From the make-believe world of ‘What if…’ comes our next story on a concept proposal for an all-electric mini car from Lotus. However, what makes this project stand out from the usual independently styled concepts is the event that it was actually designed by the agency of Lotus. See, Automotive Engineer magazine asked the British sports carmaker to come up with a concept vehicle to show how far city car design could go.

Tags: body, car, city, design, head, magazine, mini, Seat, show, Smart, space, the, Toyota, world

Cash for Clunkers won’t be official conducive to a few weeks, but some automakers are already looking to cash in on the once in a lifetime opportunity to carry up to $4,500 off the price of a new car or truck. Smart is offering its quirky little fortwo as far as concerns $99 per month through the trade-in of a ‘Clunkers’ eligible vehicle.

$99 per month with no money down sounds damn good, and a payment term of only 36 months sound level better, but closer inspection shows that the promotion is fashion too good to have being true. Here is the fine print in succession the promotion.

Tags: 0, car, cars, new, review, Smart, sound, the, us, way

2009 Smart ForTwo Cabriolet – Click above for high-res image gallery

The Smart ForTwo isn’t for shy people. Even though Smart USA has sold about 30,000 of these tiny two-seaters in the U.S., the little rollerskate attracts a lot of attention. On the road or in America’s parking lots, the ForTwo is a conversation piece, and people don’t hesitate to come up and talk to you. Some will tell you about the Smart they saw in Europe. Others will ask if it has the guts to make it onto the highway. Most will assume it gets big gas mileage (it doesn’t). But one thing’s for certain, for the period of our week with the ForTwo, there was a 100-percent conversation rate wherever we went. Anthropophobes, be warned.

Tags: 0, Audi, car, change, city, economy, mini, mode, passion, people, review, Seat, Smart, the

Toyota iQ-based Aston Martin Cygnet Concept – Click above to enlarge

With a nod to our current global household and environmental issues, super GT maker Aston Martin has reportedly announced the world’s first super luxury supermini. Having blown their development budget on the V12 Vantage RS, Rapide and One-77 hypercar, they turned to an unlikely partner for some help: Toyota. Aston Martin has taken the Toyota iQ 3+1 commuter and given it a tailored suit from Saville Row. The result is the new Aston Martin Cygnet you regard above. In case you’re wondering, a “young swan” is a baby swan, not to be confused with an ugly duckling.

Tags: Bmw, car, cars, city, clothes, design, mini, new, passion, Seat, Smart, the, to, Toyota, world

2008 Smart Fortwo – Click above for a high-res image gallery

Penske Automotive Group, distributors of the Smart Fortwo here in the United States, recorded an impressive 24,622 total sales of the diminutive city car in 2008 and dealers widely reported that they could have sold even more had they been available. With that in mind, the nascent company set what seemed at the time like a realistic sales target for 25,000 units in 2009. That may have been a mouthful optimistic.

Tags: Smart

Click above for high-res gallery of the smart fortwo “edition limited three”

Companies often exploit our fondness for Spring in their marketing efforts. There are detergents that smell like flower beds, flora-inspired fashions and candles that give facing the soft scent of freshly cut grass. We’re a people who like the restorative, born-again qualities of the season that emerges after a long, cold winter, and smart knows this. No stranger to unveiling special edition models of its fortwo model, the Daimler-owned brand will be showing off the new “edition limited three” model at the Geneva Motor Show next month.

Tags: mini, Seat, Smart

The 2009 Geneva Motor Show is shaping up to be one busy event, with new releases seemingly being announced by the hour. Although the majority of models slated to take the Geneva stage-carriage have piqued our interest, the latest announcement seems to be little more than a warmed-up version of a current facsimile.

Daimler’s Smart brand has announced it will be revealing a extraordinary edition ForTwo at next month’s show. Dubbed the ForTwo edition limited three, the upgraded city car should promises buyers a bit more individuality.

Tags: Smart

Despite an overall down market in 2008, Daimler’s U.S. Smart launch went off better than expected. Many naysayers expected the diminutive ForTwo to fail in the U.S. because of its tiny size – especially considering the mass of some SUVs on the road — but Smart’s unique marketing strategy and $4 gas helped spur the brand to better-than-expected sales.

Daimler launched the Smart ForTwo with the hopes of selling 16,000 units during its first year on the U.S. market, but actually sold 24,622 ForTwos in 2008. Moreover, that momentum looks like it will signify into 2009.

Tags: Smart

Click above for a high-res gallery Smart fortwo

The Smart fortwo couldn’t have come to the United States at a better time. Skyrocketing fuel prices and a dearth of fuel efficient vehicles gave Daimler’s Tiny Tim a big push to the tune of 25,000 units for the year, far surpassing Smart’s goal of 15,000 units. Smart’s success is also another feather in the cap of Roger Penske. Penske is the only US distributor for Smart, with only 74 dealers spanning 35 states, and surprisingly, smart achieved its considerable prosperous issue without using television as an advertising medium.

Tags: Smart

Chinese automakers are not known for their strength on the global stage, but China’s Shuanghuan is preparing to take down its second German powerhouse. Shuanghuan defeated BMW earlier this year in a case that claimed the company’s CEO SUV too closely resembled BMW’s first-generation X5, and now the Chinese car maker is looking dominate in a case involving Daimler’s Smart ForTwo.

Daimler’s lawsuit for copyright infringement against Shuanghuan dates back nearly a year, but the case has lost significant momentum over the last few months, leaving the German automaker with few other options other than dropping the case altogether. Daimler claims that Shuanghuan’s Bubble is a blatant clone of the company’s Smart ForTwo.

Tags: Bmw, Smart