Smart News & Blogs

New smart fortwo Electric Drive Heading to Production and the U.S.

Daimler has confirmed that the series build of its new second-generation smart fortwo electric drive models will begin in mid-November at the smart factory in Hambach, France. While it won't be offered to the general public until 2012, this zero-emissions electric vehicle (EV) version will undergo relatively large-scale evaluation in the hands of lease customers in Berlin and various other cities in Germany, France, Italy and Spain as well as designated -- but currently unidentified -- locations here in America starting in late 2009. Like its conventional cousin, the new fortwo electric drive sends power to the rear wheels, in this case motive force supplied by a 30-kilowatt (40-horsepower) electric motor that makes 120 Newtonmeters (88.5 lb.-ft.)...
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California Mandates Cooler Cars to Fight Global Warming

It's not quite what you think. But the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has just passed the first legislation requiring solar-efficient glass to be used in all new cars sold in that state starting in 2012. Beyond literally keeping occupants cooler in the summer, the coincident reduction in the use of air conditioning will help improve average fuel economy and decrease the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. This new regulation will be enacted using a two-stage roll. From 2012-2015, all vehicle glass must be capable of rejecting at least 45 percent of the sun's total heat-producing energy, except for the windshield which will have a 50 percent rejection requirement. Starting in 2016, the numbers will rise to 60 percent all around. CARB data...
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Obama Plan Paves Way for Unified Mileage/Emissions Standards

President Obama today presented a landmark proposal aimed at moving the country ahead on the road to a clean energy economy. Speaking in the White House Rose Garden and flanked by members of his administration and key auto executives, Obama offered a comprehensive approach that will significantly boost fuel economy numbers and resolve the ongoing legal wrangling that has long set automakers and the state of California at odds over supplemental greenhouse gas emissions issues. The president, who characterized the existing rules governing fuel economy as "inadequate, uncertain and in flux," called for the adoption of a new single-standard formula that will accelerate the CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) requirement to 35.5 mpg by 2016 -- four...
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No New CAFE Ruling Until Obama Administration Takes Over

Approving the new, more demanding and far more controversial fuel efficiency requirements covering 2011-2015 model year vehicles has now officially been passed on to the incoming Obama administration. In a tersely worded one-paragraph statement issued today by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), finalizing the new standards -- which the Bush administration originally promised would be done by the end of last year -- has now officially been added to the already daunting Obama agenda. According to the DOT release: "The recent financial difficulties of the automobile industry will require the next administration to conduct a thorough review of matters affecting the industry, including how to effectively implement the Energy Independence and...
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Smart fortwo Video: Small is the New Big

Growing concerns about the price of gasoline and America's energy independence have made the concept of driving an ultra small, fuel-sipping city car like the smart fortwo more palatable than ever before. Helping to allay reservations about the pint-sized smart's safety was a display at the 2008 LA Auto Show showing off the car's Tridian safety cell, which imparts the fortwo with the crash resistance of a much larger vehicle. Most of smart's 2009 lineup carries over from 2008 with the notable exception of a new limited-edition Brabus model that features more aggressive body styling, bigger wheels, lowered suspension, sporty gearshift and E-brake levers along with a host of Brabus badges. Unfortunately the Brabus model does not improve performance....
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