Mayor of Tbingen Germany gets a new Micro-Hybrid Smart ForTwo

On time for the start of his new climate protection campaign entitled "Tübingen goes green. 10% less CO2 by 2010" Boris Palmer, the mayor of Tübingen has taken delivery of his new business car - a smart fortwo micro hybrid drive (mhd). The administrative head of the university town opted for a smart – a brand now sold successfully in 37 countries – first and foremost for environmental reasons. With its innovative start/stop function the smart fortwo mhd is particularly economical and consumes just 4.3 litres of fuel over 100 kilometres (CO2 emissions: 103 g/km). It therefore meets the high ecological demands of the committed Green Party politician in the executive seat of the historic town on the river Neckar.

Ecological projects are very important to the 35-year old mayor and this is why he always drives cars that are particularly climate-friendly. Last year at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt he ordered a smart fortwo mhd as his personal business vehicle. To mark the start of a new campaign with which Boris Palmer aims to reduce CO2 emissions in Tübingen by ten percent by 2010, he took delivery of the most economical petrol variant of the compact smart fortwo.

Boris Palmer says "The smart fortwo is the ideal car for towns and cities and the start/stop function now makes it even more environmentally friendly - because why should I pollute the environment when I'm stationary at traffic lights? I look forward to driving my new car." The smart fortwo micro hybrid drive rated at 52 kW/71 bhp features a clever start/stop system that uses the engine's idling phases. In conjunction with slightly modified gear ratios, this leads to a fuel saving of approximately 8 percent in the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC). The standard consumption is reduced by 0.4 litres – from 4.7 litres to 4.3 litres per 100 kilometres. There is also a corresponding reduction in CO2 emissions from 112 grams to 103 grams per kilometre. Depending on the traffic situation, e.g. heavy slow urban traffic, a fuel saving of up to 19 percent can even be achieved.

Anders Jensen, responsible for smart brand management says "The smart fortwo mhd is a clever and affordable fuel-saving solution for customers which we were able to realise in a short space of time." This is the fundamental idea of the smart brand. smart was created because we asked what the car of the future should be like - how much space it should take up in our towns and cities, how fast it should drive, what impact it should have on the environment. With its well-directed use of resources and the conscious use of energy the mhd embodies this guiding principle."

To achieve this, the new smart fortwo micro hybrid drive automatically shuts down the engine whenever it would normally be combusting fuel in idle position. At traffic lights, level crossings or in stop-and-go traffic - as soon as the driver releases the brake pedal the engine starts automatically and the journey can continue immediately. The driver doesn't need to do anything out of the ordinary. In conjunction with the automated manual transmission that comes as standard, the new start/stop technology guarantees comfortable and straightforward driving with reduced fuel consumption.