire to fill every conceivable niche a few years back, unsuccessfully adding roadsters and four-door models to its iconic two-door city ...

Google StreetView inspires copycat Smart ForTwo police patrol in UK 8 months ago on Autoblog

After revolutionizing search, advertising, and e-mail, Google is changing the way police in Greater Manchester keep track of motorists: Filming them a la StreetView. After having seen Google's StreetView car doing its Cylon sweep of everything, everywhere, the local authorities were apparently ...

Daimler's Car2Go program coming to Austin, Texas this fall 8 months ago on Autoblog

Last October we advised you not to hold your breath for Daimler's Car2Go program to come to America. You can breathe again. If you live in Austin, Texas you'll be able to rent a mild hybrid Smart ForTwo by the minute this fall. Austin was chosen because of its university population and its concern ...

Bigger smarts - forfour, forthree, etc. - could be coming 9 months ago on Autoblog

Almost a year ago, 13 people squeezed into a smart fortwo. Yes, they were gymnasts. It might someday be easier to fit more than two people in a fortwo if plans to make a longer version of the most diminutive production car sold in the U.S. come to fruition. Smart head Anders-Sundt Jensen has ...

REPORT: Smart ForTwos orphaned as depositers drop out 9 months ago on Autoblog

Add the smart fortwo to the growing list of products impacted by the economic downturn here in the United States. Last year, the diminutive urban runabout was one of the U.S. market's few bright spots, with its small dealer network moving nearly 25,000 units and busting through sales ...

Geneva Preview: Smart gets Limited Edition Three treatment 9 months ago on Autoblog

Companies often exploit our fondness for Spring in their marketing efforts. There are detergents that smell like flower beds, flora-inspired fashions and candles that give off the soft scent of freshly cut grass. We're a people who like the restorative, born-again qualities of the season that ...

Rendered Speculation: Honda to create mini-hatch for emerging markets 11 months ago on Autoblog

Lost in the jeers following Honda's move to cancel the NSX – a car it could probably sell based solely on its ridiculously wonderful exhaust note – is news that the Big H is planning an A-segment car for markets outside of Japan. Now that the microcar segment is what's cooking, and the ...

Mercedes tries to burst Shuanghuan's tiny Bubble, gives up 11 months ago on Autoblog

Mercedes decided to sue Shuanghuan Automotive for copyright infringement for its Bubble microcar (called the Noble in China), claiming it was a copy of the smart fortwo. BMW then decided to bring its own case against Shuanghuan, citing the Shuanghuan CEO as a blatant facsimile of the BMW X5 (that's ...

BMW loses Clonewars Italian court battle 1 year ago on Autoblog

Take a close look at the image. A court in Italy has just ruled that the crossover pictured above, the five-seat CEO built by Shuanghuan Automobile of Shijiazhuang, China, is not a clone of the BMW X5. Um... yeah. The legal battles began when Shuanghuan introduced their "Noble" last year, a ...

Mercedes-Benz reconsidering A- and B-Class for U.S. 1 year ago on Autoblog

The market for luxury cars is slipping, and stalwarts like Mercedes-Benz are not immune. The German automaker's current projections indicate that overall sales will drop by about 10% for 2008, and '09 isn't shaping up to be any better. On the other hand, one of the few bright spots in the U.S. ...

LA 2008: U.S. smart fortwo BRABUS is officially official 1 year ago on Autoblog

The BRABUS edition of smart's diminutive little fortwo is, as we like to say, officially official as of yesterday when the brand pulled the wraps off the new-for-USA model. Unlike the Europeans who have had access to BRABUS smarts for the last few years, we won't be getting the force-fed ...

Hermes moves on from Veyron, tackles smart fortwo 1 year ago on Autoblog

Hermes has decided to continue its recent trend of modifying iconic cars and celebrating their birthdays. First it was the Bugatti Veyron Fbg by Hermes, followed by a special commemorative edition of the Citroen 2CV for its 60th anniversary. Now, Hermes has taken on the smart fortwo, issuing a ...

SEMA 2008: SMART goes John Deere green 1 year ago on Autoblog

Tom Mutchler at Consumer Reports says his first drive in a SMART reminded him of his John Deere x300 lawn tractor. Slow and noisy, but they both fit in his garage. Apparently, Black Deere LLC had the same impression of the little car and showed up at SEMA with one in John Deere's green and yellow ...

smart fortwo BRABUS coming to America 1 year ago on Autoblog

Those looking for a little bit more punch from their microcars are in luck as smart will begin offering the BRABUS-tuned version of its fortwo in the U.S. beginning in February 2009. News of its impending arrival was apparently emailed to potential smart owners who have already placed ...

Tesla working with Daimler for electric smarts? 1 year ago on Autoblog

Chalk this one firmly in the rumormill category, but Johnathan Bodily over at Street Import Online is reporting that he's seen what appears to be an electric smart fortwo at Tesla's facility in San Carlos plugged into a Tesla-branded charging station. What's more, this particular smart differed ...

Vegas HUMMER dealer switching to SMART 1 year ago on Autoblog

If this doesn't strike you as a sign of the times, you may need to get your eyes checked. The only HUMMER dealership in Las Vegas, the city that invented excess and bling, is shutting its doors. Towbin HUMMER is actually one of the largest HUMMER dealerships in America. So what will they be ...

NYC garages grant smart fortwo cheaper parking rates 1 year ago on Autoblog

In Europe, it's common to see several smart cars sharing a single parallel parking space, with their diminutive front bumpers against the curb and the rear facing traffic. Try that in New York city, and you'll likely get towed. Instead, smart fortwo owners can take advantage of Meyers Parking's ...

smart fortwo Limited 2 on sale this September 1 year ago on Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery of the smart fortwo Limited 2. A very limited car is now available in a new limited edition. The smart fortwo Limited 2 is the sequel to the 2006 original. The only significant mechanical change from a regular passion Coupe or Cabrio is the addition of six-spoke ...

Hold on a sec... BRABUS smart fortwo wins European Cannonball Run? 1 year ago on Autoblog

Click image to enlarge The Cannonball Run that takes place every year in Europe dpesn't have much in common with the Hollywood comedy it takes its name from. In fact, the goal of the modern-day race is not to finish in the least amount of time possible, but to finish with a specific average speed; ...

Shaq buys smart fortwo, wears as shoe 1 year ago on Autoblog

Standing seven feet and one inches tall and weighing in at 375 pounds, Shaquille O'Neal is one big dude. Must drive a big 'ol car then, right? Umm, not exactly. The Phoenix Suns star center has recently been spotted in his newest automotive purchase, a smart fortwo. Seriously. And, surprisingly ...

Thinking Small: Koenigseder wide-body Smart ForTwo 1 year ago on Autoblog

Click for a hi-res gallery of the Koenigseder Smart ForTwo "Wide-body" is a relative term. An SUV or a supercar decked out with a wide-body kit? Pimpin'. But a smart ForTwo? Well, it's wider, sure. Koenigseder is known for modifying big SUVs, but with this kit it's gone decidedly smaller. The ...

IIHS releases official results on the smart fortwo 1 year ago on Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery of the smart fortwo crash tests. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has finally released its official data on the smart fortwo, and it appears that the lil' urban runabout held its own during the IIHS' tests. The fortwo racked up a rating of "good" ...

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Autoblog Podcast #157: Mike Levine trucks along with us.

Mike Levine from PickupTrucks.com joins Chris, Sam, and Dan this week and gets a chance to talk about cars, too! 

 
 

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