2012 smart fortwo electric

The Smart Fortwo is a rear-engined two-seater city car manufactured by Smart GmbH, introduced at the 1998 Paris Motor Show as the Smart City Coupé, and currently in its second generation. The name refers to its seat capacity. In 2008, Smart debuted an all-electric concept, the Fortwo ed.

The Smart features an automated manual transmission without a clutch pedal, six-speed for the first generation, five-speed for the second. Input from floor-mounted shifter or optional steering wheel-mounted paddles controls a servo-operated clutch and sequential automated gearbox. The vehicle may be driven in automatic mode, though the shift points are not as smooth as in a traditional automatic transmission. In paddle shifter mode, the operator controls the shift points but cannot feather or adjust the speed of the clutch. Thus some skill, and a slight lifting of the accelerator pedal, is required to achieve a smooth shift.

From 2009, second generation Fortwos were delivered with improved software that made automatic gear changes both smoother and faster than earlier models. The software, in the form of a free ECU upgrade was also made available for 2008 second generation cars, along with a new battery in certain cases.

he third generation Fortwo is set to start production in 2012. During 2010 a joint venture was announced between Renault-Nissan & Daimler-Benz and Renault are apparently planning on a two-seater coupé which will be based on the 2012 Smart Fortwo.

On 26 June 2002, Smart fortwo was exhibited at the new Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) affiliate P.S. 1 in Queens, New York for the first time.

In September 2006, Daimler AG announced that Smart USA, a division of Penske Auto Group (at the time of the announcement it was United Auto Group, later changed to PAG,) would be the official distributor for Smart in the United States and Puerto Rico.

The redesigned smart fortwo (Model 451) has been available since January 2008 in the USA. Numerous changes were made from the previous model (450). Its Mercedes Benz power plant was replaced by a non-turbo Mitsubishi 3B21 engine and the overall dimensions of the car increased.

The 2009 model year US version of the smart fortwo is available in three trims: Pure (base trim), Passion, and Passion cabriolet. Pure has an MSRP of US$11,990, Passion has an MSRP of $13,990, and the Passion Cabriolet has an MSRP $16,990.[31] A reservation program was launched by Smart USA in March, 2007. This program allowed interested parties to place a $99 refundable deposit on the new fortwo in preparation for the product's launch. Since the product's launch, sales have surpassed production and the reservation program continues as a "wait list" program. The average wait used to be 12 to 18 months for delivery; although due to the economy, many buyers couldn't purchase the vehicles when they were ready for delivery and many are available on dealer lots.[citation needed]

The Smart Fortwo was rated as the most fuel efficient two-seater car in the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 2008 Fuel Economy Guide, with fuel efficiency ratings of 33 mpg-US (7.1 L/100 km; 40 mpg-imp) city and 41 mpg-US (5.7 L/100 km; 49 mpg-imp) highway.[36] The 2008 Smart Fortwo coupe was given an EPA fuel efficiency rating of 36 mpg-US (6.5 L/100 km; 43 mpg-imp) combined.

On May 14, 2008, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released crash test results for the fortwo. The IIHS gave the fortwo top ratings in protecting passengers in front and side crashes. However, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) cited a Safety Concern on their tests of a 2008 fortwo, stating "during the side impact test, the driver door unlatched and opened. A door opening during a side impact crash increases the likelihood of occupant ejection."

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