2015 Smart Fortwo on 2040-cars

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Porsche, Jaguar continue dominance in 2015 JD Power APEAL study

The top of JD Power's 2015 APEAL Study has not changed much in the last year. Porsche remains No. 1 with Jaguar nipping at its heels, although both premium brands saw their overall score fall compared to 2014. For those that need a refresher, the APEAL Study looks at how "gratifying" a vehicle is to own and drive, rating cars and brands on a 1,000-point scale. The industry average for 2015 has increased from 794 to 798, while the total number of automakers that finished above the curve increased from 16 to 20. While Porsche and Jaguar finished at the top, their scores dropped eight and seven points, respectively, to 874 and 855. The top "non-premium" brand was Mini, which scored an impressive 825, up from 795. If the BMW-owned British marque is still a bit too premium for your tastes, last year's non-premium winner, Hyundai, did climb five points and is this year's runner up. At the opposite end of the scale, Smart sits at the very bottom of the rankings, with a score of 683 (it didn't appear on the 2014 rankings). Fiat also dropped, from fourth worst in 2014 to second worst in 2015, despite the 500 being named most appealing city car. Subaru made an impressive climb, from third worst to seventh, falling just 10 points shy of the industry average and two points south of the non-premium average. In the individual vehicle segments, eight brands earned multiple awards, with Ford, Chevrolet, and Porsche earning three apiece. Surprise segment victories included the new Ford Expedition, which beat out Chevy's popular Suburban. The Infiniti QX80 bested the likes of the Cadillac Escalade and Range Rover for best large luxury SUV, and the Dodge Challenger beat its muscle car rivals from Ford and Chevy. Most of the victories, though, were quite predictable. The Mazda6 and CX-5 took wins for the midsize sedan and compact SUV categories respectively, while the Volkswagen Golf captured the compact car win. The Ford F-150 won the large pickup category, while the Porsche Cayman was named most appealing compact premium sporty car. Check out the official release on the 2015 APEAL Study, available below, from JD Power. 2015 U.S. APEAL Study Results The latest safety-related technologies are among the drivers of customer satisfaction with new vehicles, according to the J.D. Power 2015 U.S.

New Smart Fortwo and Forfour teased in promo video

Smart is just about ready to launch the all-new generations of the Fortwo and Forfour. It might be hard to get excited for a car with such a mixed reputation, but the company has high expectations for the updated models. In a new video, Smart teases some nearly final prototypes during arctic testing in Sweden.
Both new vehicles share a rear-engine, rear-wheel drive platform with the new Renault Twingo in Europe. The models in the video look quite tiny, and that isn't an optical illusion. Both cars are reportedly smaller than their predecessors. Even the already minuscule Fortwo is supposedly about six inches shorter than the original.
Both of them are rumored to go on sale sometime later this year, and even the Smart chief engineer in the video says, "The car is ready to be launched." Unfortunately, we probably won't get both models stateside. While the new Fortwo will come to the US, the Forfour likely won't make it here. Scroll down to get an early look at the next generation versions sliding around in the snow and ice.

Car2go finds huge customer base waiting in China

Car2go appears to be struggling a bit in the US – ending its electric fleet in San Diego and not announcing any expansions here for a while now – but the news is different in China. After just two months of operations in Chongqing, China, Car2go is serving 78,000 customers. As the company itself admits in the press release below, that's almost as many as use Car2go in a North American or European city after five years in business. There, about 100,000 to 130,000 people use Car2go. Chongqing is Car2go's first location in Asia. Of course, population numbers are different in China. As they say, if you're one in a million in China, there are still 1,000 people just like you. And while you may not have heard of Chongqing, it's a metropolis of 30 million people. The biggest city in the US, New York, has about 20 million in its metropolitan area. And yet, for 30 million potential users and 78,000 actual ones, Car2go offers them just 400 vehicles. Since Car2go has served over 40,000 rentals in its first two months, that means someone is stepping into a blue-and-white Smart Fortwo every 1.7 minutes, on average. Car2go has been thinking about offering short-term A-to-B rentals in China since at least 2014, when we came across a Car2go booth at the Challenge Bibendum there. Related Video: After less than two months, car2go has 78,000 customers in China 07. June 2016 Stuttgart/Chongqing car2go makes free-floating car sharing popular in the Chinese metropolis Chongqing More than 40,000 rentals in the first few weeks A car2go vehicle is rented every 1.7 minutes in Chongqing Stuttgart/ Chongqing – In less than two months, more than 78,000 customers have registered with car2go in China. For comparison: After between four to five years, the biggest car2go locations in Europe and North America have approximately 100,000 to 130,000 registered customers per city. More than 40,000 vehicle rentals within this period mean that one of the 400 car2go vehicles in Chongqing is rented every 1.7 minutes. With this start, car2go has created an important alternative to owning one's own car and thus a valuable addition to the local public transport system in Chongqing with its 30 million inhabitants. "The start in Chongqing far exceeds our expectations", says Roland Keppler, CEO of car2go.