If you're this new driver, approximately 4:44. In her defense, the spot is ENORMOUS, it must be difficult deciding exactly where, and at what angle, to park that tiny car.
(*video contains grown-up language. Headphones or mute*)
Recently there's been some talk on the Internet that scientists have figured out that, due to mass-specific resting metabolic rate and mass-specific energy per lifespan, the average animal has +- a billion heartbeats until the clock stops. Little scampering critters that panic a lot (mice, rabbits) have quick heartbeats and die soon. Big things that are kind of chill and not terribly reactionary have slow heartbeats and live for a long time (tortoises, whales).
Similarly, I'm convinced (I have no empirical or anecdotal evidence) that my keyboard has a finite number of keystrokes in its serviceable life and I'd hate to see it die on an electric Smart "truck" concept with a top speed of 75 mph, an electric bicycle as a backup plan and quoted 0-37 mph time of 5 seconds.
Why worry about longer-range batteries or faster recharge times when you can just hitch up a trailer? A trailer with its own battery pack, or maybe a fuel cell, that can drive your rear axle, which is actually now the middle axle of the Smart EV... ah, yes, the world is our oyster.
Or, if we're content with the stock Fortwo ED's 98-mile range, we could hook up one of Rinspeed's proposed "Dock+Go" lifestyle trailers, which would apparently just be along for the ride. There's a trailer with a hot plate in case we want to fast-track a pizza delivery career, and another with a toolbox for a contractor needing to carry... uhm, a rachet set. Other trailer themes include camping, golfing, skiing (water, snow, we're not sure), the beach, and "party" (which suggests cake to us but might just indicate a 12-pack-capable ice chest).
"Plenty of good and creative solutions for a brighter future mobility," intones the Rinspeed press release translated from the German. "Take 3 instead of 2 -- and who came up with it? A Swiss, who else?"
Oh good, Smart is bringing a new "mobility concept" to the Detroit Auto Show. Nothing cures poor sales like a mobility concept. Especially one that's a battery powered mini-pickup.
Here's how this one likely went.
"Smart sales are terrible! What do we do?"
"Americans aren't feeling it. They like EVs. And trucks. And carrying stuff like bikes. And big wheels. And being on the highway."
"Great. Let's just slap together a mini truck, chuck a 17.6kWh lithium-ion battery pack in there, figure some way to cram some bikes -- those Smart E-Bikes-- in a 140-inch long car, give it a 75 mph top speed and call it good. We'll show it in Detroit. They love small cars."
Think you were cool when you were the only kid on your block with your Atari home version of Pong? (Or Duck Hunt, or Mortal Kombat, or Goldeneye, or Mario 64, or Gran Turismo, or Wii Bowling...whatever generation you belong to...) Well, that wasn't nearly as cool as this pong game controlled by electric Smart cars. Drive forward, your Fortwo-shaped paddle goes up; drive backward, it goes down. Easy. Kinda fun.
How long before this ends up in the hands of Roman Abramovich's house?
Did you have an interest in the Smart ForTwo but passed because the microcar simply wasn't strange enough? Have they got the concept for you!
The Forvision concept is a joint collaboration between Smart and BASF that focuses on energy efficiency and light weight.
The wheels are plastic and, according to Daimler, are "suitable for high-volume production" and can save 28 pounds per vehicle. The doors are carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic. Photovoltaic cells on the roof power the multimedia system and the OLED lighting for the interior.
Thankfully, we're unlikely to see this anywhere near production even with a new Smart en route for 2014. We will, however, have to see it in Frankfurt in a couple of weeks.
When we tested the 2011 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive Passion, it was the slowest thing we've ever tested. By a lot. It ran slower to 60 than it did in the quarter-mile by .4 seconds. Part of this was due to an electric motor with only 20kW, and part of it was due to the Smart's self-imposed 62.5 mph speed limiter.
Smart, apparently, as seen the error of its ways and released details on the 2012 Smart fortwo Electric Drive which gets a major increase in power and top speed. Now capable of 75 mph, the 2012 Smart gets a slick new 55 kW motor which they say propels the car from 0-100 km/h in under 13 seconds.
With th extra power comes some extra capacity for some extra range, too. Smart now estimates you'll get 86 miles out of a single charge.
That there's a market for this when something like the Nissan Leaf exists shows exactly how far people are willing to go to find parking in big cities.
Well, there it is in all its tiny, electric-powered glory: The Slowest Car Ever. Heretofore known as the 2011 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive Passion.
We knew this was going to be a fun day at the track the first time we took a look at the press kit for the 2011 Smart Fortwo electric car. "The maximum speed of the Smart Fortwo electric drive has been intelligently calibrated to reach 62.5 to create an ideal learning scenario for gauging the performance of the lithium-ion battery while maintaining typical city speeds."
That's right, the maximum speed of the electric Smart is only 2.5 mph above our 0-60 test, and way below our 0-75 test. Hell, we even use 70 as a target speed for generating sound data.
So it can't do 65, gets a range of 63-98 miles on a full charge and costs $599/month if you commit to a four-year/40,000-mile lease. That's $28,795 for a car you don't own. The Nissan Leaf, for example, runs $32,780.
But price isn't the point here, performance is. Just how poorly did the little Smart do? Follow the jump to find out...
Over in China, people aren't going to plunk down money on a Smart just because it's adorable and kind of good on gas. No, they need to see a celebrity chase down an "art" thief in a Fortwo Brabus. And seeing as how Kobe Bryant is an ambassador for Smart in China, well... there's video after the jump.
I'll be the first to admit that I have absolutely no idea what this means, but the pasty dorks in our basement laughed until we turned the hose on them. We think that meant it was good.
And so, e90_m3, email me at mmagrath (at) edmunds (dot) com to collect your prize: Top Gear on DVD or Blue Ray! (Season 14 or 15 -- pick them up at BBC America shop along with a new I Am Not The Stig shirt that I'm pretty fond of, if you didn't win.)
If this were a dictatorship (which it usually is) bonzjr would've won with "AND no back seat? Yes, honey, you may date THIS boy."
More runners-up after the jump. Good work all, there were some very funny ones I'm told. There was LingOL.
We caught this beauty en route to the middle of California. When he saw our camera, this rogue Starfleet crewman hit the brakes as hard as someone driving a smart Star Trek edition can.
So this is your challenge if you chose to accept it. There will be prizes. And glory.
Not gonna lie, this doesn't seem like a good idea...No, not just the idea of an electric Smart Fortwo, but taking an electric Smart and covering it in glass mirrors.
But, generally, "good idea" and "artist formation" rarely go together. And the Smart Discoball was, in fact, created by artist formation and supergroup (one is from Coldplay, another A-Ha), Apparatjik. According to the Wikipedias, the name is Sweedish for "apparatchik, which is a word of Russian origin and is used to describe "people who cause bureaucratic bottlenecks in otherwise efficient organisations".
This project will culminate with a special live performance of Applejack (who can be seen after the jump dressed as reflective deer-men) performing inside of a six-meter tall cube projecting scenes through the museum walls. You can buy tickets at www.apparatjik.com or just follow along at youtube.
Or just look at the pictures after the jump and forget this ever happened.
Smart offers a hint at the design direction of its next Fortwo with the debut of the Forspeed concept car at the upcoming 2011 Geneva Auto Show.
The Forspeed concept is powered by a lithium-ion battery and has an 84-mile range. Smart says the Forspeed accelerates from zero to 37 mph in 5.5 seconds and has a top speed of 75 mph.
An unusual feature is a button in the center console that activates a "boost function" which provides an extra spurt of power for a "short time" and helps with acceleration.
Mercedes-Benz announced today that they will take over US distribution of the SMART brand from Penske Automotive Group,
The brand was launched in the US with Penske as a distributor in 2008 and sales have been slipping ever since (24,622 units in '08; 5,927 in 2010). 21 SMART dealers which currently do not sell MB products will be de-franchised leaving 58 places in the US to find a new SMART
Mercedes also announced the cancellation of the four-door SMART which was based on the Nissan March.
If you're anything like me, you have this problem a lot. You go out to the club to shake your groove-thang and when the ladies find out you've not only got a sweet silk shirt but also a Smart......well, things get interesting. 19 girls interesting. But then there's a problem: You've got 19 girls and a Smart. (Hey, you win some.) How do you get them all in? This instructional video / Guinness Book of World Records attempt should clear it all up.
Sanrio and the Cult of the Kitty just took another step towards world domination with a $1,700, full-car, Hello Kitty themed wrap for the smart fortwo.
Don't have $1,700 but really, really need a giant anime cat on your door? Good news, nobody! Through the smart Expressions site you can find door decals for as little as $550. There are also other, non-cat related, wraps (snakeskin, houndstooth, a city map and Gulf Livery etc) but really, if you're going to do this to a smart, go big or go home.
Nissan and Smart have announced a 'memo of understanding' that will have small, Nissan-built, Smart-badged five-seat hatchbacks filling out struggling Smart showrooms by 2012.
#parismotorshow Nothing says motorsports heritage like a slow-shifting economy car shaped like an athletic shoe for gout sufferers, so it's no surprise that Smart had this Brabus Fortwo done up with Gulf colors for its booth in Paris.
It's here to promote Smart's personalization program.
