Smart, is the cute car manufacturer from Daimler bunch of companies
Background: Smart actually was a joint venture between Daimler and Swatch (yes, the Swiss watch maker) to make small, fuel and space efficient cars
And indeed they did and came out with the Fortwo in 1998 which was later upgraded to the next generation in 2008
The Car: Fortwo as the name suggests is a small set of wheels basically meant for urban transportation
Engines: 3 options – 999cc petrol , petrol turbo (both sourced from Mitsubishi Motors) and a 799 cc turbo diesel
Safety: Car is pretty safe with Euro NCAP rating of 4 stars
The car is a Rear Engined RWD which helps is reducing the length as well as provide traction easily for this light weight commuter
Lately, even after the gas prices and all the Go Green agenda, sales have dropped considerably for this car
Especially in North America which accounts for a significant percentage of overall sales. And the main reason contributing to the fact is the marketing as well as the lack of real practical use of the car
It can seat just two, has a minimum space for anything else including your grocery and does not have the appeal one would expect for the likes of Mini or a Fiat 500 (well, they are a bit bigger and more powerful but comparable)
So, Smart came out with some new stickers and Brembo fittings to boost the sales
The real hope though is the Fortwo Electric for which production will start soon and will be launched all over commercially by 2012.
Hopefully Going Green should help Smart clock sales which would further open new avenues for newer models.
So instead of buying a For Two , waiting for the Electric model (which should come out very soon) makes hell more sense. And trust the rumors, its quite good..
Dwheels 