smart

MONCTON, New Brunswick – Smart has always been a niche subset of the Mercedes-Benz brand with its unique take on city travel offerings. However recently, it has separated itself even more so by becoming one of the only brands, at least for now in North America (and throughout Europe by …

Some cars, like the smart, don’t meet the same criteria as most others. No one buys a smart to take their family to the cottage in winter! In fact, driving a smart is more of a lifestyle choice than a transportation choice. Creating an all-electric smart makes perfect sense considering …

When it first came to Canada in 2005, the smart fortwo sent shockwaves through the country. Everyone wanted to know where this pocket-sized car came from, whether it had an electric motor, where it was built, etc. Imagine the public’s reaction when they learned that it was powered by a …

Remember that Willy Nelson tune, On the Road Again? Until recently, I never thought I’d associate driving down the highway like “a band of gypsies” with the smallest car in the nation. Because, you know, smarts are known for being good cars—in the city. Mercedes-Benz (the smart’s manufacturer) has just …

Mercedes-Benz brought us out to Germany’s densely populated city of Cologne for a first introduction to the new smart fortwo. Why Cologne? Because this is where the small urban vehicle is very popular, as it’s perfectly suited to the city’s narrow streets and heavy traffic. Whereas smarts are still a …

In September 2015, the new generation of the smart fortwo coupe is launching in Canada as a 2016 model. Despite a bumper-to-bumper redesign, it retains its ultra-compact dimensions, its tiny 6.95 metre turning circle and its turbocharged three-cylinder engine producing 89 horsepower and 100 lb-ft of torque. A five-speed manual …

In 2006, the second-generation smart fortwo was unveiled in a Stuttgart parking lot. Why? It was to prove that, despite its 20 additional centimetres, two smart fortwos could still be parked in a single parking spot. The third generation has just launched in Berlin, and it didn’t have anything to …

The smart brand, which was discontinued in North America five years ago and is now equally owned by Mercedes-Benz and Chinese automaker Geely, might be famous for its quirky microcars, but that didn’t stop it from launching a pair of crossovers in recent years. Set to join the cute #1 …

Everyone remembers smart despite the brand exiting the North American market in 2019. Its quirky city cars added a dash of colour and fun to our downtowns for many years. Now split between Europe and China (Geely owns 50 percent), the company is entering a new chapter with a series …

The smart brand was dropped in North America following the 2019 model year, but it continues to exist in Europe and China. Back in January, we told you that it would reinvent itself as an SUV company, and now we have visual evidence. This week at the IAA show in …

A weird thing is about to happen with smart , which was saved from extinction through a partnership between Daimler and Geely in mid-2019 before it left the North American market at the end of that year. Believe it or not, smart will reinvent itself an SUV brand. Obviously, this …

In a shocking turn of event, Daimler has confirmed that the smart brand will exit the North American market following the 2019 model year. This comes only a month after the German automaker signed a 50-50 joint partnership with China’s Geely to keep the world’s most famous city car alive, …

Things have changed in a real hurry for smart. Not even 48 hours after we learned from a German newspaper that the brand’s fate would be decided by the end of this year , parent company Daimler announced the formation of a 50-50 globally focused joint venture with Chinese auto …

The future looks bleak for smart . The world’s most famous minicar could be axed in an attempt to make savings at parent company Daimler, whose overall profit fell by 30 percent in 2018. According to a new report by German newspaper Handelsblatt , the brand’s fate will be decided …

The diesel engine has just taken another hit, and might not recover. In an effort to prove that diesel engine emissions don’t pose a health risk to the population, German companies BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen, along with supplier Bosch, funded an organisation called the European Research Group on Environment and …