Smart EQ fortwo, page #14

Auto blog

New Car2go Regional Access shares carsharing between US, Canada

The 13 various North American Car2go services are about to play together a lot nicer. With the new "Regional Access" plan, every North American Car2go member will be able to use his or her membership from one city in another. This was previously available within the US to US-based members who wanted to use their accounts in another US city, but now US users can drive in the three Canadaian Car2go cities - Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver - and vice versa. Regional Access starts May 5 (so, sadly, not in time for any Star Wars Day shenanigans you may have planned), and does not cost any extra to use. Of course, opening up more cars to the current membership by definition increases the amount of possible Car2go trips, so it makes a lot of sense for Car2go to offer this upgrade for free. Sadly, European cities are not included in this change, but we hope that happens in the near future. If you have a Car2go account but haven't been using it because of recent price hikes (we're looking at you, Austin airport parking), then check out Free2go, an app that tells you which of the Car2go Smart Fortwo vehicles near you need a fill-up. Since Car2go provides users with 20 free minutes if they refill a car with a gas tank that is less than a quarter full, Free2go is a way to get some time credited to your account. This bonus is not applicable in cities with electric Car2go fleets, like San Diego. Dear car2go Member, We are proud to share some exciting news with you. At car2go, we've heard from many of you about the need for more transportation options in your city – and we listened. We've updated our Terms and Conditions and Trip Processes in preparation for more exciting features to come that will enhance your car2go experience. In fact, starting May 5th, 2014, we'll be giving our members the opportunity to take advantage of our first major upgrade (for free!): car2go Regional Access. This allows all North American car2go members to use the car2go service in any of car2go's 13 cities across the U.S. and Canada. So, what does this mean for existing members? As we prepare to expand into more innovative mobility options, all members will be required to accept the new Terms and Conditions and Trip Processes, which will go into effect on May 5th, 2014, more details on the changes can be found in the document here.

San Francisco sees spate of Smart tipping [w/video]

Among the ten commandments of the car guy, near the top is "Thou shalt not mess with thy neighbor's vehicle, regardless of how awful it may be." That said, we can't help but giggle every time we look at the image above.
Apparently, some delinquents in San Francisco, bereft of bovines to tip, have taken to tipping Smart ForTwos, like some absurd, real-life version of the tractor-tipping scene from Cars. Witnesses told KRON-4 in San Francisco that eight people, wearing hoods, were responsible for tipping three Smarts. While the vehicle above was tipped on its rear hatch, the other two were tipped on their side and roof, respectively.
"All of a sudden I just see eight hooded figures walk up to the car," witness Brandon Michael told KRON. "I thought it looked like they were up to no good. And then sure enough they walk up to this smart car right here, all huddle around it, and then lift it up and set it on its hind legs."

Car2go carsharing service will debut in Rome in mid-March

When in Rome, folks can start using Daimler's Car2go car-sharing service. The Mercedes-Benz parent says its car-sharing fleet of Smart Fortwo two-seaters will be available in the Italian capital starting mid-March. Upon the debut, about 300 cars will be available, with another 200 added by April. Lessons in Italian driving gestures will not be included. Still, the service appears to have been well-received in Italy, as Car2go made its Italian debut in Milan just this past August. The Rome service, which is technically a joint-venture between Car2go and Europcar, covers about 40 square miles and costs 29 euro cents (about 40 cents US) per minute. The company says it will provide the city's first car-sharing service in which the vehicle can be picked up and dropped off at different locations. With Rome on board, Car2go is available in 26 global cities, including London, Berlin, Vienna and Munich. Car2go has a fleet of 10,500 vehicles (including 1,200 Smart Fortwo ED electric vehicles) and services more than 600,000 customers worldwide. Car2go debuted in Ulm, Germany in 2008 and started US service in Austin, Texas in the fall of 2009. The service became available in Montreal last October. Check out Car2go's press release on its Rome chapter below. car2go starts in Rome Launch in mid-March with initially 300 out of a total of 500 smart fortwos in a business area of around 100 square kilometers Possibility of access to traffic-calmed downtown With Rome, car2go is now present in 26 European and North American cities Ciao Roma! car2go launches in Rome: car2go, the pioneer and market leader in the field of short-duration A to B car rental, is launching its service in the Italian capital in mid-March with 300 smart fortwos. car2go, the pioneer and market leader in the field of short-duration A to B car rental, is launching its service in the Italian capital in mid-March with 300 smart fortwos. An increase to 500 vehicles is already scheduled for April 2014. Following the great success in Milan, Rome is car2go's second city on the Italian market. Rome is the fifth European capital to benefit from flexible car-sharing with car2go. "Rome is the city of the smart and the perfect place for the compact two-seater. With car2go, we are bringing the success story of flexible car-sharing to Rome," comments Thomas Beermann, Managing Director of car2go Europe GmbH, enthusiastically on the new launch.

Consumer Reports says these are the worst new cars of 2014

Consumer Reports has announced its annual list of worst vehicles, a cringe-inducing contrast to its list of top vehicles. Ignominiously leading the way in 2014 is Chrysler, which has a staggering seven models listed.
Jeep nearly sweeps the small SUV segment by itself, with its Compass, Patriot and 2.4-liter version of the new Cherokee, while the only midsize sedans listed by CR were the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Avenger. The new Dodge Dart and the Dodge Journey round out CR's condemnation of Chrysler.
Ford is taking heat as well, with the Taurus, Edge and their counterparts from Lincoln all listed as the worst vehicles in their respective segments. Toyota doesn't fare much better, with its Lexus IS, Scion iQ and tC also making the list.

Next-gen Smart ForTwo, ForFour will be even smaller

As expected, the new four-seat vehicle that Daimler AG's Smart division is will start selling later this year will still be pretty darn short. Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche, speaking at the Mercedes-Benz parent company's annual press conference, disclosed a few details about both the next-generation Smart ForTwo and the new Smart ForFour, according to World Car Fans. The next-generation ForTwo will shrink by about six inches. The ForFour, which the German automaker should unveil this summer before starting sales in Europe by the end of the year, will be tidy 3.5 meters (137.8 inches) long. That's about nine inches shorter than the standard-issue Mini Cooper (we're not even going to compare it to the Clubman) and almost two inches shorter than the Fiat 500. It's also shorter than the original ForFour, which Smart sold from 2004-2006 and was 147.7 inches long. Additionally, Zetsche said the next-generation ForTwo will shrink by about six inches from the current version to a comically short 105.5 inches long. Smart's US sales were just south of the 10,000-unit mark for 2013 (9,264, to be exact), and Smart chief Annette Winkler said last month Daimler was unlikely to sell the Smart ForFour in the US because of domestic automotive regulations and the additional investment it'd take to bring the model stateside. Last February, a new Smart ForFour prototype was spotted being tested in the cold-weather climes of Sweden. Featured Gallery Smart Fourjoy Concept View 11 Photos News Source: World Car FansImage Credit: Smart Green smart smart forfour fortwo

$99/month EV lease deals still out there, in some places

Has the electric-vehicle market really gotten to the point where folks can take out a lease for less than C-note per month? Yes, if you're interested in a Mitsubishi i of Smart ForTwo EV, Plug In Cars has found. As Mitsubishi prepares to bring in the 2015 model-year version of the i, it's unloading some of the 2013s for as little as $69 a month in some areas, bringing in a bit of deja vu for those who remember the $69 monthly lease rate some Mitsubishi dealers were asking for early last year. Meanwhile, a Smart EV can be had for $99 (discounted from $139 a month), with a $900 down payment, at at least one Connecticut dealership. Moving up to $139 a month could get you into a new Nissan Leaf, albeit with a honking' down payment of about $6,600. Chevrolet Spark EVs can be found in California and Oregon for as little as $199 a month. And both the Fiat 500e and Honda Fit EV can be found at some dealerships with lease rates in the mid-two-hundreds per month. The upper end of the plug-in scale - a Tesla Model S - still runs north of $1,000 a month (before you apply Tesla's various calculations to get to their "effective monthly cost"). But when you can afford to drive a Tesla, who's really counting? Featured Gallery 2012 Mitsubishi i: First Drive View 20 Photos News Source: Plug In CarsImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Sebastian Blanco / AOL Green Mitsubishi smart Electric ev sales lease i-miev i mitsubishi i smart fortwo ed

ACEEE's greenest car for 2014 is Smart Fortwo electric, Tesla Model S just average

Every year, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) looks into the soul of the American automobile market and figures out which vehicles are evil. This is how it comes up with a "meanest" vehicle rating. Wait, no, that's not right. In reality, ACEEE rates vehicles using Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board fuel economy data and "other specifications reported by automakers" to find both the meanest and greenest vehicles of the year. In other words, the least and the most efficient. For 2014, the greenest vehicle is the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive while the meanest is the Class 2B Ram 2500. The results are published over on Greener Cars. The highest possible score in ACEEE's formula would result in 100, but the Smart ED won with a 59, showing just how much further the industry has to go to really green up its act, according to ACEEE. Aside from fuel use, ACEEE looks at pollution - particulates, greenhouse gases, etc. - from vehicle and fuel production and its effect on health. The average vehicle, ACEEE says, scores a 37 while those mean ones only manage a 17 or so. It's interesting to note that 59 is the highest score ACEEE has ever handed out, but the calculations were also changed for 2014 (detailed PDF here). Oh, and in case you were curious about the ever-popular Tesla Model S? The ACEEE said the 85-kWh model was totally average with 37 points, mostly because it's so heavy. Other highly ranked green vehicles this year included the Prius family (shocker) as well as the Honda Civic Hybrid, the Mitsubishi Mirage and the Lexus CT 200H. Last year, the Toyota Prius C was named the greenest vehicle and Ford drove away with the meanest title, thanks to three vehicles, the F-350 FFV and F-250 FFV trucks and the E-350 Wagon van. You can see winners of earlier years here and this year's rankings below.

Perennially troubled Smart USA probably won't get new 4-seat model

Smart, the Daimler-owned brand that has done nothing but struggle in the US market, probably won't be getting a larger model. A new four-seater called the ForFour is slated to go on sale in Europe later this year.
A final decision hasn't been made on US sales of the ForFour, but according to the head of Smart, Annette Winkler, there are concerns that the cost of homologating the car for the North America wouldn't be made back quickly. "There are other regulations to comply with, and to achieve what is needed here costs extra money," Winkler told Automotive News Europe.
Smart's sales were down seven percent, to below 10,000 units, last year. That doesn't mean the brand isn't important, though. According to Mercedes-Benz USA's CEO, Steve Cannon, the brand is a solid niche unit, and should prove effective at padding MB's average fuel economy in the coming years as more stringent CAFE standards come into effect, according to ANE. There's also the fact that killing Smart would mean paying off nearly 100 Mercedes dealers that sell the microcar...

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

Limited edition Smart Fortwo Citybeam on sale this month, at dealers in April

It ain't exactly a Pontiac Trans Am and the Screaming Eagle, but Daimler is trying to get a little sportier with its Smart Fortwo vehicle line. On January 15, Smart will start taking orders for the Citybeam limited edition Fortwo in Europe. The starting price is 14,490 euros (about $20,000) and the special version of the little-bitty two-seater will start deliveries to European dealers in April. No word on when or whether they'll grace our highways, but many limited editions like this one have been Euro-only in the past. Exterior colors for the Citybeam include light blue, silver metallic and matt anthracite (that's black to you and me). The headlamps will be titanium-colored. Looking for three-double-spoke alloy wheels and extra wide rubber on the road? Check. There will also be upgraded seats and an improved instrument panel. Daimler, which also owns Mercedes-Benz, unveiled the Smart ForTwo Citybeam at the Brussels Motor Show on Friday. The Citybeam will be available as both a coupe and convertible in both in both gas and electric versions. The gas version includes a regular 70-horsepower and a turbocharged 82-horsepower version, while the electric delivers 74 horsepower. Check out Smart's press release below. New special model smart fortwo edition citybeam: Short, sporty and exclusive Stuttgart/Brussels, Jan 10, 2014 A dynamic exterior and a sporty, elegant interior: the new special model smart fortwo edition citybeam makes a sporty statement with bodypanels in metallic or matt paintwork, tridion safety cell in silver and three-double-spoke alloy wheels with wide tyres. In the interior the exclusive black seats in leather optic with crystal grey fabric inserts in the backrest and crystal grey stitching catch the eye. Ordering of the smart fortwo edition citybeam starts on 15 January 2014 with prices from ˆ14,490. The special model is available as a coupe and a cabrio and will reach dealers in April 2014. Customers can choose between either a combustion engine or an electric motor. The latest smart fortwo special model that celebrates its premiere at the Brussels Motor Show on 10 January 2014 has been christened "edition citybeam". The smart citybeam is an individual model from smart with a distinctive character at attractive prices.