2016 Smart Fortwo Passion Coupe on 2040-cars

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Daimler eMERGE2 test proves ignorance breeds dislike of EVs

Out with the old EVs, in with the new. Daimler announced today that it has finished up the eMERGE electric vehicle project that used Smart Fortwo Electric Drive cars and will now start up eMERGE2, which will use Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive and PHEV vehicles. As before, the tests will take place in Germany. The first, just-finished eMERGE program ran from May 2013 to June 2015 and put over a million kilometers (621,000 miles) onto 146 Smart Fortwo EDs. Daimler said that over the two years, the vehicle with the most efficient annual energy consumption used just 10.4 kWh for all of its 100 kilometers. The best full-charge range over the year was 161 kilometers (100 miles). Perhaps most interesting, though, was one of the projects findings: "the less an interviewee knew about electric mobility, the more negative their opinion" about the technology. In other words, here's some more proof that getting "butts in seats," as it were, is one reasonable way to promote electric driving. eMERGE: key contribution to developing the mobility of the future Stuttgart/Berlin, Jul 30, 2015 Broad-based real-world trial of eMERGE project completed Especially for daily distances of 50 km or over the E-car is financially attractive eMERGE2 fleet project now launching with 200 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive and plug-in hybrid models Stuttgart/Berlin – After more than one million kilometres in two years – from May 2013 to June 2015 – the real-world trial of electric cars known as eMERGE has been completed. Those taking part in the project were private and business customers with 146 smart fortwo electric drive cars from Berlin, Potsdam and North Rhine-Westphalia. Some of them set records: the lowest average energy consumption over one year was 10.4 kWh/100 km, while the longest range was 161 kilometres. The smart fortwo electric drive is certified with a consumption of 16.3 kWh/100 km and a range of 145 kilometres. The broad-based field trial within the framework of the eMERGE project has not only provided information on user behaviour and e-car technology; it also studied intelligent charging systems for improving the utilisation of the power supply as well as various pricing systems with regard to customer acceptance. Based on transport models, the project partners examined the need for a publicly available charging infrastructure. Within the project Daimler was responsible for collecting the driving and charging data required for evaluation of the field trial.

Smart Fortwo, Forfour reborn with fresh styling on new platform [w/video]

Meet the 2016 Smart Fortwo and Forfour, a new pair of hatchbacks that Daimler hopes will revive the struggling Smart brand. We aren't expecting to see the Forfour here in the US market, although the smaller Fortwo should eventually hit our shores in the future.
Following yesterday's teaser sketches, it's plain to see that those drawings were fairly close to what we're seeing here. The new Smarts boast styling inspired heavily by the brand's concepts, with a bolder, sportier aesthetic.
Both two-door and four-door boast rear-engine layouts, with power coming from a trio of three-cylinder, gas-powered engines.

Junkyard Gem: 2009 Smart Fortwo

Daimler AG began selling the Smart Fortwo in the United States as a 2008 model, which means these cars have been around long enough to appear in the sort of big self-service car graveyards that I haunt. Actually, I've been seeing Fortwos in such yards for at least five years, but every one had been picked over so thoroughly for body parts that it became unrecognizable and thus wasn't worth shooting for this series. I suspect that because these cars get used for parking in cramped urban spaces and they're hard to see for drivers backing up their F-350s, they tend to get banged up quickly while parked; this creates an urgent need among body shops for fresh body panels and they get snapped up right away. Finally, though, I spotted this more-or-less-complete '09 in a Phoenix yard. I think the visibility of a tiny MG Midget with the top down makes that car ideal for squeezing into tight parking spots, and I've always been able to shoehorn my EG Civic into a marginal space, but I can understand how some parking-challenged car shoppers might want to drive something from our current century. The interior in this car still looks halfway nice. Did the engine or some other expensive component go bad, dooming this car? Perhaps the missing body panels got smashed up and removed prior to junkyardization. We'll never know. White is the color you want for a Smart in Arizona, since we must assume that any air conditioner driven by a 999cc, 70-horsepower engine won't blow the cold air like your grandma's '03 Grand Marquis. Related Video: Featured Gallery Junked 2009 Smart ForTwo View 11 Photos Auto News smart Automotive History Hatchback Junkyard Gems