2009 Smart Fortwo Brabus on 2040-cars

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Recharge Wrap-up: Smart Silvretta E-Car Rally, Uber's autonomous Teslas

Daimler took part in the 2015 Silvretta E-Car Rally with seven electrified cars from Mercedes-Benz and Smart. It is the automakers' sixth year competing in the competition in the mountains of Austria's Montafon region. Mercedes fielded two B-Class Electric Drives, an SLS AMG Electric Drive, C350e, S500e and GLE500e 4Matic alongside a Smart Brabus Fortwo Electric Drive Cabriolet. The Silvretta Rally sees some 150 vintage cars and 30 electric vehicles take part in the event, which took place from July 2 through 5 this year. Read more in the press release from Daimler below. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick says that he'd want to buy all of Tesla's autonomous vehicles if they were available in 2020. Venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson relayed Kalanick's comments from the Top 10 Tech Trends dinner in June. Jurvetson also praises self-driving cars, saying, "I believe they are already safer than my parents, and I would trust my kids with them. And they're just going to get better." Jurvetson also believes that taxi services will prosper from the use of autonomous cars in the future. Read more at Hybrid Cars. A Michigan legislator has introduced a bill that would count burning industrial solids — such as tires and plastics — toward the state's renewable energy mandate. Aric Nesbitt's bill would "remove unnecessary burdens on the appropriate use of solid waste as a clean energy source" in order to meet the state's requirement that 10 percent of energy come from renewable sources. Critics argue that these materials are not truly renewable, and that burning them causes pollution and emits greenhouse gases. The proposed bill would also repeal a law requiring utilities to work toward reducing energy use by one percent per year. Read more at Treehugger. Will the cars National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) builds in China bear the Saab name? While NEVS is the newest parent company to Saab after being acquired in bankruptcy from Spyker, there's no confirmation that the electric vehicles it builds at its Tianjin plant will be sold as Saabs. Swedish defense firm Saab AB, which held the rights to the Saab name, withheld permission to use it after NEVS declared bankruptcy last year. "The exact models and brands are not finalized yet," says a NEVS spokesman. The company says it is spending $200 million to build the new factory in China, with an expected annual capacity of 200,000 vehicles. Read more at Automotive News Europe.

No FWD Smart crossover in the works, but two concepts headed for Frankfurt

If you're a fan of Daimler's Smart brand, here is some potentially good news for you today. First, a pair of concept vehicles will be on display at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month previewing the next-gen Fortwo and Forfour models, and more interestingly, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche has stated that are no plans to offer a front-engine, front-drive vehicle for the Smart brand, both reports according to Autocar.
There has been no shortage of concept vehicles from Smart in recent years, but with the Fortwo and Forfour due out in the next year or two, these concepts could be pretty close to the production designs. As for future products beyond these two models, Zetsche told Autocar the rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout is a "defining feature" for Smart, and a future crossover model will be based on the new Forfour platform rather than sharing its platform with a more conventional product in the Daimler portfolio.

Daimler's Car2go carsharing service expands to Los Angeles

The Beach Boys typified the Southern California lifestyle by famously singing about hot rods, drag races and convertibles (not to mention surfer girls). So we never would've guessed that their hometown would help host a carsharing service featuring squat two-seaters. But times have changed. Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler is bringing its Car2go carsharing service to Southern California on June 6, marking the service's 14th market in North America and its 27th worldwide. Car2go, which features Smart ForTwo two-seaters (almost exclusively) and has more than 700,000 users worldwide, is actually making it a South Bay affair, offering the service in the 28-square-mile area that ranges from El Segundo to Lomita and includes the Beach Boys' hometown of Hawthorne. Fun, fun, fun indeed. Car2go, which says it will provide the Los Angeles region's "first point-to-point" carsharing service, will make 150 ForTwos available at a rate of 41 cents a minute and is offering free registration and 30 minutes of free cruising for a limited period of time. Car2go started service in Rome in mid-March and has been adding new cities at quite a clip since starting out in Ulm, Germany, in 2008. It debuted stateside in Austin, TX in 2009. Check out Car2go's press release about its Los Angeles South Bay operations below, and get more LA details here. car2go Expands Network In Southern California With Point-to-Point Carsharing In The South Bay First Point-To-Point Service in the Los Angeles Region to Be Available On June 6th Free Registration Begins Today For a Limited Time AUSTIN, Texas, May 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- car2go North America LLC, the fastest-growing global carsharing company, announced today that it will be expanding its network in Southern California with its pioneering point-to-point carsharing service in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County on June 6th, marking the South Bay as car2go's 14th market in North America and the first in the Los Angeles region. Beginning today, car2go will offer free member registration along with 30 minutes of drive time credit for a limited time at LA.car2go.com using the promotional code SURF. "We are thrilled to become part of the South Bay community by providing the most convenient, true point to point and technologically-advanced carsharing service in the world," said Nicholas Cole, President and CEO of car2go North America.