2014 Smart Fortwo on 2040-cars

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Smart considering Forfour-based SUV

Can we interest anyone in the idea of a rear-engined SUV? Because that's what Daimler is reportedly considering for its Smart brand. According to Autocar, a crossover could be the next addition to the Smart lineup. It'd be based on the same architecture as the Smart Forfour and Renault Twingo, which are built on a rear-engined platform that gives the steering rack up front more range of motion to provide the vehicle a tight turning radius. Because the Smart and Twingo don't share much with other products in either automaker's stable, they're said to be eagerly looking for ways to make the most of their investment, and spinning off a sport-ute variant could be just the ticket. The resulting crossover could end up a little longer than the Forfour and Twingo, owing to more rugged bumpers, but would likely pack the same three-cylinder engines (in atmospheric and turbo guises) and choice of five-speed manual or six-speed dual-clutch transmissions. Whether the platform could be modified to accommodate all-wheel drive as well remains a big question mark, but we'd point out that Audi managed to squeeze its Quattro system into the A1 even though the VW Polo platform on which it was based was never designed for it. Renault could prove eager to get in on the project as well with a version of its own, giving both automakers a worthwhile challenger to the nimble little Fiat Panda 4x4. The bigger question is whether it would ever make its way to US showrooms. Currently the smaller Fortwo is the only Smart being offered in North America, with the Forfour not earmarked for these shores – and Renault of course doesn't market here altogether.

Someone starts a new Car2go carsharing trip every 2.5 seconds

In the fall of 2009, a big idea using little cars got its US start in Austin, TX. That's when Daimler's Car2go carsharing program first came to North America after its global debut in Ulm, Germany. The idea was simple: let people rent a car for just a few minutes at a time, and let them end their rental when they got to wherever it was they were going (within limits). It sure seemed to make sense, but would Americans like short-term rentals in the little Smart cars? Four years later, we thought we'd ask where things stand. Car2go has more than 600,000 members, who have taken 18 million trips total and a new one every 2.5 seconds. Daimler started with a fleet of 200 Smart Fortwos in Austin (and a similar number in Ulm) and has now become, "the largest global carsharing company," according to J. Paul DeLong, the chief marketing officer of Car2go NA. You can now step into one of 10,000 Car2go Fortwos in 25 cities in seven countries (sadly, not all using the same account). DeLong told AutoblogGreen that, with, "more than 600,000 total worldwide members," 18 million trips total and a new trip starting every 2.5 seconds, Car2go is "fast on Zipcars heels." Car2go's push and pull with Zipcar looms big on DeLong's mind. He said that 73 percent of Car2go members in the US are not members of any other carsharing program. "So," he said, "think about how the Car2go one-way model has been able to attract more people to carsharing, because the classical carsharing was not attractive for them to join or not practical for their use. I love this stat, because everybody assumes that Car2go is piggy backing on the existing carsharing companies. It shows also that there is a lot of room for growth without having to engage existing classical carsharing member bases." We've got the breakdown of the membership numbers for Car2go North American locations below. According to DeLong, here are the official membership numbers for Car2go: North America: Austin: +32,000 San Diego: +24,000 DC: +30,000 PDX: +19,000 MIA: +18,000 SEA: +35,000 DEN: +16,000 VAN: +44,000 TOR: +25,000 CAL: +42,000 Minneapolis, Columbus, and Montreal member numbers have not been released. Europe: +320,000 members Three locations have an all-electric fleet with a total of 1,200 vehicles: Stuttgart San Diego Amsterdam Related Gallery Calgary Car2go News Source: Car2go Green smart Transportation Alternatives zipcar car2go austin

2016 Smart Fortwo

In the sixteen years since Daimler first introduced the Smart car, the micro city car market has grown significantly to the extent that the urban-oriented brand doesn't just have more competition to contend with these days than it did in the late 90s; for the first time it has real competition on its hands altogether. In other words, while the Smart Fortwo once had the micro city car market almost entirely to itself, new rivals have emerged to challenge its dominance.
It may be a long time, if ever, before slightly larger contenders like the Scion iQ and Volkswagen Up! catch up to the 1.6-million units Smart has moved since it first hit the market back in 1998, somehow never managing to turn a profit along the way. But the bottom line is that Smart's position in the market is far from assured, especially relying, as it has, on the same architecture for over a decade and a half.
So after strongly hinting at the way forward with a series of show cars, Daimler revealed the all-new Smart Fortwo and its bigger brother, the Forfour, in July ahead of its debut at last month's Paris Motor Show. With both the brand's future and its supremacy in the urban mobility market hanging in the balance, we boarded a flight to Barcelona to see what Daimler had up its short sleeve. What we found was a two-seat city car that's not just a substantial improvement over the model it replaces, but an altogether different beast- one which doesn't aspire to be everything to everyone, but just might be what drivers in the world's densest urban cores will need... and little more.