Auto Trends

To Have and Hold……For Richer For Poorer….., originally uploaded by _Val W

It has been a bit of a rocky road for Smart USA over the past year. While many customers claim to absolutely love their Smart, other reviewers have rated it as one of the worst vehicles available. But we are neither here to spread the word of fame nor shame, but rather share some highlights from a recent interview with Dave Schembri, President of Smart Car USA, on Treehugger.com.

The Smart Fortwos Weak MPG rating, Slinky Transmission, and Small Two-Passenger Size

They asked Dave a lot of pointblank questions about the Smarts weaknesses, such as why such a tiny engine and tiny chassis is only able to maintain 41 mpg highway. Surely 60 mpg could be a possibility when you are talking about a vehicle holding a small 1.0 liter 3-cylinder with only the curb weight of 1800 pounds. Dave simply reminds us that Smart Fortwo is ranked as one of the highest mile per gallon vehicles in the US. Yes we know, but it could be better.

Dave commented on the fact that testing is currently along the way for an electric drive version of the Smart, which should definitely get it up to 60 mpg we would imagine. The prototypes can currently be found in London, England and Berlin, Germany, but as long as nothing blows up, we can expect to see some in the states by mid-2010. Production models won’t begin until 2012 however.

As far as the complaints of the slinky transmission, Dave didn’t have too much to say, other than it is all a matter of the individual driver and how they are able to “maximize the shifting experience.” We heard straight from the horses mouth, that a larger version of the smart will not be available any time soon. This means no four-door models, even though many carpooling commuters have been asking for these for awhile now.

originally uploaded by nite man

No Diesel Versions Available, but there will be a Sport Version Available, called the Brabus

Despite complaints of the gas versions minimal mpg, there will also be no diesel option available in the future. Smart has opted to put all of its eggs into the electric-drive basket it would appear. There will however be a performance oriented version of the Smart Fortwo, called the Brabus. Mostly for looks, the Brabus will feature such Fast and Furious hardware as air vents, spoilers, wider wheel arches, sport exhaust, trick shift knob, and lowered suspension. The Brabus package will add an extra 6 mph to its top speed, making it a blistering 96 mph.

Yes, the Brabus will not be hitting any 0 to 60 in less than 9-seconds, nor any top speeds of over 200 unless shot out of a cannon as Car and Driver so humorously suggested. This news comes as slightly disappointing to us Brabus tuning buffs, but hey, we doubt the true Brabus enthusiast would be caught dead in a tuned Smart Fortwo anyway. Their corpse would literally pick itself up and crawl into some nearby ditch as far away as it could get!

Okay, well that’s all we have on the Smart front for now… you can tune back in sometime after 2010 to see what other exciting features are going to be in store for the Smart consumer!

Read the Treehugger interview in its entirety