2015 Smart Fortwo Passion Coupe on 2040-cars

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Recharge Wrap-up: Smart Ready for Rent, MOIA comes to US in 2018

Daimler is launching its "Smart Ready to Rent" service in Europe. Beginning this month in German and French cities, the rental scheme bridges the gap between short-term Car2go rentals and longer leases. Customers book the Smart model of their choice – including the emissions-free Electric Drive and the hotter Brabus versions – for a period of one day up to three months. As such, Smart Ready to Rent is useful to those who live outside of an urban center. Users can book a car online or through a dealer, and vehicles are collected and returned at the dealership. Read more at Green Car Congress. Volkswagen will launch its MOIA mobility arm in the US in 2018. The recently announced brand will take on public transportation as a competitor with services such as ride hailing and car sharing. VW is looking into forging partnerships with the likes of technology and ride sharing companies. The automaker also expects to show an electric shuttle-type concept in 2017 for pooling services, but will use the three-row VW Atlas crossover in the meantime until that concept reaches production. Look to see MOIA emerging in major cities along the US coasts. Read more at Automotive News. A new report from Lux Research suggests that most EV batteries are better off being recycled than reused. Once lithium-ion batteries have outlived their usefulness for automotive duty, some automakers (BMW, Nissan, and Toyota included) are looking at ways to use their remaining capacity, such as for stationary energy storage. The new report, though, says that reusing batteries offers "questionable returns on account of reduced performance." Better to be like Tesla, and just recycle them. Read more at Hybrid Cars. Related Gallery Smart ForTwo ED: Paris 2016 View 12 Photos Related Gallery 2018 Volkswagen Atlas Unveiling View 43 Photos News Source: Green Car Congress, Automotive News, Hybrid CarsImage Credit: Copyright 2016 Drew Phillips / AOL Green smart Volkswagen Green Automakers Transportation Alternatives Electric recharge wrapup

3,300 miles in 6 days across 2 countries in a Smart ForTwo

The surprise was when I got the invitation to drive my brand new car to central Mexico. Did I mention that I live in Kansas? Some may wonder why did I get invited to drive my car to another country: smart USA started selling the updated car in September 2015. Smart Mexico as of this writing just started selling the new model. There was going to be a national gathering of smart cars in Mexico, hence the invitation from the smart club in that country to show off the new car. Once I got everything ready the journey began driving southbound, crossing half of Kansas, all of Oklahoma and Texas entirely. The first day I traveled from east central Kansas all the way down to Laredo, Texas. The next day I crossed the border at 5 in the morning. Crossing the south border into Mexico legally is more complicated than one might think: you need to go through customs to get a permit to temporarily import your vehicle, you need extra insurance to cover your car while in that country, proof of ownership of the car or permission from your lien holder, and finally, pay a deposit as a guarantee that you'll return the car to the USA. The process takes time and money but once everything is clear you are free to drive everywhere in Mexico. Now, driving in Mexico is a whole new experience: some people seem to like driving, let's say, briskly. Some people don't care much about the speed limit. What are you suppose to do? You need to blend in. And the highways! Ah, those obstacles courses never fail to amuse you. But not everything is bad though, there are some brand new turnpikes where is hard to pass the temptation of speeding. On my first day driving in Mexico I stopped in Monterrey where I met with another smart car driver and together we continued the 9 hour trek to the city of Queretaro. After 24 hours on the road I had arrived to the hosting city of the 2015 smart Club Mexico National gathering, and I had to erase those 24 hours worth of mosquitoes and other bugs glued to the car. A local car wash couldn't keep its promise of cleaning the vehicle in 15 minutes despite the size of the car. Once back at the event's site I got to feel what is like to be a rock star. Oh boy! Those stares, the thumbs up, the VIP treatment. It sure feels nice being the center of the universe, and all thanks to my smart car. On the first day of the event there was a parade, a rally around the city, a photo shooting and of course good food.

New Smart ForFour ad is f**king great [NSFW]

Perhaps we're just easily amused, but this new advertisement from Smart is hilarious, if only for its sheer chutzpah. It plays on the innate ability of small children to repeat just about everything they hear, both good and bad. The 45-second spot was put together by BBDO Berlin for Smart, and emphasizes that tiny city cars, like the new ForFour, are a lot easier to deal with than hulking SUVs. And it does so in the most amusing way possible. The first 30 seconds are mainly toddlers cursing like the proverbial sailor, dropping F-bombs and several less vulgar expressions. There's even a kid waving his tiny middle finger. Towards the end of the clip, the ad's point is made. Check out the video up top, and do keep in mind, aside from a short stretch, the entire video is uncensored. If your workplace discourages foul language, you'll probably want to wait until you get home to watch this.