| Smart Trailer USAtm Alachua, Florida - November 2008 |
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Referral System Now Open
Welcome to the Inaugural Edition of the Smart Trailer USA Newsletter We hope to provide you with a variety of information that you will find useful. And, first of all, we are NOT gonna send you a continuous commercial for the Smart Trailer USA. We plan on providing info on campgrounds, motorhome products, tips and tricks, and much more. And we are also going to ask each of you to contribute your stories about your smart fortwo and your camping experiences. After all, a newsletter is not interesting if it only offers one point of view. So please feel free to expound on your experiences, the good and bad, about smarts, motorhomes, campgrounds, whatever, okay? Don't make us do ALL the work! Write to us now!
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smart History
It is marketed as the "smart" in all lower case with current smart brand logo denotes a letter "c" for "compact" and an arrow for "forward thinking".
Company History
The idea behind the "smart car" was to create a vehicle easy to park and short enough to allow "nose-in" parking. Its length of 250 centimetres (98.4 in) would equal the width of a regular parking slot, allowing two or three smarts to park in the space as one normal car.
The project, started by Swiss watch manufacturer Swatch, was nicknamed the "Swatchmobile". The name smart is an acronym for Swatch Mercedes ART. Intended to use innovative features (such as a hybrid engine) and be affordable for young people, the smart had similar design objective to the Citroën 2CV of the 1940s.
Swatch CEO Nicolas Hayek sought an established car maker to produce his Swatch car. After General Motors reviewed and rejected the project as potentially unprofitable, Hayek found a partner in Volkswagen. Due to VW's own financial weakness at the time, plans never reached a final stage so Swatch teamed up with Daimler-Benz.
Together with the Swatch Group Ltd. they founded the Micro Compact Car AG in 1994 and built a factory complex smartville in Hambach, France. The smart city-coupé celebrated its world première at the IAA in Frankfurt (Germany) in 1997. The smart (or smart) is now available in 36 countries all over the world and has sold over 900,000 units.
The final car design proved to be far from Hayek's expectations: Its engine eco-technology was outside of Mercedes' goal. The joint venture experienced heavy losses and dispute then Swatch pulled out.
In 2005, DaimlerChrysler decided against purchasing a 50% share in the Dutch NedCar plant used to manufacture the Forfour supermini. DC also halted development on the Formore and decided to discontinue production of the Roadster.
In 2006, after dwindling sales, smart GmbH was liquidated and its operations were absorbed within the Mercedes-Benz automobile group. It was later revealed that smart GmbH lost nearly 4 billion euros from 2003 to 2006. Now, however, smart GmbH has been resurrected from the dead. The Penske Group, owner of smart USA, has delivered 20,000+ units to the US as of the end of October 2008.
Models That Died Along The Way
Apart from the original short smart Fortwo, a sporty smart Roadster, a limited production of 2000 concept smart Crosstown and a supermini smart Forfour were also offered. These have now been discontinued. There were also plans to introduce a Brazilian-made cross-over based on the body of the ForFour and the AWD hardware of the Mercedes C-class with the name of Formore but industrialization of this was cancelled at the 11th hour (even as tooling was being installed in the assembly plant) due to unfavourable exchange rate swings and spending cutbacks driven by losses elsewhere within smart.
smart EV
An electric, rechargeable version is being released in the UK as a lease vehicle on a limited basis. At the smart Car Brooklands event in July 1998, a smart EV was on display within "MercedesWorld" and a representative stated that the car would be for sale in the UK in 2010. Daimler will start the production of the electric smart equipped with lithium-ion batteries in 2009 and production will ramp up to mass production by 2012. A smart Forfour has been converted into a plug-in hybrid by Lithium Technology Corporation and Zytek Systems. The lithium-ion battery can propel the vehicle up to 84 mph (135 km/h) and last on its own for up to 20 miles (32 km). The engine is a combination of a 68 horsepower, 1.5 liter, 3-cylinder turbo charged diesel engine and two high-efficiency permanent-magnet electric motors. It was awarded by the Energy Saving Trust for the “Ultra Low Carbon Car Challenge” project.
Daimler AG and RWE AG have also launched the world's largest joint project for environmentally friendly electric cars. Daimler will provide more than 100 electric cars from Mercedes-Benz and smart as well as the vehicle service.The new generation of smart ed (electric drive) and electric-battery driven vehicles from Mercedes-Benz will come in use within the "e-mobility Berlin" project. RWE is handling the development, installation and operation of the charging infrastructure". The new project is also benefiting from the experience gained by Daimler during the current pilot project involving electro-mobility in London. Since last year, there has been a test fleet of first-generation smart Fortwo ed cars . The start of serial production of battery-powered vehicles by Mercedes-Benz and smart is in 2010. There are no plans at present to introduce the car into the US market, but who knows?
My Time To Gripe
On September 6th I wrote a two page letter to Dave Schembri, President of smart USA. The letter pointed out, in detail, the size of the RV market and the obvious demand for the Smart Trailer USA. I also pointed out that our company was providing free advertising the smart fortwo on our website and also every time we did a traditional mailing, which we do quite often. And, we are the ONLY American manufacturer of a trailer for these cars. The point of the letter was summed up here:
“Mr. Schembri, you don’t know me, but I would like to fix that. I would appreciate an appointment to meet with you for one hour between now and October 15th. At the end of that hour, I expect to have you convinced to do two things:
1. Designate the Smart Trailer USA as the official trailer for the smart fortwo, and
2. Agree to a 50% co-op advertising plan that will promote both the smart fortwo and the Smart Trailer USA to the motorhome industry. We will present a detailed plan for this.
The Smart Trailer USA is an admirable add-on for the smart fortwo product line. Smart Sales, LLC is the only manufacturer of such a trailer in the United States. We have a great match between us and it should be exploited.”
Now I will be the first one to admit that I can be ornery at times, but I don't think that was the case here. No one at smart USA, not even some two-bit desk flunky, had the courtesy to reply as of the October 15 date. That is just wrong.
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UPDATE: On October 15th, I received a letter from Mr. Schembri which flatly said "No" to my requests. No reasons, no explanation. |
What do you think? Let us know by email.
2009 smart fortwo MHD
In the name of fuel economy, a mild hybrid system will come standard on all gas-powered 2009 smart ForTwos sold in Europe.
Previously an option on the 71-hp ForTwo, the system, which smart calls the `Micro Hybrid Drive,' is now standard on both 61- and 71-hp gasoline engines.
The MHD consists of a stop/start system, built into the vehicle's starter/generator. Once a driver touches the brakes or slows the car to less than five mph, the ForTwo's engine is shut off, leaving a battery pack to power accessories. Conversely, the system works with the ForTwo's automated-manual transmission to restart the engine and launch the car once the driver steps on the accelerator.
smart claims the MHD helps the ForTwo return up to twenty percent better fuel economy in city driving, while reducing carbon dioxide emissions to 103 grams per kilometer.
Although the system is currently destined for European streets only, the system's simplicity - coupled with a renewed interest in small cars within North America - could push the system onto U.S. - spec smarts in the near future.
Smart Trailer USA Expands Offerings - AGAIN!
Due to ever increasing requests for additional small car trailers from motorhome owners, Smart Trailer USA now offers an impressive lineup of cars for which they build custom trailers. Even though the motorhome market is in decline, existing owners continue to take advantage of the low-cost vacation lifestyle offered by the motorhome lifestyle.
The company now offers Smart Trailers USA for the following cars:
| Mercedes Benz smart fortwo Chevy Aveo Honda FIT Hyundai Accent GS3 Kia Rio Mini Cooper |
Saturn Sky Suzuki SX4 Toyota Matrix Toyota Prius Toyota Scion Toyota Yaris |
2009 smart fortwo Ranked as Most Fuel Efficient of All Gas Powered Vehicle in the US
As the only manufacturer of a trailer for the smart fortwo in the United States, the company received a great deal of interest. It was only natural that their offerings be expanded to include this impressive line of small cars.
The 2009 smart fortwo has been ranked as the most fuel efficient, non-hybrid vehicle in the United States by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2009 Fuel Economy Guide. The guide places the fortwo as fifth overall in the ranking for fuel efficiency. The smart fortwo is sold in the United States by smart USA Distributor LLC.
“The smart fortwo demonstrates there are options, other than hybrids, when seeking excellent fuel economy at a time when fuel prices have been at a historic high,” said Dave Schembri, president of smart USA. “This vehicle has a low cost of ownership starting under $12,000 and is one of the most ecological vehicles on the road today,
not only for its environmental friendliness, but also for its compact size in an age of increasing urban congestion.”
The 2009 smart fortwo achieves an average of 41 miles per gallon on the highway according to 2009 EPA regulations. The smart fortwo is powered by a state-of-the-art, compact, three-cylinder gasoline engine that sits at the rear of the vehicle. The engine capacity is 61 cubic inches, producing an output of 70 hp (52 kW).
The vehicle already exceeds the goal set by Congress for the vehicle fleet, and is classified as an Ultra-Low Emissions Vehicle by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for its extremely low exhaust emissions. It is also certified by EPA as a “smartway” vehicle, which indicates good environmental performance, placing it among the “greenest” vehicles on the market.
Ninety-five percent of the vehicle is recyclable, and the dash material is made from recycled synthetics.
Well, that's it for this month. We hope you found it an interesting read. We thought it appropriate to concentrate on the smart fortwo, its history and near future. In future issues we'll look at products, experiences and much more.
Take care, enjoy, be safe!
Richard and Heidi Hill