2016 Smart Fortwo Passion Coupe on 2040-cars

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Junkyard Gem: 2008 Smart Fortwo Passion

Even as American drivers tended to choose increasingly massive trucks for their daily commutes, Daimler AG decided that money could be made selling a microscopic two-seater with a 73-1/2" wheelbase here. Sales never met Stuttgart's expectations, but sufficient Smart Fortwos were sold to Americans that used-up examples show up occasionally in the car graveyards I frequent. Today's Junkyard Gem is one of the Fortwos sold here during its optimistic first model year, found in a boneyard in Tulsa, Oklahoma last month. Many European cities allow perpendicular parking on streets for vehicles as short as the Fortwo, which meant that drivers could squeeze two Fortwos into a space that would fit just a single parallel-parked ordinary car. For the most part, this parking method couldn't be done legally in the United States, negating the Smart's primary practicality advantage. Fuel economy wasn't great for such a tiny machine: 33 mph city, 40 mpg highway, worse than the gas mileage of both the 2008 Toyota Prius and Honda Civic Hybrid. Still, fuel prices spiked hard in 2008, with average per-gallon cost of gasoline hitting $4.11 in July of that year (about $5.91 in 2023 dollars), and the Fortwo's decent fuel economy must have helped sales. The curb weight of the '08 Fortwo was just a bit over 1,800 pounds, or about the same as a mid-1980s Honda Civic. In fact, this car's 70 horsepower falls neatly between the 60 horses of the 1985 Honda Civic 1300 and the 76 horses of the 1985 Honda Civic 1500. This car was optimized for one trait, at which it excelled: short overall length. It's even shorter than Japan's kei specifications (its width is too great to allow it to be registered as a kei car in Japan, though Smart eventually made a narrowed Japanese-market version). As the owner and daily driver of a genuine kei van (which gets 60 mpg in town and seats four), the only thing I envy about the Fortwo is its superior highway-speed capability. That's the advantage of a mighty 999cc Mitsubishi three-cylinder over a kei-compliant 658cc Subaru four-cylinder. This is the Passion trim level, which came with air conditioning and this sunroof. The MSRP was $13,590, or about $19,531 in 2023 dollars. It appears that the driver's airbag deployed at some point and was then taped up. That crash damage may have been what doomed this car. After taking a shot at selling electric Fortwos here, Smart gave up on the US-market Fortwo after 2019.

Brabus Smart range tuned all the way to 107 hp

Performance is relative. Take these new Smart models tuned by Brabus, for example. They only pack 107 horsepower, which would hardly be enough to reach highway speed in most cars. But in something this small, a seemingly modest output increase is enough to make all the difference. Revealed at the 2016 Beijing Motor Show, the new Brabus versions of the Smart ForTwo, ForTwo Cabrio, and ForFour boast a series of mild performance upgrades. The 898-cc turbocharged three-cylinder engine carries over, but it has been retuned to pull in more air and fuel and produce 20 percent more power and 25 percent more torque; that 107-hp figure represents an 18-horse increase over the 89 hp in the standard version, and the 125 pound-feet of torque a solid improvement over the standard 100. It's also 7 hp and 17 lb-ft more potent than the previous Brabus Smart. The Brabus-fettled ForTwo with the dual-clutch transmission can reach 62 miles per hour in 9.5 seconds versus 11.3 for the stock car. See what we mean about things being relative? Of course, Brabus being Brabus, the tuners didn't just tweak the engine and call it a day. They also increased the suspension's stiffness by 20 percent, fitted a front anti-roll bar, retuned the ESP and steering, mounted new wheels, added a launch-control-like Race Start feature, and installed a new exhaust system. There's a host of cosmetic upgrades available as well. While a little extra power would be a big help on American roads, these high-output Smarts aren't likely to make it here. If the past is a guide, we might get a Brabus-look package at some point. That's too bad, because if you have to drive a city car, these new Smarts seem like the most fun options. Related Video: Top version with 80 kW/109 hp coming in the summer: More power than ever: the new smart BRABUS Beijing/Stuttgart. With 80 kW/109 hp, the new smart BRABUS is among the sportiest vehicles in its segment. Alongside the powerful turbo engine, this is down to the BRABUS Performance sports suspension with specially adapted ESP®, the sports power steering and sporty configuration of the twinamic dual-clutch transmission with Race Start function. The vehicle also comes as standard with a sporty look both inside and out. Available in fortwo, fortwo cabrio and forfour versions, the new smart BRABUS will celebrate its world premiere at the Beijing Automotive Exhibition (25 April to 4 May 2016). The first models will be in European dealers' showrooms from July 2016.

Five reasons to love, or hate, the culture of German cars

A few months back, we took a 500-foot view of the culture of American cars, dissecting prides and prejudices on our way to the conclusion that automotive allegiances can be simultaneously embraced and derided. We had so much fun with the narrative that we decided to do it again, this time taking a look at Germany and its world-renowned lineup of automakers, including the likes of Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volkswagen, among others. Join us below as we discuss the points and counterpoints that make or have made the German auto industry what it is today. And remember, Germany did pretty much invent the automobile, after all... The V12 Engine If America is known for the proliferation of the V8 engine, an argument could be made that Germany owns the V12. Yes, of course, other companies have created V12 engines – Ferrari, Jaguar and Lamborghini immediately come to mind – but the big 12-cylinder powerplants from BMW and Mercedes-Benz, in particular, have proven to be some of the most effortless, luxurious and downright over-built engines the world has ever seen. These days, having 12 cylinders is more a case of wretched excess than ever before, and yet, you can still stroll into your local BMW or Mercedes dealership and get a brand-new 760i, S600 or even an over-the-top G65 AMG, efficiency be damned. Best of all, since the majority of these German powerhouses depreciate as fast as an anchor sinks, nearly any auto enthusiast who dreams of a dozen cylinders can satisfy their carnal desires. Current Star: 2016 Mercedes-Maybach S600 View 28 Photos Diesel Engines Remember how we talked about those glorious V12 engines? Well, you can even get one from Audi that runs on diesel. If your compression-ignition fantasies err more on the side of fuel savings, that's no problem, either. Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen have got you covered, with engines starting as small as 800 cubic centimeters (Smart Fortwo). If you want something a little more practical, it's hard to argue with a VW Golf TDI, which will provide plenty of space for you and three of your best friends, plus a fair bit of luggage, all while returning 50-ish miles per gallon. For the purposes of this discussion, we'd rather focus on the asinine levels of torque provided by Germany's high-end diesel engines than the lower-end fuel sippers.