2016 Smart Fortwo on 2040-cars

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Ouch, that smarts | 2017 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive Cabrio First Drive

Some people don't know when to quit. Chuck Wepner was one of these people. Wepner was famous for two things as a heavyweight boxer in the 1970s: having his face broken open (his nickname was The Bleeder) and going 15 rounds with Muhammad Ali in a title match for the championship. Ali, not surprisingly, beat the living daylights out of Wepner. On a world record list of tolerating senseless brutalization for far too long without admitting defeat or changing tactics, Wepner ranks high. On a list of successes, not so much. Much the same could be said of the Mercedes-Benz urban mobility subsidiary known as Smart. The company has spent almost 10 years in the American market now, building and attempting to sell an unerringly similar recipe of small, uncomfortable, homely, cheap, uninspired, inefficient, overpriced, subpar, fun-colored, rear-engine city vehicles - and has not gained an iota of traction. With all of the power and glory of the three-pointed star behind it, the brand last year ranked in the bottom three of total sales, just above Alfa Romeo, which had no cars to sell, and Bentley, which prides itself on selling as few cars as possible. Sales for 2016 were down 17 percent. They're down nearly 20 percent more from there thus far in 2017. Alfa Romeo has sold more cars. Yet, instead of giving up and going away, the brand has decided to stick around for a few more rounds. One would think that this might demonstrate a willingness to learn from its big mistakes, which include making cars that are worse than anything in or around the their price or size segment – including a lot of great cars like the Honda Fit and Ford Fiesta. And Smart's big move — an announcement that, starting in 2018, it will sell only pure electric vehicles in the States — indicates some sense of prescience and topicality. The EV market is maturing and growing, moving out from early adopters to fast followers and perhaps even beginning to trickle down into the mainstream, so the time seems ripe to jump on the bandwagon. And Mercedes is investing heavily in electric power, planning to develop a full range of vehicles under its EQ sub-brand, so Smart can clearly capitalize on some of that knowhow.

Porsche, Jaguar continue dominance in 2015 JD Power APEAL study

The top of JD Power's 2015 APEAL Study has not changed much in the last year. Porsche remains No. 1 with Jaguar nipping at its heels, although both premium brands saw their overall score fall compared to 2014. For those that need a refresher, the APEAL Study looks at how "gratifying" a vehicle is to own and drive, rating cars and brands on a 1,000-point scale. The industry average for 2015 has increased from 794 to 798, while the total number of automakers that finished above the curve increased from 16 to 20. While Porsche and Jaguar finished at the top, their scores dropped eight and seven points, respectively, to 874 and 855. The top "non-premium" brand was Mini, which scored an impressive 825, up from 795. If the BMW-owned British marque is still a bit too premium for your tastes, last year's non-premium winner, Hyundai, did climb five points and is this year's runner up. At the opposite end of the scale, Smart sits at the very bottom of the rankings, with a score of 683 (it didn't appear on the 2014 rankings). Fiat also dropped, from fourth worst in 2014 to second worst in 2015, despite the 500 being named most appealing city car. Subaru made an impressive climb, from third worst to seventh, falling just 10 points shy of the industry average and two points south of the non-premium average. In the individual vehicle segments, eight brands earned multiple awards, with Ford, Chevrolet, and Porsche earning three apiece. Surprise segment victories included the new Ford Expedition, which beat out Chevy's popular Suburban. The Infiniti QX80 bested the likes of the Cadillac Escalade and Range Rover for best large luxury SUV, and the Dodge Challenger beat its muscle car rivals from Ford and Chevy. Most of the victories, though, were quite predictable. The Mazda6 and CX-5 took wins for the midsize sedan and compact SUV categories respectively, while the Volkswagen Golf captured the compact car win. The Ford F-150 won the large pickup category, while the Porsche Cayman was named most appealing compact premium sporty car. Check out the official release on the 2015 APEAL Study, available below, from JD Power. 2015 U.S. APEAL Study Results The latest safety-related technologies are among the drivers of customer satisfaction with new vehicles, according to the J.D. Power 2015 U.S.

Daimler looks to skirt France's 35-hour workweek

Daimler has a brewing labor battle at its Smart factory in Hambach, France, over just how long the workweek should be. Under a French law enacted in 2000, workers are only required to be on the job 35 hours per week, but recent tweaks to the rule allow for companies to negotiate more flexibility. Now, the automaker is asking employees for 39 hours weekly in exchange for six euros ($6.70) per hour more during the extra time and a one-time bonus of 1,000 euros ($1,117), according to Bloomberg. The plant's labor union isn't taking kindly to Daimler's offer, though. "It's a way to freeze wages without any guarantees in return," union representative Patrick Hoszkowicz said to Bloomberg. One problem is that the six-euro raise during the four extra hours per week is less than France's 9.61-euro ($10.75) minimum wage. A spokesperson for the automaker countered in the report that the changes increase "competitiveness to ensure viability." The outcome of the deal could have major effects for Daimler because the Hambach plant is a major production hub for Smart. The automaker spent millions of euros there in 2009 for the Smart Fortwo Electric Drive. The factory then received another 200 million euro investment in 2013 to prepare for the brand's latest minicar models. While a 35-hour week might sound like a dream to many Americans, it's not even truly the norm in France. According to Bloomberg citing Eurostat data, the average full-time worker there is actually on the job 40.5 hours weekly, an hour less than Europe as a whole.