The Smart ForTwo isn't for shy people. Even though Smart USA has sold about 30,000 of these tiny two-seaters in the U.S., the little rollerskate attracts a lot of attention. On the road or in America's parking lots, the ForTwo is a conversation piece, and people don't hesitate to come up and talk to you. Some will tell you about the Smart they saw in Europe. Others will ask if it has the guts to make it onto the highway. Most will assume it gets great gas mileage (it doesn't). But one thing's for certain, during our week with the ForTwo, there was a 100-percent conversation rate wherever we went. Anthropophobes, be warned.

Follow the jump to see what it's like to spend wheel time with a Smart ForTwo Cabriolet.



Photos Copyright ©2009 Sebastian Blanco / Weblogs, Inc.

Penske Automotive Group, distributors of the Smart Fortwo here in the United States, recorded an impressive 24,622 total sales of the diminutive city car in 2008 and dealers widely reported that they could have sold even more had they been available. With that in mind, the nascent company set what seemed at the time like a realistic sales target for 25,000 units in 2009. That may have been a bit optimistic.

So far this year, Smart USA has sold just 7,451 Fortwos, which is down nearly 16% over the first five months of 2008. May sales, though, were down an alarming 56.6% to 1,169 units. To stem the rushing tide of order cancellations and slow sales, Penske has decided to offer its first-ever incentives on the Fortwo. From now until the end of July, buyers may qualify for 4.2% financing through Daimler Financial Services for the purchase of a new 2009 Smart Fortwo.

If this incentive has a positive impact on sales, expect it to be extended a bit longer. Further, Penske is considering making it possible for dealerships to order new cars without accepting the refundable $99 reservation from a customer that's currently required, which could have the desirable effect of placing more new vehicles on dealer lots for buyers to choose from.



[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

If you poll owners (and reviewers) of the Smart ForTwo you'll find one consistent gripe: the transmission. The automated manual gearbox herks, jerks and is about as dynamically pleasing as petting your dog with a broom.

Apparently, Smart is listening, and in addition to tweaking the software on the 2009 ForTwo, the automaker is offering 24,622 owners of 2008 models the same transmission fix. Letters are being delivered to let owners know about the free software upgrade, and while the fix supposedly makes a difference, the few people we've talked to who've driven the 2009 model assure us that while the shifting is better, it's still very far from perfect.



[Source: USAToday via KickingTires]

Nearly every automaker on the planet has suffered from bouts of over-reaching and Smart is hardly an exception. Daimler's micro-car division succumbed to the desire to fill every conceivable niche a few years back, unsuccessfully adding roadsters and four-door models to its iconic two-door city car. But before the Smart Roadster and ForFour were sent off to camp, another model was in the works. Yes, Smart was planning a sport-utility vehicle. And someone's snagged some photos of the wisely canceled show car sitting in the back of a Mercedes warehouse in Germany.

Although it looks like a ForFour with some extra bits tacked on (note the unsuitable low-profile tires), sources suggest that this Smart crossover was actually based on the Mercedes GLK. Called the ForMore, the concept car was scheduled to make its debut at the 2005 Frankfurt show before Daimler pulled the plug on the entire program at the last minute. We can't help wonder if a similar initiative from BMW's Mini division will end up with the same fate.



[Source: Cardisiac via Jalopnik]

When your Police Chief is six-feet tall and weighs 280 pounds, you might consider it cruel and unusual punishment to issue him a Smart fortwo as his police cruiser. But that is exactly what the folks in Belle Isle, Florida have done. Heck, if it's good enough for Batman, it's good enough for Belle Isle, right? According to the Orlando Sentinel, Chief John Tegg insists that he's perfectly comfortable once he gets situated inside – at least physically. "One fella told me he's not sure he'd pull over for this little thing," Tegg said. "I said you'd better if you know what's good for you."

The fledgling police department in this small Orange County town claims that this is the first Smart pressed into constabulary duty in America. While we can't verify that claim, the Belle Isle force plans on using the vehicle for patrols. However, with no backseat, Tegg admits there is room for little more than a ticket book, so the good chief will have to call for backup if someone needs to be hauled off to jail. Showing that they at least have a healthy sense of humor about the situation, the squad has issued the car a unit number of "point-five" – as in half a car. We're calling it Smart ForFiveOh, or Smart ForPoPo. Anything else come to mind? We're sure you can come up with something better. Thanks for the tip and pics, David!



[Source: Orlando Sentinel / Photos: phabulousphotos]

Needless to say, the folks over at Smart USA were not pleased to see the results of the latest batch of crash testing from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The IIHS did a series of frontal offset crash tests between small and mid-size cars, one of which included a smart ForTwo versus a Mercedes C300. While the results may have been what most people expected, they don't correlate with the ForTwo's results in standardized tests where the IIHS rates the smart as good in front and side impacts. The feds at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration give the smart 4 stars on frontal impact and 5 on side impact.

The problem, as Smart USA sees it, is that the IIHS devised a test that no automaker has designed to and that they claim only represents about one percent of real world accidents. Smart has even set up a site for customer testimonials about the crash safety performance of their ForTwo. Typically in the past, Smarts have actually done quite well in similar vehicle-on-vehicle tests, such as the ones conducted by Mercedes and Auto Motor und Sport after the jump.

The fundamental issue is that car structures are very complex and their response in a crash is highly dependent on the precise nature of the vehicle-to-vehicle interface. Because of standardized tests, cars are optimized to perform well in those, just as the powertrain is optimized to maximize results on the EPA mileage tests. It's not clear at this point how the IIHS methodology varies from what has been done in the past and why the results are so much worse. One thing that's clear: this story is far from over.



[Source: SmartUSA]

Last October we advised you not to hold your breath for Daimler's Car2Go program to come to America. You can breathe again. If you live in Austin, Texas you'll be able to rent a mild hybrid Smart ForTwo by the minute this fall. Austin was chosen because of its university population and its concern for the environment.

Car2Go makes its fleet available on-demand, with a clear price structure, and you can keep the car as long as you wish. Those in the program access the vehicles by swiping a tag on their driver's licenses over a card reader on the car. As with the pilot program in Ulm, Germany the service will start in Austin with an initial fleet, expected to consist of around 200 Smarts that will be available to city employees first and then expand to public use at the conclusion of a trial period.


[Source: Canadian Driver]

Almost a year ago, 13 people squeezed into a smart fortwo. Yes, they were gymnasts. It might someday be easier to fit more than two people in a fortwo if plans to make a longer version of the most diminutive production car sold in the U.S. come to fruition. Smart head Anders-Sundt Jensen has confirmed rumors with Automotive News that an extended wheelbase could allow for 2+1 or 2+2 seating. Looks like pressure from the Toyota iQ and the VW up! is having an effect.

What might these new smart models be called? Go ahead, take a guess. Names like forone, forthree and forfour "are being discussed," AN writes, but as regulars may recall, AutoExpress thinks a four-door model could be called fortwo +2. A new model would likely look more like the current smart than the Colt-like smart ForFour that was sold from 2004-2006. The next-gen smart model is supposed to be revealed by next year's Geneva Motor Show, so we'll hopefully know more by then.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]

One of the most unusual vehicles to grace last year's SEMA Show in Las Vegas is now up for auction on eBay Motors. Called the BatSmart, this little vehicle was unlike most of the high-octane pieces of rolling artwork at the event in that it used just three pistons and 70 horsepower to move along its twin passengers. What it loses in power, though, it makes up in style, right?

Designed by George Barris himself, creator of the original Batmobile from the mid '60s, the Batsmart features a faux turbine and rocket launchers to go along with its full custom body kit, which includes the requisite rear batfins and rodent-like pointy nose. Click here to see the auction page and be sure to check out our gallery below. Thanks for the tip, Mick!




[Source: eBay via All Cars All The Time]

Add the smart fortwo to the growing list of products impacted by the economic downturn here in the United States. Last year, the diminutive urban runabout was one of the U.S. market's few bright spots, with its small dealer network moving nearly 25,000 units and busting through sales expectations along the way.

For much of the summer months in 2008, the fortwo was actually selling for a premium on the open market, as dealerships only stocked vehicles that had actually been ordered and for which deposits had been collected. According to Sean Sarraff, brand manager of Smart Center Germantown in Maryland, "Since November, it seems people are backing out of purchasing a Smart." These unwanted vehicles end up as orphan cars and are made available to purchase through the automaker's Smart Express shopping system.

What happened? Apparently, a large number of the micro machines were ordered up by families as second cars or as toys for the wealthy. In these tough financial times, toys and playthings are expendable, and that's what seems to be happening with a certain number of smart orders. The good news, though, is that there are finally enough orphan units available that long lead times can generally be avoided for those ready to make a purchase.



[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd']