Smart (marque)

For cars with artificial intelligence, see Smart car.

smart GmbH

Company type	Private (subsidiary of Daimler AG)
Industry	Automotive
Founded	1994
Headquarters	Böblingen, Germany

Smart Fortwo

Smart Fortwo cabriolet

File:Smart rabbit4.jpg

Smart Car custom LCB (Lindt chocolate Bunny) edition.

smart GmbH (formerly MCC smart GmbH) is a manufacturer of microcars and superminis of Daimler AG based in Böblingen, Germany, produced in Hambach (France). It is marketed as the "smart" in all lower case, as in the logo. The current smart brand logo denotes part of a circle representing the wheel and an arrow for "forward thinking".

The name of the company, part of Daimler AG, was changed from "Smart GmbH Micro Compact Car GmbH" to "smart fortwo GmbH" in September 2002.

Company history

The original idea behind the very short "smart car" was that the vehicle would be easy to park. It is short enough to allow it to be parked "nose-in" where a conventionally sized car would have to parallel park. Its length of 250 centimetres (98.4 in) equals the width of a regular parking slot, allowing two or three smarts to park in the same space as one normal car if parked side-on to the usual parking direction.

The project idea was originally started by Swiss watch manufacturer Swatch and was nicknamed the "Swatchmobile". The name SMART is an acronym for Swatch Mercedes ART. The car was supposed to use innovative features (such as a hybrid engine) and to be an affordable car for young people. Similar to the objective for the Citroën 2CV in the 1940s, its purpose was to "transport two people and a case of beer".

Swatch CEO Nicolas Hayek sought an established car maker to produce his Swatch car and found a partner in Volkswagen. Plans never reached a final stage so Swatch teamed up with Daimler-Benz. The purpose-built factory complex Smartville in Hambach, France, was established in 1994 as a joint-venture of Daimler-Benz and Swatch.

An Australian dealer web site provides the following summary of the beginnings of the product:

"How everything began: In 1993 Mercedes-Benz started a feasibility study on a subcompact car. Together with the Swatch Group Ltd. they founded the Micro Compact Car AG in 1994. The smart city-coupé celebrates its world première at the IAA in Frankfurt (Germany) in 1997 and is one year successfully launched in nine European countries. By now, the smart is available in 25 countries all over the world and was sold over 750,000 times."

The final car design proved to be far from Hayek's expectations: its engine eco-technology was out of the goal of Mercedes. The joint venture experienced heavy losses and dispute then Swatch pulled out.

In 2005, DaimlerChrysler decided against purchasing a 50% share in the Dutch NedCar plant used to manufacture the Forfour supermini. DC also halted development on the Formore and decided to discontinue production of the Roadster.

In 2006, after dwindling sales, smart GmbH was liquidated and its operations transferred within the Mercedes-Benz automobile group. It was later revealed that smart GmbH lost nearly 4 billion euros from 2003 to 2006. [1]

In the same year, DaimlerChrysler announced that it would also cancel the Forfour and redesign the Fortwo to debut in Europe in 2007.

Electric version

Main article: Smart EV

An electric, rechargeable version is being released in the UK, by a separate company, as a lease vehicle on a limited basis. At the Smart Car Brooklands event [2] in July 2007, a Smart EV was on display within "MercedesWorld" and a representative stated that the car would be for sale in the UK in 2010.

Models

Apart from the original short smart Fortwo, a sporty smart Roadster, an unlimited production of 2000 concept smart Crosstown and a supermini smart Forfour were also offered. These have now been discontinued. There were also plans to introduce a small off-roader called the Formore but development of this was cancelled as a result of spending cutbacks.

• Fortwo
• Forfour
• Roadster
• Crosstown
• Formore
• smart EV (At the moment only trialling, expected for Spring 2008 in UK)

Smart in Asia

Japan

Older Smart cars equipped with engine sizes smaller than 660cc fit into the Kei car category of cars in Japan, and are eligible for a range of lower taxes. However, recent models with a larger engine do not meet the Kei qualifications. Because of high taxation on older cars in Japan, many older used Smart cars are exported to other countries with Right-hand drive, like Great Britain and South Africa; these are also called grey imports.

Taiwan

A number of Smart car dealers can be found in Taipei.

Smart in North America

Canada

The smart Fortwo was introduced in Canada in late 2004. It is sold through Mercedes-Benz dealers. Demand has been heavy with up to six month waiting lists in major urban areas in the spring of 2005. The vehicle has been especially popular for light errand running for small shops and businesses, with many carrying custom paint jobs or stick-on graphics boldly advertising the associated product or service. However, recently the demand seems to have tapered off, and some 2005 smart Fortwos have popped up in the used car market. Canadian smart CDIs cannot be registered in the US.

As of June 1 2007, 9200 smart fortwo cdis had been sold in Canada, and as of the end of the model 450 production run, 10,241 of these cars were in this country. This large stock is explained by the fact that the model 450 smart fortwo is now out of production after a run of 770,256 cars, so Mercedes-Benz Canada had to acquire a backlog to tide dealers over until the new model arrives at the end of 2007.

The Canadian version of the smart fortwo cdi sold to 915 customers over three months in 2004; 4080 were sold in 2005; and 3023 in 2006. Virtually all the deliveries in 2004 and many of the deliveries in 2005 were to long-time smart fans who had been waiting for their car for years, which largely accounts for the higher numbers. Although sales tapered off in late 2006 and the first couple of months of 2007, they rebounded strongly in March 2007 and this trend continued through April, culminating with May 2007, marking the car's strongest sales performance ever in Canada, at well over 500 units. Sales are strongest (per capita) in Western Canada, with Vancouver Island and Vancouver being especially hot markets for smart.

In 2007, the Smart was given a large engine increase to 1 full litre up from 700 cc with the attendant loss of fuel economy. The diesel engine was dropped in favor of a gasoline unit. Currently, all North American Smarts are sold only with the larger gas engine, with the smaller, more fuel efficient diesel being reserved for European and other markets.

United States

Before 2008, smart cars were only available in the United States as "grey market" imports, such as ZAP. U.S. federal regulations allow certain grey market importing in large quantities provided the vehicles are modified and tested to conform to U.S. safety and emissions regulations. Smart cars were imported into the United States by "The Defiance Company LLC," modified by G&K Automotive Conversion, and distributed and sold by independent dealerships which were not affiliated with Mercedes. U.S. regulations did not permit the purchase and import of used smart cdi vehicles from Canada, as the diesel powered Canadian smarts did not meet American emissions regulations.

In June 2006, DaimlerChrysler confirmed that smart will be officially launched in the United States in the first quarter of 2008. The cars will be offered through a dealership holding company Penske Automotive Group, which is to create a new U.S. dealership network for the brand under the name smart USA. Initially, only an updated gasoline powered Fortwo will be offered, starting around US$12,000. The new model made its debut at European auto shows in November 2006.

"Hybrid Technologies" plans to sell an electric version of the smart vehicle in the U.S. starting at US$35,000. It is being called a hybrid car even though the vehicle is all-electric. The electric smart car will have a range of 120 miles (190 km) to 150 miles (240 km), a top speed of 80 , and charge in 5 to 6 hours using a standard 110V AC outlet. An electric smart is currently undergoing testing in the UK and will only be offered to commercial clients as a trial for the time being.

Mexico

Smart offers the Forfour and the Fortwo coupé in Mexico.

Criticism

A Forbes article has been critical of the stated reasons that Daimler-Chrysler gave for introducing the car in the United States. Fuel efficiency in the city is lower than the 5-seat Toyota Prius, although its highway fuel efficiency is higher.

Safety

Cutaway showing structure of the Smart

Smart vehicles use a very small front crumple zone. The new Smart Fortwo has been awarded 4 out of 5 stars in the Euro NCAP Adult Occupant Protection, 2 out of 4 stars in the Pedestrian protection test but it was not tested for Child Occupant Protection as it has no rear seats. The original smart was awarded 3 out of 5 stars for Adult Occupant Protection. The main structure of the car is a stiff structure called a Tridion Safety Cell, which is designed to activate the crumple zones of a colliding vehicle. This design creates a very strong safety cell around the passengers. However, it also subjects them to higher forces during an accident than in a conventional car.

Modification

Smart cars have been modified by BRABUS of Germany, also to house motors from powerful Japanese sport motorcycles, such as the Suzuki Hayabusa 1352 cc inline four-cylinder (Smartuki being a notable example). These cars are known as "Diablos" ("Devils" in English). The most powerful models can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 100 km/h) in less than 3.5 seconds.

See also

• Zytek

External links

• Smart (official site)
• How the Smart Car Works at HowStuffWorks