Smart (automobile)

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Smart (formerly MCC smart) is a brand of microcars and superminis based in Böblingen, Germany. The name of the company, part of DaimlerChrysler, was changed from Micro Compact Car GmbH to Smart GmbH in September 2002. It is marketed as the "smart" in all lower case, as in the logo. The current smart brand logo (seen on the right) denotes a C for "Compact" and an arrow for "forward thinking".

Contents 1 Company history 2 Models 3 smart in North America 3.1 Canada 3.2 United States 3.3 Mexico 4 smart in popular culture 5 Criticism 6 Safety 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Company history

The original idea behind the very short "smart car" is that the vehicle is easy to park. It is short enough to allow it to be parked "nose-in" where a conventionally sized car would have to parallel park. Its length of 2.5m (98.4 in) equals the width of a truck or a regular parking slot, allowing two or three smarts to park in the same space as one normal car if parked side-on to the usual parking direction.

The project idea was originally supported by Swiss watch manufacturer Swatch, and was nicknamed the "Swatchmobile". The name SMART is an acronym for Swatch Mercedes ART [3][4]. The car was supposed to use innovative features (such as a hybrid engine) and to be an affordable car for young people. Similar to the objective for the Citroën 2CV in the 1940s, its purpose was to "transport two people and a case of beer".

Being inexperienced in automobiles, Swatch CEO Nicolas Hayek sought an established car maker to produce his Swatch car, and found a partner in Volkswagen. Plans never reached a final stage so Swatch teamed up with Daimler-Benz. The purpose-built factory complex Smartville in Hambach, Lorraine, France, was established in 1994 as a joint-venture of Daimler-Benz and the Swiss watch manufacturer Swatch.

An Australian dealer web site provides the following summary of the beginnings of the product:

"How everything begun: In 1993 Mercedes-Benz started a feasibility study on a subcompact car. Together with the Swatch Group Ltd. they founded the Micro Compact Car AG in 1994. The smart city-coupé celebrates its world première at the IAA in Frankfurt (Germany) in 1997 and is one year succesfully launched in nine European countries. By now, the smart is available in 25 countries all over the world and was sold over 750.000 times."

The final car design proved to be far from Hayek's expectations: its engine technology was more expensive than many small 4 and 5 seater cars sold in Europe. The joint venture experienced heavy losses and Swatch pulled out.

In 2005, DaimlerChrysler decided against purchasing a 50% share in the Dutch NedCar plant used to manufacture the Forfour supermini. DC also halted development on the Formore and decided to discontinue production of the Roadster.

In 2006, after dwindling sales DaimlerChrysler announced that it would also cancel the Forfour and redesign the Fortwo to debut in Europe in 2007.

An electric, rechargeable version is being released in the UK, by a separate company, as a lease vehicle on a limited basis.

[edit] Models

Apart from the original short smart Fortwo, a sporty smart Roadster and a supermini smart Forfour were also offered. These have now been discontinued. There were also plans to introduce a small off-roader called the Formore but development of this was cancelled as a result of spending cutbacks.

• Fortwo
• Forfour
• Roadster
• Formore
• smart EV (At the moment only trialing, expected for Q3 2007 in UK) News article

[edit] smart in North America

[edit] Canada

The smart Fortwo was introduced in Canada in late 2004 and sold through Mercedes-Benz dealers. Only the 799cc turbo-diesel powerplant (CDI) is available for the time being for the coupe and convertible models because of emission regulations for the gasoline engines dictated by Transport Canada. Demand has been heavy with up to six month waiting lists in major urban areas in the spring of 2005. The vehicle has been especially popular for light errand running for small shops and businesses, with many carrying custom paint jobs or stick-on graphics boldly advertising the associated product or service. However, recently the demand seems to have tapered off^{[citation needed]}, and some 2005 smart Fortwos have popped up in the used car market. Canadian smart CDIs cannot be registered in the US.

[edit] United States

Smart cars are currently only available in the United States as "grey market" imports. U.S. federal regulations allow certain grey market importing in large quantities provided the vehicles are modified and tested to conform to U.S. safety and emissions regulations. Smart cars are imported into the United States by The Defiance Company LLC, modified by G&K Automotive Conversion, and distributed and sold by independent dealerships which are not affiliated with Mercedes. U.S. regulations do not permit the purchase and import of used smart vehicles from Canada, as the diesel powered Canadian smarts do not meet American emissions regulations.

In June 2006, Daimler-Chrysler confirmed that smart will be officially launched in the United States in 2008. The cars will be offered through dealership holding company UnitedAuto Group, which is to create a new U.S. dealership network for the brand under the name smart USA.^[1] Initially, only an updated Fortwo will be offered. The new model made its debut in at European auto shows in November 2006.

Hybrid Technologies plans to sell an electric version of the smart vehicle in the U.S. starting at $35,000. It is being called a hybrid car even though the vehicle is all-electric. The electric smart car will have a range of 120 to 150 miles, a top speed of 80 mph, and charge in 5 to 6 hours using a standard 110V AC outlet. An electric smart is currently undergoing testing in the UK and will only be offered to commercial clients as a trial for the time being.^[2]

[edit] Mexico

Smart offers the Forfour and the Fourtwo coupé in Mexico.

[edit] smart in popular culture

Smart vehicles were used by the main characters in the following films:

• Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London
• A Good Year
• Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties
• Just Married
• Maybe Baby
• Salaam Namaste
• Scary Movie 4
• Scoop
• The Pink Panther
• The Da Vinci Code

• The Fortwo car has been used in several commercials for the Wii.

[edit] Criticism

When Daimler-Chrysler announced the sale of smart to United States in 2008, a Forbes article claimed that the car is designed for tight European roads, which is not useful in North American traffic. Furthermore, fuel efficiency in the city is lower than the 4-seat Toyota Prius. The accumulated financial loss of the brand is also a sign that the city car concept had not been well received, even in Europe.

[edit] Safety

Smart vehicles use a very small front crumple zone. The main structure of the car is a stiff structure called a Tridion, which is designed to activate the crumple zones (if any) of a colliding vehicle.^[3] This design creates a very strong safety cell around the passengers. However, it also subjects them to higher forces during an accident than in a conventional car.^[4][5]

[edit] See also

• Zytek

[edit] References

1. ^ smart Vehicles Go USA
2. ^ CBS News - "Pull Plug On High Gas Prices"
3. ^ smart USA web site - safety
4. ^ [1] EuroNCAP Crash test
5. ^ [2] EuroNCAP Crash test

[edit] External links

• Smart (official site)
• Smart USA (official site)
• evilution.co.uk Online smart car encyclopaedia
• onSMART the unofficial online smart magazine
• thesmartclub ltd
• FQ101 Smart Car reference and modification site
• Smart Car 101: Photos, News and Specs
• Smart exhibition at the MoMA
• Video representing a Crash Test with a Smart
• smartmania.gr The bigger Smart Club in Greece
• MCC Smart Fortwo Snow Drift Video
• The Smart EV: Coming Soon to the Public? - Electric Version of the Smart.