smart cars make you feel like a rock star.

Here is an article about how the smart makes you feel like a celebrity.

William Dudley has never starred in a movie, never recorded a CD or won the lottery. But nowadays, he says, he knows what it's like to be a celebrity.

Mercedes B-Class is coming to the USA.

Bloomberg is reporting that Mercedes is planning to bring the B-Klasse to the States.
This will compete with the smart and other mini/micro cars.

Excerpts:

July 25 (Bloomberg) -- DaimlerChrysler AG, the world's second-biggest luxury automaker, is designing a version of its Mercedes-Benz B-Class car for sale in North America for the first time, the company's top U.S. executive said.
The B-class, available in Europe since 2005, is due for redesign in 2011 or 2012 and prototypes include a model that would meet North American regulatory requirements, said Ernst Lieb, chief executive officer of Mercedes-Benz USA. The mini crossover is bigger than General Motors Corp.'s Chevrolet Aveo and smaller than Toyota Motor Corp.'s Corolla.

Autoblog Green's First Drive impressions

Autoblog Green has posted a recent "driving impression" blog in their website.

Like everyone else, they had to attend one of the US Smart tour events. Their conclusion is pretty much the same as everything else written on the web- This car is better than the one it replaced.

Reservations officially hits 20,000 mark.

The Detroit News covers the smart car as it arrives in auto city, Detroit. smart car USA officials tells us that the demand is overwhelming.

"The response has been overwhelming," David Schembri, president of Smart USA, said at a presentation in Detroit Tuesday of the boxy, 8.8-foot car, called the Fortwo.

Source: Detroit News

In other news, Safety is a big concern from potential drivers.
Despite the tridiom safety cell, there are still doubts concerning the safety of the small vehicle.

Still, in an accident, "the laws of physics can't be repealed," said Russ Rader of the Arlington, Va.-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. "Even with modern safety features like multiple air bags, people in small, light cars are always at a disadvantage in crashes."

Another view
Smart USA spokesman Ken Kettenbeil said U.S. tests are likely to be completed this year with the result released in the fall, and that the company expects a four-star crash rating.

Euro NCAP tests on the City Coupe found that the car provided good protection for the driver and passenger, particularly with side impacts. But the agency found while there was good head and leg protection for a passenger in a front impact, there was weak protection for that person's chest. The driver had good head protection and adequate chest protection, but poor to adequate leg protection in a front-end impact.

The new model, nearly 8 inches longer, features improvements including a steel safety cage ADAC's Luca likened to a race car designed to protect the driver and spread out the energy from a crash across the car.

Smart also has touted the two "crash boxes" in the front and rear of the car that help spread energy from a collision across the safety cell.

Summer News

In other micro car news, Fiat finally released their "mini competitor"- the Fiat 500 (Motor Trend). This has been a highly anticpated launch in Europe with most inventory accounted for.

It's unlikely the vehicle will make it to the U.S. market, with Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne putting the brakes on rumors that the automaker was considering bringing the 500 here.

Renault is considering a new branding for their new fuel efficiency. It will be called Eco2

June proves to be a strong sales month with lower gas prices.
However, the Long Beach Press Telegram notes that the smart car is showing high interest before its debut.

However, some of the hottest interest in vehicles this summer may be for a tiny,fuel-efficient vehicle that hasn't even come to the United States yet.

451 smart Brabus Edition announced in Europe

Autoblog posted a press release from smart concerning the new Brabus hi performance edition smarts.. The press release originates from Europe and is for the Euro market.There is no news about US versions of Brabus.

The sporty two-seater accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in 9.9 seconds and reaches a top speed of 155 km/h.

The big question now is price. Judging from the pricing, the passion cabrio is 22K Euro.

22,430.00 EUR = 30,141.24 USD

I don't know to many people who would spend $30K for a 98 bhp machine that reaches naught to sixty in 10 seconds. I, personally, would get the new 1 series for that kind of pricing.

Toronto police to get smart cars

Okay, I know this is suppose to be a US blog on the next generation fortwos but I couldn't resist. The Toronto Police will be deploying smart cars for light duty work (read... meter maids)