2016 Smart Fortwo Passion Coupe on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Chicago Car2Go app reportedly hacked, some 100 cars missing

Car2Go launched in Chicago in the summer of 2018, with 400 Daimler cars rolled out on the Windy City streets soon after. But that big fleet just took a big hit: The car-sharing app has now reportedly been hacked, and some 100 cars have been stolen as a result. CBS Chicago is reporting that some of the missing cars have been used to commit crimes. It is yet unclear what the hacking has exactly enabled the perps to do, but the compromised app appears to have opened the doors and given the thieves free rein with easily stolen cars. Within Chicago, there is a 29 square mile area where the vehicles were supposed to be dropped off, but they haven't been limited from exiting that zone at any point. The Chicago Car2Go fleet started out with Smart ForTwo cars and bigger Mercedes-Benz CLA/GLA models; we can imagine the ForTwos are a touch slight for any ram raiding, but an escape car that can vanish in a crowd of other shared Smart cars seems handy for misuse. To address the matter, Car2Go froze its Chicago operations today, saying it is "neutralizing a fraud issue and working together with law enforcement." No personal or confidential user info is said to have been compromised. CBS Chicago's Brad Edwards tweeted today that 12 people have been taken into custody so far, with the story developing as we speak.

Smart Fortwo Cabriolet coming to Frankfurt Motor Show

We kinda-sorta already knew this, but at an event this week in Portland, OR, Smart USA executives officially confirmed that the new Fortwo Cabriolet will bow at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month. The Fortwo and Forfour hardtop models have already been on sale in Europe for a few months, and the US-spec Fortwo hits dealerships at the end of September. The Brabus Fortwo will launch in the "middle of next year," according to Smart boss Dr. Annette Winkler. But for now, the full Brabus model will not come to the US. Instead, there will be a "Brabus Tailor Made" program that we'll be hearing more about soon. On the EV side, we know that a new Smart Electric Drive is in the works. Last we heard, it'll launch in early 2017, and Winkler's comments this week reconfirm that. The car will debut at the end of 2016, so US sales will likely commence early the following year. In the meantime, the current Smart ED will be sold alongside the brand-new model. We had a chance to sample the European-spec Smart Fortwo (and Forfour) earlier this year, and found it to be a vastly improved product overall. We'll have our full impressions of the US-spec car soon, so stay tuned.

Daimler consulting with Ford about 3-cylinder engines

Soon enough, Ford will offer its 1.0-liter EcoBoost three-cylinder engine under the hood of the Fiesta here in the United States, building on the success of the small powerplant overseas. In fact, this success has caused other automakers to take notice, and according to Automotive News Europe, Daimler is now talking to Ford about this engine for use in its own products.
In other markets, Ford offers the 1.0-liter mill under the hood of the Focus (we had the chance to sample this package on our home turf), as well as the B-Max MPV. For this new collaboration, Daimler would use the turbo-three in the next-generation Smart ForTwo, as well as the Renault Twingo, which the German automaker will be collaborating on as part of its alliance with Renault-Nissan. Speaking to AN, a Mercedes-Benz engineer called the 1.0-liter mill an "interesting and impressive engine."
In exchange for details about the EcoBoost inline-three, Daimler will supply Ford with information regarding its Euro6 stratified lean-burn gasoline engine, which is found in the new E-Class sedan.