2009 Smart Fortwo Brabus on 2040-cars

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Daimler to sell half its stake in Smart to Geely, Reuters reports [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Reuters on Tuesday reported that Daimler AG is nearing the sale of a 50 percent stake in its small-car brand Smart to China's Geely Automobile Holdings, the Financial Times said on Tuesday, citing three people familiar with the matter. The sale will be confirmed before the Shanghai Auto Show in April, FT said. Both Daimler and Geely declined a Reuters request for comment. Last year, Geely built up an almost 10 percent stake in Daimler in a $9 billion bet by its chairman and became the biggest shareholder in Daimler. Previous story appears below: A new report from Germany's Handelsblatt says Daimler will decide the fate of its money-losing Smart microcar brand by year's end. Dieter Zetsche and his signature white mustache will retire in May, taking his support for the brand with him, and designated successor Ola Kallenius was steeped in Mercedes-Benz's AMG world of performance cars. Meanwhile, Kartrin Adt, a former Daimler Human Resources VP who took over as head of Smart last September, has yet to formulate a strategy to steer the brand to profitability and has reportedly focused on energizing the brand and looking for a partner in China, including with Volvo owner Geely. "Ola has no history with the Smart," Handelsblatt quotes an unnamed insider as saying, and no scruples about burying the brand. It's not the first time the brand's future has been cast into doubt. Last fall, rumors circulated that Renault was likely to pull the plug on its partnership that created the Smart ForTwo and Renault Twingo, which share a platform. The publication said the brand hit an all-time global sales high of more than 150,000 in 2004, and it's been mostly downhill since then, having never turned a profit since its introduction two decades ago. According to CarSalesBase.com, sales of the ForTwo have dropped from a high of 24,622 in its first year in the U.S. in 2008 to just 1,276 last year. In Europe, Smart sold 62,361 FourTwo models last year, and 97,346 vehicles in total. Smart's latest plan is to convert to an all-electric urban mobility brand, though that might be too costly, and hence the shopping for a partner in China. At the Geneva Motor Show earlier this month, Smart showed what it called the Forease+, a curious two-seater concept and update on the Forease shown last year in Paris. It features a hard fabric shell roof with a soft fabric cover with no side or rear windows and no climate control.

Mind-boggling 2012 Smart ForTwo off-roader listed on Cars & Bids

Smart recently marched into the crossover segment by releasing the #1, but the electric four-seater doesn't look like something you'd want to take off-road. If you're in the market for a go-anywhere Smart, there's a second-generation ForTwo that features an astonishingly long list of off-road-focused modifications (including an eight-inch suspension lift!) currently live on enthusiast auction site Cars & Bids with no reserve. California-based Gotham Garage reportedly built this ForTwo for a show called Car Masters: Rust to Riches that aired on Netflix, and it looks like nothing was deemed off-limits to give the cheeky city car the kind of off-road prowess you'd normally find in a Jeep Wrangler. Riding on 30-inch tires, the ForTwo features a suspension system that's taller and a lot wider than stock, an exoskeleton-type roll cage, a front skid plate, and a 4,000-pound winch, among many other modifications. There is space on the roll cage to mount a gas can and a spare wheel. The end result is a ForTwo that looks like nothing else on the road — and like nothing else off the road, too. Imagine the look on a Ford Bronco driver's face when you zip by in a Smart on the Rubicon Trail. Inside, the little two-seater is surprisingly stock: the only modification is a nine-inch touchscreen. It doesn't sound like the drivetrain was touched, meaning that power comes from a rear-mounted, 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine rated at 70 horsepower and 68 pound-feet of torque. It spins the rear wheels via a five-speed automatic transmission. As of writing, bidding stands at $8,333 with three days left to go; the auction ends on April 25 at 10:30 a.m. California time, which is 1:38 p.m in New York. And, because this is a no-reserve auction, the winning bidder will be the one that takes this one-of-a-kind ForTwo home. There is another ForTwo currently live on Cars & Bids, and this one is pegged on the other end of the Smart spectrum. It's a limited-edition Crossblade, which was a concept car-like evolution of the original ForTwo that was exclusively sold in Europe. It has no doors, no roof, and a wind deflector instead of a windshield, and the example being auctioned has been displayed in the Petersen Automotive Museum.  Related Video

Recharge Wrap-up: Smart celebrates 5 years in China, France wants to quit diesel

Smart celebrated its fifth anniversary in China with a concert and two special editions of the Fortwo. The two editions include a China red version limited to five units and a Chinese New Year edition limited to 666 examples. Smart has 143 dealerships in 77 Chinese cities, with 60,000 cars sold so far. Daimler is also looking to expand its Car2go carsharing network in China using Smart vehicles. The anniversary celebration featured a live concert for 50,000 fans. Read more in the press release below. France has plans to build a nationwide EV charging network and retire diesel cars. Industrial group Bollore plans to build 16,000 public charging points in France, with the blessing of Finance Minister Emmanuel Macron, who says, "Through a private initiative with public support, we are accelerating our route towards having a truly national network of electric car charging points." Valls says, "In France, we have long favored the diesel engine. This was a mistake, and we will progressively undo that, intelligently and pragmatically." Read more at Charged EVs. Ninebot One is a self-balancing, hands-free electric unicycle. Think of it as a one-wheeled, no-hands Segway with some extra features. Like riding a bicycle for the firs time, it requires some getting used to, but the benefits seem worthwhile. Depending on the model, it offers up to nearly 19 miles of range on a single charge. It is fairly compact, using a single, 16-inch tire and it weighs about 30 pounds. Maximum speed ranges from 8 to 12 mph. It uses an app to track your travel and other stats. See what sort of training it takes to ride it in the video below, and learn more at the Ninebot website. A Tesla Model S owner has figured out a way to use a USB mouse with the car's center display. The car detected the mouse when plugged into the USB port, and placed a cursor on the display, allowing the user to control functions with the mouse. Trying some other USB devices, owners found that an external CD drive doesn't work with the audio system, nor does a USB keyboard. However, an owner was able to connect a USB floppy disk drive, for what it's worth. See it in action in the video below or read more at Teslarati. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.