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Usually, Italian exotic sports cars are best at getting other motorists' attention when driving down the road. But the diminutive "Smart car," as many people refer to it, turns just as many heads. But in this case, a Smart is about fuel economy and efficiency, not performance.
Smart began in 1993 as a joint venture between Daimler-Benz and Swiss watchmaker Swatch, creating a company known as Micro Compact Car AG headquartered in Biel, Switzerland. (It would later move to Germany and be known simply as Smart.) Its "city cars" would feature the build quality and engineering expertise of Mercedes-Benz, while Swatch would contribute its funky design philosophy. The resulting two-passenger Smart City-Coupe was designed for a European urban environment, with a specific emphasis placed on fuel economy and parking ease. The City-Coupe could theoretically be able to park perpendicular in a parallel-parking spot. (The wheelbase is the width of most other cars, after all.)
Because it was such a tiny car, Smart created the "tridion" safety cell (the silver or black portion of the body) to assure the City-Coupe could withstand impacts from exponentially bigger vehicles. Made from three layers of steel reinforced at strategic points, the cell was designed to absorb and redistribute crash energy away from the vehicle's occupants. Side impacts are shielded by steel door beams and reinforced axles.
Daimler-Benz bought Swatch out shortly after the City-Coupe's introduction just as the Smart started to generate hype around the world for its revolutionary take on personal transportation. Initial sales began in nine continental European countries in 1998, and the car proved popular with consumers.
This success led to an eventual expansion of the Smart car brand with the introduction of additional Smart models, including the Roadster and Roadster-Coupe in 2003 and the Forfour sedan in 2004. Reaction to these model lines was lukewarm at best, however, as consumers found them to be overpriced. This failure led to a dramatic downturn in Smart's fortunes, eventually putting it on DaimlerChrysler's chopping block before CEO Dieter Zetsche saved it with a new business model built exclusively around the City-Coupe, which had been renamed Fortwo.
More than 770,000 units and 36 countries later, the second-generation Fortwo debuted in 2006. With only a slight size increase, the general look of the iconic city car remained, but the interior and often-criticized automanual transmission received significant changes and safety was improved. The biggest news, however, was that Smart would be expanding into the United States, where rising gas prices had shifted the market toward smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. While there is no mainstream vehicle that embodies those two criteria better than the Fortwo, only time will tell if Americans who once laughed at Smart will embrace it the way Europeans and others around the world have.
- The Smart City-Coupe, a tiny car for only two passengers, was designed for use in the narrow streets of Europe's big cities. While Americans have historically favored larger cars, Europeans prefer much smaller cars like the Fiat and Mini-Cooper.
- The Smart Car was designed with fuel efficiency and ease of parking in mind. In theory, the Smart Car can be parked perpendicular to the curb in an urban parallel parking spot.
- Despite its diminutive size, the Smart Car is quite safe. It employs the "tridion" safety cell, which is made from three layers of reinforced steel. It was designed to absorb energy in the event of a crash to protect the passengers. Its makers say the Smart Car can withstand crashes with much larger vehicles.
- The Smart Car debuted in 1998 in nine European countries and was instantly popular, leading to an expansion in models offered. The Roadster and Roadster-Coupe came out in 2003, followed by the Forfour Sedan in 2004. The new models did not do as well as expected, and Daimler considered discontinuing the brand entirely.
- Instead, Daimler refocused on the original City-Coupe, which had been renamed Fortwo. In 2006 a new model, slightly larger in size, was introduced and took the world by storm. New safety features and a redesigned transmission helped boost sales in 36 countries.
- With skyrocketing fuel costs, the Smart Car was introduced in the United States in 2006. Looking for ways to cut costs, Americans began buying smaller, more fuel-efficient cars and hybrids. While the Smart Car is still considered a novelty in this country, sales are growing.
- The Smart Car comes in several different models today, including the Fortwo Pure, the sporty Fortwo Passion Coupe which features a "panorama roof" and the Fortwo Passion Cabriolet, a convertible option. There are also two BRABUS models with luxury trim options such as leather, stainless steel and brushed aluminum. The Smart Car is available in six colors: black, red and beige are base colors, and metallic blue, gray or silver are available for an additional cost. The tridion safety cell, visible on the outside of the car, comes in black but can be upgraded to silver.
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