Exciting New Smart Car Designs

Here at the Smartimes Magazine we encourage all of our readers to contribute what ever smart car related articles and content they feel the smart community would love to hear about.

With that in mind needless to say it’s very rarely that the Smartimes inbox is empty of new emails, but every now and then something stands out from the crowd that needs immediate attention.

This being said we have just received an email from a regular Smartimes reader showing us that the smart car really can appeal to anyones taste in cars with just a little modification.

We are not sure of the original source for these images but we thank the creative individual behind them for this fantastic look at the smart cars that might never be!

Thank you to Nevit for this contribution, we hope you enjoy these photos and please keep the contributions coming.

 

The Smartimes Team

 

Smart Car Owners Can Go From This:

To One Of These With A Few “Simple” Modifications…

The Smorvette:

The Smaudi A3 AWD:

The Smamborghini:

The Smorsche:

The Smorsche Targa:

And last, but not lease…

The Smerrari:

 

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Smart Car London to Le Man 24 Hour Race

Some call us mad or insane for driving around in those “things” (ha ha), Well here’s the maddest of them all, London to Le Man for the 24hrs car race.

Starting off on a Monday afternoon and heading out from home in East London with a suitcase of clothes for the week sleeping bag and a Marshalling bag was fun in its self, just room for me. Setting the trip to 0 it was off I go through the Blackwall tunnel to meet up with the others at Maidstone service area on the M20 to avoid the nightmare that is the M2.

Pulling into the service area to a round of laughter and you are mad I tell them that I maybe mad but cheap. After a Fill up it’s off to get the 20:15 Sea France crossing (They are still doing the deal if you have crossed in your smart before). Oh well no duty free this trip theirs no room. We arrived in Calais at 22:30 Pete the one with the sleeping area on the back of his car has planed the route so its now a convey with me having the advantage of a Left hand drive car (not so mad now) was told your at the front oh well so I get told the top secret route it Haute Picarde for the night so off down the Peage at a cost of 10 euros but at least it got us a place to stop and food. [pay]

Tues Morn dawned sunny and bright and off we go, just to make sure of getting to the route N137 to Le Man I filled up at the great expense of 6 euros which is about 3 gallons worth of fuel. The others have gone ahead so I’m now doing a 130 km chase to them (dam missed the turn) oh well its a good job that my late wife was French and id done this run so many times before so I went over the N29 to Avanche to meet up.

Taking the road to Rouen we found the tunnel closed following the diversion we get back on track as we leave Rouen behind us we take the road to Le Man after an 8 hour drive we get to Post 70 the way in is through the woods ok lets take this slow.

Once I know the tracks in the wood it was let the Smart go these tracks at between 30 to 60 mph where some very good fun but then most things are in a Smart. The total trip was 1102 miles all done in Footix Deux.

See you all around sometime and stay SMART.

 

Submitted By

Dave [/pay]

 

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London to Brighton Run Poem

The L2B 2003

It’s dark outside, time to get up

And get our outfits on

For it’s a very special day Today’s the BRIGHTON RUN!

 

The polish and the cloths are packed

The car inside is tidy

For hours we have worked on her

Our Smart is VERY shiny!

 

5.45 ~ its time to go

Speed off into the night

We meet a Smartie on the way

It’s starting to get light.

 

At Clacket Lane we meet more Smarties

Heading for the meet

We race along the motorway

Our Smartie ‘Tube’ complete.

 

We arrive at Kempton Park at last

The atmosphere’s electric

With smarts all colours, mods and tweeks

And some drivers, quite eccentric! [pay]

 

We’ve never seen so many Smarts

All gathered in one spot

There are 14 hundred little dears

Including ‘Polkadot’!

 

There’s lots of happy people here

Taking photos, chatting, preening

There’s not a grubby Smart in sight

They have been so busy cleaning!

 

We’re getting nervous and excited

Just preparing to depart

Red Roadster ‘6’ will lead off

Followed by a shoal of Smarts.

 

Its 10am and time to go

The klaxon is a sounding

A thousand Smartie hooters peep

My heart it sure is pounding!

 

We’re OFF! We blast off through THE START

We wave, flash, toot and shout

What a marvellous sight to see

We’re crazy there’s no doubt!

 

For the ordinary motorists

Amazing it must be

To spot the jolly Smarties

A racing to the sea!

 

Along the streets, on bridges

The people wave and cheer

As we rush along to Brighton

In time for ice-cold beer!

 

In Brighton, slowly travelling

In traffic stuck, we’re fine

Then cruising down Madeira Drive

To cross the FINISH LINE!

 

There was a bit of trouble

At Black Rock to park the cars

And the surface under little wheels

Was like the stuff on Mars!

 

But never mind, we did it

And boy did we have fun

So we’ll all be looking forward

To next years Smartie Run!

 

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

 

The L2B 2004

Where ever it is

We will be there

A Smartie Run

For all to share!

 

Copyright ~ Julie Saltmarsh/Miss Polkadot 29/9/03 [/pay]

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Susie Saved In Yellowperil Incident

Dear Smartimes,

Ok here goes: - I am the Manager of a high street Jewellers – H Samuel.  On the Sunday morning April 27^th about 1:00am, alarm activation at my store was reported to me. Two people have to attend & I informed my Assistant Manager off I duly went to the trusty stead – Yellowperil.  Had not got far probably 2 miles before I saw a flash and felt a bloody great bang – I can remember seeing a flash of a deer’s tail.  The journey to work is not bad, but I tend to go the old A1 road there – which is a back road and a bit bendy and has vegetation on both sides, and the A1 back.

I can tell you what I remember: - Confusion and had to get to my son, as he was home alone.  I scrambled out of a ditch and next thing I remember I was knocking on my neighbour’s house (luckily she is a nurse and her husband is an undertaker – taking no chances) and asking for help.  Apparently she cleaned me up and they took me to hospital.  I was assessed and put into a cubical (love those gowns).[pay]

I had x-rays galore to all areas that showed impact and bruising all clear – not one broken bone, the Dr’s were amazed that I had not even cracked the nose.  I had 3 tiny cuts, one to the palm of my left hand, one to the pinkie on my right hand and a small cut on my nose.  And severe bruising to the body.  I think the only thing that did not have a bruise was my left foot and shin.

My face was a mess – I wear glasses and the air bag when it inflated had pushed them to the back of my nose and caused most of the bruising.  My upper lip was bruised and inside the lip was cut.  Left and right of the jaw were bruised and swollen.

I had a full seat belt bruising mark on my body as well as bruising to the top right arm and lower left arm.  Left knee had a knock but nothing to right home about.  The right leg from the knee downwards had the worst knock as it went into the centre of the car, radio unit etc. 

One week after the accident I went to open the fridge to find I was in so much pain I was rushed to hospital – x-rays and outcome – 6 cracked ribs.  At least there was an answer for the pain and problems with the breathing.

So what is the point of this story – well?  My Husband was impressed with the safety features of this car when it was first introduced at the motor show at Earls Court.  This he decided was the car for me – I worked nights and needed a car that was economical and easy to park.  Got it in one – went for hello yellow as I though I was less likely to being run over by a truck at night.

The police who assessed me at hospital and went to the scene, were amazed at

1: - How I was alive

2: - How I got out of the car

3: - How nothing was broken

The insurance Assessor – he said the same things as above but also added if I had been driving any other small run-around car I would not be here now.   He did give me makes, but without proof I cannot name them.

The peril apparently while going around a roundabout, hit a deer; this caused her to loose control – hit a kerb which flipped the car over and into a ditch, head first and upside down, on top of a concrete waste pipe.  The roof, widows and rear window of the car were gone, as well as the windscreen.  The front of the car on the right was completely gone as well as most of the rear.  One door could not open – so I was told.  The tridon was in tact and was not bent – twisted or dented at all.

This is what saved my life – The Tridon safety cell of the Smart Car – the Police confirmed it as well as the Insurance guy. 

I owe my life to the Yellowperil, so have a new one on order, which I should have for Billing.  This has scared me, but not put me off driving and owning one of the best safety featured cars around.  The new car will not be yellow as the panels do not exist for the newer models, but the Yellowperil will live on in the heart of the new peril.

Three weeks on from the accident and I am getting there, the face has gone down and looking ok.  I still have problems with the ribs, but they will heal.  I, also have problems with the right leg, it will get better.  I count myself very lucky to have crashed in a Smart Car and walked away. Yes they may look weird, but – I love them to bits.

Thank you to all at Funkysmart, Dave, Wayne & all who sent good wishes and cards, it meant a lot.

 

Submitted By:

Susie Mills – aka Yellowperil.[/pay]

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MY VISIT TO SMARTVILLE 2003

On the 10th May 2003, I set off with my lady friend in my smart car towards Dover for the start of our adventure.  We made our way towards the Travel Inn where we were to stay the night in order to catch the Hoverspeed Seacat early the next morning.  Many other ‘smarties’ were going in the same direction that cheerfully waved and flashed their headlights in recognition.  On arrival at the hotel others had already booked in and were making preparations to get a meal.  Having first filled up with fuel we then booked into our room and made ourselves comfortable.  On our way to the restaurant it was evident that it would be quite a sight seeing all these ‘smart’ cars driving in convoy as there were many parked up outside.  Having enjoyed a good meal and tasty wine the organisers gave a short briefing about the drive across France.  We then retired to our rooms for the night.

Sunday morning started early without breakfast as we all had to muster at 0715hrs.  Everyone appeared to have survived the evenings drinking and was ready to go on time.  The Seacat leaves promptly at 0800hrs and we all needed to be at the check-in area by 0730hrs.  Loading the cars was a swift operation and it was interesting how they squeezed over forty ‘smart’ cars plus other vehicles in.  The trip across was very smooth with the ‘cat moving at 35 knots and a crossing time of only fifty minutes.  Barely enough time to grab something to eat, drink and look round.  As we unloaded in Calais we all met up in a large car park to ensure everyone was together and ready to move.[pay]

We left the ferry terminal and were quickly on the motorway leaving Calais behind rapidly.  It was not long before we reached the first tollbooth.  I had visions of spending my euros straight away but it was only to pick up the first ticket.  Later of course we would have to pay the rate for the distance covered.  We continued at a fair pace and settled down to cruise at 80 mph, the car seemed happy at that speed.  We all had a comfort stop with some of us topping up our non-existent breakfast.  Later we stopped for lunch and fuel but my friend did not want a baguette but something more substantial.  So we crossed over the bridge to the café the other side of the motorway.  As we indulged ourselves the rest of the convoy moved off.  I was confident that we would be able to meet up with them later.  As it turned out, we did not see any of them until we found the hotel in Saarbrucken/Germany where we were staying for the two nights.  Apart from getting hopelessly lost in city, the rest of the journey went quite well.

The hotel room was classy and had the beds up on a mezzanine floor with a small staircase leading up.  The room had the usual shower/toilet/hand basin, wardrobe, television and a large settee.  There were no tea making facilities and you rang room service for any warm drinks you wanted.  Tucked away in the wardrobe was a fridge with a large selection of alcoholic drinks if you needed them.  Downstairs the dining area was laid out nicely and was comfortable and airy.  A large selection food was set out on tables where you helped yourself to whatever you wanted.  If you wanted wine, beer or spirits you paid for it in the usual way.  All other costs being included in the package price.  When the evening was over it was off to bed.

Smartville is located near the village of Hambach/France, which is just a few miles south of Saarbrucken.  When breakfast was finished we gathered together in groups for the convoy to the smart factory.  On arrival we noticed that the whole complex is surrounded with security fencing which stretches as far as you can see.  There are numerous fields covered in smart cars of all types waiting to meet their new owners.  We got caught up with the wrong group at the factory and went off to Cubic, the company that produces the special coloured panels.  It was fascinating to watch the robots doing their thing and to see the end results.  All this work is monitored by highly trained staff and requires their intervention at certain stages.  We were given a guided tour and many of the operations were explained in some detail.  We had some time to kill so a quick trip into Hambach for some refreshments was taken.

When we arrived back at the reception area we were given a short film show explaining how the factory works then enjoyed a very tasty lunch followed by a coach trip to the production line.  This is highly organised with all the parts arriving just in time for that particular vehicle.  Each car has a bar code with all the build details coded in.  This will trigger the controller to supply each individual item, just in time, for that car.  The suppliers of parts are located around the core of the production line and get the parts to the line by conveyor belts, hooks or forklift truck.  We were watching the cars being built from some ten feet away.  Any rogue cars are taken to the centre of the building for everyone to see then the problems are sorted out by a specialist team.  Quality checks are made on a regular basis by taking a car off the line and putting it through a series of tests.  Obviously these are non-destructive tests.  Any panels that are deemed unsuitable are ground down to make the non-visible black plastic trims such as wheel arch protectors.  All the time we were walking around we had an interpreter giving a description of events as they took place.  At the end of the visit we all thought that it was worthwhile.  Most of us made our way back to the hotel although some went to ‘smart’ at Saarbrucken on the way.  There we enjoyed dinner and a very good raffle followed by a good nights sleep.

When breakfast was finished the following day, the car was packed for the return journey.  Some of the group decided to go on alone whilst others travelled in convoy.  We left on our own and made our way back to Calais.  Apart from the heavy storms with hailstones the size of marbles, the journey was enjoyable.  There was little traffic and what there was drove with more respect than most motorists do over here.   We arrived back at the ferry terminal in plenty of time.  The trip back across the channel was bumpier than going because of a force four storm.  Everyone that tried to walk about the Seacat looked like they were drunk, not true of course.  Once we landed at Dover and cleared customs we made our way home.

I had covered a total of 940 miles and about £35.00 was spent on motorway tolls. The car averaged 46 mpg but you have to remember that a lot of it was done at 80mph.

My thanks go to all those that organised the trip, they worked hard to satisfy all the needs of others.

 

Submitted By:

Brian Gutteridge

Aka Black smartie[/pay]

 

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Smartville: A Smart Place

Nestled in between an orchard and a cornfield on 168 acres, near the French town of Hambach, is an extraordinary factory known as ‘Smartville’. The full name for this particular factory is ‘Smartville Energy Centre’ and it is a very energy efficient car factory.

The Smart car was designed with the environment in mind and you can only make an environmentally friendly car from an environmentally friendly factory. Smartville is as globe friendly as a car factory can get- it even includes a nature reserve with rare species of plants and landscaping for hundreds of trees.[pay]

Whilst building Smartville, all materials used in its construction were checked to see if they could potentially harm the environment. As a result, none of Smartville’s buildings contain poisonous CFCs or formaldehyde.

Rainwater that is collected from the roof is retained for use in tempering steel. All other wastewater that drains off the roads and car parks is also retained for specific purposes. Waste water from the factory’s industrial processes and sanitary installations is recycled and purified in the factory’s very own biological cleansing facility for use in the gardens and as a coolant during the production process.

Smartville lets no materials go to waste- any surplus material such as excess powder gets collected and reused. Energy saving is extremely important to Smartville and insulating the buildings helps to retain heat from production, so that they can conserve it and use it later.

Smartville uses no poisonous metals such as lead and cadmium, throughout the entire process of producing a Smart car. Chromium and mercury are also excluded from the development process.

The paints used on a Smart car are solvent free-, which is the first time that any motorcar has been produced this way. If no solvents are used then there is no hazardous waste left over. Smart is also the first car manufacturer in the world to use only powder paints for the steel body. This is ecologically friendly because it means no wastewater. This is recognised as the most environmentally friendly painting technique in the car industry, in addition to which it achieves energy savings of 40%. Any paint that has not been used is collected for reuse.

When a Smart car reaches the end of its life, it can be 95% recycled. It gets returned, dismantled and sorted for recycling. The panels used on Smart cars are made of recyclable plastic and not only that, but are virtually dent resistant and rust free.

Smartville has several sections to it and they are all connected by a conveyor belt. It takes roughly 4 and a half hours to complete and finish a Smart car. Smartville don’t actually manufacture all of the car parts, as they have parts delivered to them by partner companies. It is Smartville’s job to put everything together. This is why it only takes 4 and a half hours to build a Smart car. Finished Smarts are stored in the famous glass towers that can be seen at the factory.

Submitted By:

Anna Sampson[/pay]

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