2015 Smart Fortwo Passion Coupe on 2040-cars

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Geely and Mercedes-Benz invest $780 million to make electric Smart cars

BEIJING/SHANGHAI — Zhejiang Geely and Mercedes-Benz on Wednesday said they would each invest $388.77 million (2.7 billion yuan) in a China-based venture to build "premium and intelligent electrified" vehicles under the Smart brand. The 50:50 venture has received regulatory approval and will be based in the Chinese coastal city of Ningbo, the Chinese and German automakers said in a statement. Like Mercedes-Benz, smart is a Daimler marque. The venture will have manufacturing capacity in China and sales operations in China and Germany, the automakers said. Geely will lead in engineering the cars while Mercedes-Benz will take charge of their overall look, they said. The partners will each have three executives on the board of directors, with Geely's Tong Xiangbei becoming the venture's global chief executive. Geely has expanded rapidly through mergers and acquisitions since buying Sweden's Volvo in 2010 from U.S. parent Ford. In 2018, it built a stake of almost 9.7% in Daimler and set up a ride-hailing venture in China with the Stuttgart-based carmaker. Its latest announcement comes just over a month after China's Great Wall and Germany's BMW formed a venture to build electric Mini-branded cars in China, the world's biggest market for electrified vehicles where demand for smaller EVs is on the rise. Related Video:

Car2go NA's new CEO says carsharing service will upgrade tech

Since its first car was shared in the US in 2009, Car2go has seen tremendous growth and a steadily increasing number of users. Car2go is the largest carsharing company in the world today, and the company's North American division just got a new president and CEO: former marketing and sales manager Paul DeLong (pictured, above right). DeLong announced his new position in a letter to Car2go users and said that the company is working on some "key service upgrades" for the ways that the cars connect to Car2go's servers and will soon be using "local mobile providers and 3G networks, resulting in a faster connection when members begin and start their trip." The first city to get upgraded is Seattle. Announcing car2go's new CEO with some key service upgrades planned for you. Today, I have officially transitioned into a new role as the CEO and President of car2go North America. Joining car2go when it was first introduced in Austin in 2009 was the best decision that I've ever made, and as I kick off my first day as CEO today, I would like to share with you what we have in the pipeline for our valued members in the coming months, as well as my thoughts on car2go's bright future. • Our service is getting a speed upgrade. Currently, we are operating a massive switch to introduce technology that will allow us to use local mobile providers and 3G networks, resulting in a faster connection when members begin and start their trip. In fact, we are actively working on this in Seattle at this moment. • Accelerated development with new product features. The past two weeks, we have been working hard to migrate our IT systems to a high-performance cloud-based solution, which will accelerate the development of product updates for our services, and improve and scale our business in all of our cities worldwide. While the upgrades to the new and improved technology have been significant, we realize that they have not been easy. Some members may have been affected recently by disruptions to our service, but we would like to reassure you that all of these investments in our technology will make the car2go experience live up to your expectations. At car2go, we don't strive for just "OK," we strive to be a trusted partner that helps you get from Point A to Point B with ease.

Brabus Utimate E brings unlikely machismo to the Smart EQ cabrio

German tuner Brabus typically works its horsepower-enhancing magic and visual, ah, ministrations on already-muscular machines such as the Mercedes-Benz G-wagen and the Mercedes-AMG GT 4-door. But Brabus also has put its special touch on other Daimler models, up to and including the Smart Fortwo. The latest Smart to get the Brabus touch is the newly updated 2020 Smart EQ ForTwo Cabrio, which becomes the Brabus Ultimate E. If you're thinking 800 horsepower, like in the Brabus versions of those other two models, think again. The Ultimate E has 92 horses in its corral, but that's better than the 80 horsepower in the regular version. Naturally, with 92 horsepower, the two-seat city car can't quite match the sub-3-second 0-to-62-mph time of the Brabus 800 (although that would be fun). Instead, how about a sub-11-second time? The Ultimate E reaches 62 mph in 10.9 seconds, which beats the standard car's 11.9-second run. The Brabus-tuned electric motor also spins out 133 lb-ft of torque, an increase of 15 lb-ft over the standard version. Brabus claims a range of 78 miles. Characteristically, the Brabus treatment extends beyond the mechanicals. The Ultimate E presents a more pugnacious face to the world with its redesigned front bumper treatment with a honeycomb mesh pattern and red lower splitter. The restyled rear bumper incorporates a diffusers look, again with red accents, and there is a red lower skirt along the bodyside. Wider bodywork allows for 18-inch wheels with ultra-low-profile 205/35 front and 235/30 rear tires, and Brabus has retuned the suspension accordingly. Open the door and you're greeted with "Brabus" illuminated door sills, and more badging on the seatbacks, floor mats, and shifter. The seat feature red contrast stitching in a honeycomb pattern and red accents appear elsewhere in the cabin. This mean, green electric machine is destined to stay in Europe, as Smart has given up on the U.S. market. Maybe a Brabus-ized ForTwo could have turned things around, although Americans seem more likely to embrace the 800-hp Brabus G-wagen. Related Video: