smart fortwo edition limited three
February 28, 2009
A special edition of the smart fortwo will be celebrating its world premiere at the 79th Geneva Motor Show. The “edition limited three” boasts exclusive, elegant paintwork and a spring-like fresh interior design concept. Thanks to mhd technology as standard, the cult two-seater car combines a chic appearance with outstanding environmental friendliness. The smart fortwo “edition limited three” will be produced as a limited series.
smart is welcoming the spring with a special series featuring melon green metallic paintwork and extensive equipment, thus continuing the tradition of smart special models. The new special finish of the spring model injects a fresh shot of colour for the new season and harmonises with the tridion safety cell. The 15 inch alloy wheels in a sporty six-spoke design fitted with tyres measuring 175/55 R15 at the front and 195/50 R15 at the rear are a further eye-catching feature. The exterior look is rounded off by aluminium-effect “limited three” logos in the mirror triangle.
The interior boasts an unusual, fresh design concept in terms of colours and materials. Here, the melon green metallic colour scheme is continued in an exclusive fabric design with shades of brown creating a stylish contrast, for example on the seats and in the door trim. The instrument panel featuring dark brown leather-effect details also continues the fresh play of colours that contrast with the green fabric. The 3-spoke sports steering wheel with steering wheel gearshift is covered with dark brown leather, as is the gear knob. Shimmering matt silver trim parts round off the harmonious impression of the interior.
The new edition, which is available as a coupé and a cabriolet, is based on the “passion” equipment variant. Among other features it comes with softouch automatic gear programme, electric windows, air conditioning with automatic temperature control, and for the coupé a panoramic roof with sunblind. The standard equipment of the “edition limited three” also includes dashboard instruments and the radio 9. Power steering, heated seats, a lockable glove compartment and the smart sound system with five high quality loud speakers and a smart MP3 interface are optionally available.
The special series of the new smart fortwo also places a focus on “green” when it comes to the environment thanks to micro hybrid drive (mhd) technology as standard with an intelligent and user-friendly automatic start/stop system. The control electronics shut down the 52kW /71 hp engine as soon as the driver brakes and the vehicle’s speed falls below 8 km/h - for example when approaching traffic lights. The engine starts again in the fraction of a second when the driver releases the brake pedal. The system is perfectly tailored to the automated manual transmission of the smart fortwo and is fully automatic - the driver does not need to do any clutchwork or gear
shifting. The automatic start/stop system reduces the combined fuel consumption by approximately eight percent (NEDC consumption per 100 km: coupé: 4.4 litres, cabrio: 4.5 litres). It also reduces the CO2 emissions to 104 grams per kilometre for the coupé and 106 grams per kilometre for the cabrio version. Fuel savings of up to almost 20 percent are possible in urban traffic with frequent stop-and-go situations.
The special model “edition limited three” costs €15,470 as a coupé and €18,510 as a cabrio (German list price incl. VAT).
[Source: Daimler Media]
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Chicago Smarties Meet, Greet and Eat
February 27, 2009
Of the current fifty-one smart car owners from the Chicago land area, almost half braved the rather harsh winter weather in order to have their largest get-together at the California Pizza Kitchen in suburban Skokie, Illinois this past February.
Enjoying the Sunday morning brunch were a wonderfully assorted group of smart car owners and I must say, enthusiasts. I personally, was very pleased to see the impressive number who decided to participate. Even those who were unable to attend sent their apologies and voiced their dismay at having to be absent for this affair. My kudos to our group member, “Clicker,” for initiating this event.
It was impressive to observe everyone’s eagerness to get together with other owners and to share their ownership experience. Even though we are really all new to the game, sort to say, I was so glad to see everyone’s exuberance matched my own. There is something fascinating about being a smart car owner.
I have owned many and varied vehicles in my lifetime. Being somewhat long in the tooth, I have experienced everything from the slow and go to the fast and furious. However, nothing has given me more pleasure than being the driver of this particular car.
What is it with this experience? It begins with ordering. Somehow, once you are in the wait seems to be like being on the hunt…the excitement grows. And, for me, and apparently all the other smarties I have met so far, there is no disappointment once you take possession of the keys!
The second thing I have discovered is that there is a wealth of knowledge to be obtained in speaking with my fellow smarties. Questions you may have about performance, strange noises, gas mileage, where can you get this or that, and on and on, are readily shared.
The importance of forming your own group and having these get togethers cannot be overly empathized for their value as well as fun.
Whether you form a group based upon location, type, colors, or all being left-handed makes no matter…just do it.
- Bert Monsen
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2008 Was A Year For Smartsizing
February 27, 2009
Did you ever notice the best solutions or courses of actions are usually the simplest? We make sure we go out of our way to either over-think or over-complicate just about any decision. A simple solution is an elegant one.
I decided last year it was time to start pruning the little things that added no value to life. Many of us carry multiple devices that do so many different things. I was carrying my cell phone, a music player, a personal digital assistant (PDA), along with my laptop and all of its accessories. I had many “man-bags” in which to carry the multiple iterations of junk listed above supposedly needed on a day-to-day basis. It was getting to the point that being “portable” meant you had so much stuff that it was not even worth working remotely. It was a temple-building effort just to move from my home office to the back porch if I wanted to work outside. I could not imagine going off-site to work without buying one of those roll around luggage bags to tote all of my stuff.
Again, life does not have to be this hard.
Did you ever notice that the smart is an elegant solution in getting from one point to another? The car has just enough instrumentation to tell the driver only what is necessary. The dome light gently radiates when entering or exiting the car, the radio light only comes on when the radio is on, and there are only three settings for the windshield wipers. Take a look around the engine compartment and tell me if that is not simplicity as an art form. The oil filter and drainage plug are close together for ease of maintenance. Therefore, why does an oil change cost $160?
All you need is:
- 24mm socket
- 3-1/2 quarts of Mobil-1 5w-30
- Oil filter (Smart 132 180 00 10 –or- Mitsubishi 1230A040 –or- Purolator Plus L14612 –or- Bosch 3300 –or- AC Delco Ultragard Gold UPF44)
Note: Thanks to the smart community for its many posts on this topic. I will most
likely buy one of each and do a comparison in a future article. Also, an oil drainage pan and funnel would probably be helpful in the above task. It is 13 degrees outside now so this may wait until April.
I got tired of carrying a cell phone, music player, and Palm PDA so these three devices were replaced by a BlackBerry Curve. One easy to use device is great and the web browser does a great job accessing the Smartimes Mobile Edition. The built-in browser is alright, but I think Opera Mini does a better job. Opera is also available for other operating systems and I like the simple fact that no matter how I access the internet, using Opera is the common interface. The BlackBerry also has a headphone jack useful for plugging it into the fortwo’s radio. Copy music or books into the smart phone, plug into the smart car, and select the [SRC] button for [AUX]. If it is not loud enough, then increase the volume on the phone first and the radio next. You will get the optimum volume if both are adjusted correctly.
My current laptop is still the workhorse, but I needed something a little more transportable. Netbooks are small laptops that are designed to run a user’s essential applications such as e-mail, web browsing, and composing documents. It must also be able to host presentations and have a long batter life. My current netbook is the ASUS eeepc and it has worked flawlessly for the past several months. There are two reasons that I bring up a computer in a car-related forum. The first is the ASUS will fit in the pouches of the fortwo’s rear cargo cover very well. The second is the netbook runs Linux which is an Open Source operating system along with all the applications that I need. As you may have noticed, I’ve been using Linux for years.
Things to consider:
- Open Your Mind
- Open Source
- Simplify Your Life, but Live smartly?
Owning the fortwo is not like owning a normal car. It allows you and a passenger to get from one destination to another in a different fashion. My wife tells me she has an almost Zen-like experience when doing the most mundane of errands. She has commented that a feeling of happiness comes over her when driving it. I have found this to be true when it is pleasant out and the top is down or even when it is a negative twelve degrees outside. The fortwo constantly delivers a calming or Zen-like experience.
Get out and drive it. It belongs on the road.
-Tony Godfrey
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Smartimes…Time To Blaze…
February 23, 2009
Hello…welcome to Smartimes…time to blaze…
My name is Tony Godfrey and I have been a Smart enthusiast for almost two years now. I am really not sure how it got started, but maybe it was one of those things that found me. Maybe like Karma? Fate? Who knows?
The idea of a something a little more “green” came to mind several months ago and I started looking at alternatives of getting from point A to point B. I have an SUV and it is actually used, gets dirty, and fits in perfectly when originally purchased. The vehicle still has a place and I do not see getting rid of it anytime soon.
Other considerations went from small cars, to hybrids, and to even a scooter. About this time I saw the famous YouTube video of the Smart hitting the concrete barrier at over 75-miles per hour and thought about doing some investigative research. The idea for the car was originally conceived by the Swatch Watch Company. The then-CEO Nicolas Hayek started shopping his idea around for an automaker to build it. General Motors and Volkswagen turned down the idea, but Daimler-Benz eventually saw value in the small car.
Smart is short for Swatch Mercedes ART. The original design was for the car to be eco-friendly and city-friendly. The ForTwo is 85% recyclable, offers great visibility, and is also gas pump friendly only requiring less than eight gallons of fuel. The more I found out really got me excited by the vehicle and after months of deliberation, I finally put down my $99 reservation down at the beginning of August 2007. I was told it would probably be in the States within the next year.
Smart does a very good job of keeping potential owners in the loop via e-mail and their website updates. Several months elapsed and I started thinking maybe this was not going to happen. At the end of July 2008, the local dealer called and said my car was in. What? This could not be true so I asked the salesperson to read my order back to me just to make sure. She said my order for the black with silver tridon and red interior with blah-blah options had come in and she would like to arrange a date for pick-up. I said I would call back in bit having to confer with my wife first.
I called my wife and said the Smart car was in and asked what were we going to do about it? She said we will probably make an appointment to get it and have lunch afterwards. What is it with Ladies and Lunch? Anyway, I called the salesperson back and we setup an appointment for that Saturday. The finance person then called and we started doing the paperwork over the phone (Mercedes efficiency?) to save some time. I could not get over the fact how easy this was going.
When we got to the dealership, the car was inside and next to a table for the final signing and such. My wife and I had a snack with “Angus” as paperwork flew and the salesperson went over all the aspects of the Smart. I could not get over the friendliness of purchasing a car and the staging that went into it. While the finance guy was tying up the last few items, my wife and I requested the floor mats, cargo net kit, rear cargo cover, hats, t-shirt, keychain…..yeah, yeah….just put it all on the tab.
We left the dealership not believing the car was actually here and headed to lunch (…ladies and lunch…). It was a beautiful July weekend and the car had its top down almost the entire time. The little guy gets LOTS of attention and it can almost become too much and we actually didn’t drive it for a couple of weeks that September. I have been stopped at red lights, mall parking lots, gas stations, airports, my driveway, and the list keeps growing. This was especially true when gasoline prices were over four dollars per gallon. It is just something that Smart car owners will have to grin and bear.
It is winter time in northeastern Ohio and I was only scared to take it out the first time. Angus does very well in the snow and negative temperatures and he comes from Europe, so this should not have been a concern. I still cannot get over the fact of how quiet the car is, not only inside, but outside as well. The interior is massive and I am still considering a small putting green for those slow times.
Now to Smartimes….
The Smartimes website was found when researching all-things Smart. I went through the website and started downloading past issues of the magazine. These were gone through in short order and I really enjoyed them. My wife and I have a few small cars including a 1968 MGB, 1970 MG Midget, 1992 GEO Metro, and the 2008 ForTwo. I wonder if the people at Smartimes would like a simple piece comparing the four and how a small car has been defined. Put something together and see what happens.
The first response back was from Jennifer saying she liked what she read and she would be speaking with the editorial staff soon. I thanked her for the input and a few days later received an e-mail from Trevor saying he liked what he read as well. We exchanged a few more e-mails and now you are reading the results. They are really great, down-to-earth people and I look forward to a long relationship with them.
It was decided to see what happens with this section. So, let’s talk about the Smart life-style and go from there. I recently planned the first annual “Honey Smart Wine” tour for my wife which we did this past weekend. This was a big success since it was “for her” and not because a holiday was coming up. The ForTwo is a car and should be on the road regardless of the weather, even if it is negative twelve degrees. I recently purchased a BMW first aid kit box to install under the Smart seat to maximize storage. There are a few things every Smart owner should have for normal maintenance that cost very little. Let’s take the little guy to his first Christmas party that the dealership was putting on. Later on this year, he will have a chance to do a parade lap at the MidOhio race course. A parade lab means no more than 40 miles per hour, but its still MidOhio and I’m quite sure it has not been done before.
Now, let’s start blazing that new trail…
Tony Godfrey
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Beverly Hills Smart Car Rally
February 20, 2009
Beverly Hills Smart Car Rally
March 21st, 2009 - 9AM to 3PM
Beverly Hills smart Center and Smart Madness are bringing you the smart 1 Year Anniversary Event. The starting point will be at Beverly Hills smart center and will end at the rooftop of the Peterson Museum with lunch. We’ll take a fun ride with our smarts in between the two points and end it with fun, prizes, and more at the top of the Peterson Museum.
This is the one event you don’t want to miss. More exciting details to follow. One thing for sure, this will be the SoCal event of the year. Mark your calendars now as this will be one event you won’t want to miss.
If you plan on attending please RSVP at the So-Cal Smarties Meetup page (link: http://www.meetup.com/socalsmarties/calendar/9681427/)
For More Info Contact:
Boris or Rachel at smartmadness@gmail.com or Logan at smartclubsd@gmail.com
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Midwest Summer Smart Car Rally
February 20, 2009
Midwest Summer Smart Car Rally
June 12-14, 2009
For anyone in the Midwest, USA, Canada, or anywhere else is invited to attend the 1st Annual Midwest Smart Car Rally. All ages are welcome, as well as all smart models are welcome! Bring the whole family (Including the smart) for a fun filled weekend at the Wisconsin Dells!
Friday June 12th:
- Arrive into Wisconsin Dells & Check into Hotel/Motel Room
- 7:30pm: Meet n’ Greet at Rocky Rococo restaurant.
Saturday June 13th:
- 9:00am: Breakfast @ Howie=E 2s Restaurant
- 10:30am: Drive to Devils Lake State Park to hang out & BBQ!
- 2:00pm: Driving Tour around the Dells Region
- 3:00pm: On your own. (Water Park, Casino….etc)
- 6:30pm: Big Sky Twin Drive-In Theater (Movie starts at Dusk)
Sunday June 14th:
- Check out of Hotel/Motel 9:00am: Breakfast @ Country Kitchen
- 10:30am: Depart for Home
Here is the location on Google Maps for Wisconsin Dells, WI:
Right now we have 32 cars or over 60 people that have RSVP’d.
For More Info Contact:
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Smart Car Night At Old Town Orlando
February 18, 2009
To all Central Florida smart car owners and in fact all smart car owners everywhere.
Coming off of our very successful 1st Anniversary party at the Orlando smart center, I am now putting together our next big event!!!!
Mark your calendars now for Saturday, May 2, 2009 for smart cars at Old Town in Kissimmee, Florida.
Whereas the 1st Anniversary event was primarily for customers of the Orlando smart center the May event is open to all smart car owners and we are hopeful to get smart cars from all areas of Florida and possibly other southern states.
Old Town if you are unfamiliar with it is a large entertainment complex with many shops, restaurants, bars, music, rides and games including the Human Slingshot for those that want a real thrill and car cruise-ins. It is located a little south of I-4 in the Southwest corner of Metro Orlando. On every Friday and Saturday night they hold massive car shows and do a late evening cruise up and down the streets of the complex where all of the people line the streets to look at the cars and cheer for their favorite Hot Rods, Classics, etc. There is a lot to do and see and for the Saturday show and cruise they generally attract around 325 cars.
We had a local meet and greet there on a Friday evening in the fall with about 30 smart cars and had a great time. Now I would like to see if we can attract 100 smart cars or more to really show our enthusiasm for these cars to everyone at Old Town.
Old Town will promote us on their Web Site which you can review at: http://www.old-town.com/index.html I am also promoting the event through e-mail, Evite.com, SCOA, smartUSAinsider and Smart Space. I am asking smart car dealers to promote the event for us and it is being jointly organized and promoted with Suncoast Smarts. We will also seek promotion with other smart car clubs around the state.
May 2nd is an available date on their schedule and is a week before Mother’s Day and it gives us enough time to really promote the event and possibly develop even more activities for the participants.
The car show begins at 1:00 PM on Saturday.
- We will stage the cars somewhere nearby and then enter the property as a group right at 1:00 PM. This would give everyone time to drive down from their various areas.
- There is no charge normally to participate in the show but we have initiated a $10.00 per smart car registration fee to be paid at the entrance to the show. We will use 100% of this money for Cash Door Prizes and Smart Car Show Awards. So if we get 30 smarts we would have $300 to give away, 50 cars = $500 and if we could get 100 cars we would have $1000 in which case we could have 4 or 5 car show awards of $100 plus 10 or 12 door prizes of $50 each!
- At 2:00 PM after staging the cars in the provided area we will have a group lunch at one of the dining venues. Everyone would order off the menu and pay for their own meal but we would pretty much take over the place for an hour and have a meal and beverages.
- From 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM we would mingle with the smart cars and each other and vote on best smart cars in a variety of classifications such as Best Custom Paint, Best Custom Interior, Best Overall Modifications, Best Use of Custom Graphics and Overall Best of Show which will be the highest overall vote getter from the other classifications. You must let me know if you want to be in the car show and what classification you are entering. Only one classification can be entered by any single smart car.
- At 5:00 PM we will go to an indoor area on the complex where we would have access to a microphone, speakers and beverage service and we would present the Cash Car Show Awards and have the Cash Door Prize Drawings.
- From 5:30 to 7:00 everyone will be on their own to enjoy the Classic cars and Hot Rods that will be there for the cruise in and to shop or eat again if they so wish.
- At 7:00 PM we will assemble in front of the outdoor main stage to listen to a Rock and Roll band play 50’s and 60’s hits.
- At 8:00 we will move to our cars and prepare for the street cruise which takes place at 8:30PM.
- After the cruise everyone will be on their own to enjoy all of the complex which stays open until 11:00 with some of the bars staying open until 2:00AM.
- For those coming some distance I will arrange for a block of rooms in a few of the many hotels close by.
- For those that spend the night and are interested I thought I would set up a group breakfast at a nearby restaurant for Sunday morning after which everyone could get on the road and head home.
Old Town includes a custom embroidery shop, a custom window graphics shop, a Tattoo parlor and an old-time Photo studio, among other shops. I am going to try to arrange for some discounts for our group and maybe have some embroidery arranged in advance and some window graphics arranged in advance that could be event commemoratives of the night. I also think it could be cool to arrange for some Old Time Group photo’s for those interested.
We want to generate as big a crowd as possible, so tell everyone you know and encourage all smart owners to come out for a night of fun.
We need to maintain a registration list by actual name as well as e-mail addresses for updates and information and to ensure a correct count without duplications. So please e-mail me at kwagar@tampabay.rr.com or call me at 863-585-5606 to get your name and the name of a guest on the list as well as to let me know if you want to enter your car in the judging for awards.
My primary interest in this is to make it truly a big event and an exciting and fun afternoon and evening. We would love to have all of you participate if at all possible.
Finally, if any of you want to be removed from my smart car e-mail list please e-mail me and let me know as I do not want to aggravate or irritate anyone who would prefer not to receive notices of our events.
For those of you that can open a PDF file, you will find a link below to download our flyer that you can send to others or that you can print and use as a flyer to promote this event: Click Here To Download
Thank you,
Ken Wagar.
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The smart fortwo Hunts “The Pink Panther 2″ in Paris
February 4, 2009
smart fortwo with star qualities: smart hunts “The Pink Panther 2″ in Paris
The smart fortwo, pioneer of intelligent micro cars, masterfully plays the leading automotive role in the sequel to the successful cinema blockbuster “The Pink Panther”. In Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures’/Columbia Pictures’ “The Pink Panther 2″ to be released February 6 in the US and 12 March in Germany, the two-seater demonstrates the advantages of its compact dimensions and its superior agility with a twinkle as the police car of the fearless, although somewhat clumsy Inspector Clouseau in a breakneck dash through the Paris city jungle.
In „The Pink Panther 2“ Steve Martin as bumbling Inspector Clouseau chases criminals for the second time. At his side is his unrivalled police car, a red smart fortwo coupé. “smart is the optimal company car in the movie”, says Anders Sundt Jensen, Vice President Brand Communications Mercedes-Benz Cars. “smart and the main character stand for unusual ways of thinking, irresistible charm and cleverness – and therefore have extraordinary success.”
In an exciting sequence of the film Clouseau steers his smart fortwo coupé - in the equipment line passion with a 52kW/71 hp petrol engine - in a wild dash across Paris. Here, he benefits from the exceptional agility of the environmentally friendly, intelligent two-seater car. Not even finding a parking space at the chronically busy airport of the French capital poses a problem - the compact smart fortwo simply parks perpendicular to the flow of traffic.
Amateur detectives can pick up the trail of the pink diamond themselves on the internet. Under the motto “Stay on the trail”, since 02 February 2009 anyone can enter the film world of Inspector Clouseau at www.smart.com/pinkpanther and follow the precious gem across Paris. Participants who track down the diamond in this exciting internet game have a chance of winning a smart fortwo.
“The Pink Panther 2”, the sequel to the 2006 worldwide hit, stars Steve Martin as he reprises the role of intrepid-if-bumbling French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. When legendary treasures from around the world are stolen, including the priceless Pink Panther Diamond, Chief Inspector Dreyfus (John Cleese) is forced to assign Clouseau to a team of international detectives and experts charged with catching the thief and retrieving the stolen artifacts. Martin is joined by his co-stars Jean Reno (as Ponton, his partner) and Emily Mortimer (as Nicole, the object of his awkward affections). The investigative dream team is played by Andy Garcia, Alfred Molina, Yuki Matsuzaki (Letters from Iwo Jima) and Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Lily Tomlin also stars. The story is set in Paris and Rome. The film is directed by Harald Zwart and produced by Robert Simonds. The screenplay is by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber and Steve Martin. The story by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber. Based on the Pink Panther films of Blake Edwards. Based on characters created by Maurice Richlin & Blake Edwards.
smart Success Story
After ten years on the market, the smart fortwo can report impressive performance. Since the introduction of the first generation in 1998, smart celebrated its 10th anniversary last year with over one million delivered models. Having initially been offered only in Germany and eight other European countries, the smart fortwo is now available in 37 countries worldwide. After the market success in the US in 2008, smart will also be launched in China, Brazil and Denmark in 2009.
As one of the youngest car brands, smart stands for innovation, functionality and vitality. Above all, smart appeals to customers that are seeking new, forward-looking and intelligent solutions within the automobile sector. smart fortwo drivers are defined more by their attitude than by their age, profession or gender. They are open-minded, they question conventional wisdom and are in-touch. They choose the smart fortwo because it is special and because it sets them apart from the masses. And most certainly - because it is fun.
[Source: Daimler Media]
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