Spied: Smart fortwo

[Variance]

Spied: Smart fortwo

These latest photos show both the Fortwo Cabriolet and the hard-topped City Coupe out testing, wearing less disguising to hide their detailing. Under the remaining black tape, there are new headlamps and taillights, a new front grille and flush-fitted door handles, plus new, more aerodynamic door mirrors.

Read "Spy Shot: Smart fortwo (June 2006)" @ Channel 4

[sciguy_0504]

And the enviros and Euros squealed in delight.

No thanks.

[roopull]

I can see where these would be nice to have if you lived in a really congested city. Outside of that, they're just silly.... silly & ugly. Great cars for city folk who look at automobiles with all the passion that I look at a toaster.

[ToniCipriani]

They're good for crowded and tiny European cities and Asia, but here I still wouldn't trust them on wide roads, despite what they say about the safety.

[Sixty8panther]

There's one of these ugly Bedbugs in Nashua, NH.

I'll post photos later, SP has seen it too.

[aaaantoine]

Saw one on the road on our way up to visit my in-laws.

My wife saw the car and it reminded her of "a show where there was a tiny car where the door opened in the front".

The car I'm speaking of, naturally, is the BMW Isetta, featured as Steve Urkel's car in Family Matters.

[thegriffon]

A car for New Yorkers who don't know what a real car is.

[enzl]

A car for New Yorkers who don't know what a real car is.

Or a car for City Dwellers that a hick wouldn't recognize as a 'real' car.

It's got 4 wheels and it has to pass the same (or more stringent) regs as a Suburban.

Why is more choice bad? Oh, it's not a GM product, so it must suck.

You guys would be licking its tailpipe if it had a little silver GM badge on it.

At least be logically consistent.

[Flybrian]

Or a car for City Dwellers that a hick wouldn't recognize as a 'real' car.

It's got 4 wheels and it has to pass the same (or more stringent) regs as a Suburban.

Why is more choice bad? Oh, it's not a GM product, so it must suck.

You guys would be licking its tailpipe if it had a little silver GM badge on it.

At least be logically consistent.

If GM made this, I would still laugh and deride it because its the most hillarious, silliest-looking car on the road. I saw one down here recently with Quebec plates. That's Quebec to the west coast of Florida in a SMART two-seater. I think one of those flat-rate USPS boxes would be more comfortable.

By the way, its not about choice. No one is seriously protesting it coming here. You can offer whatever you want, but from the looks of things, even the Europeans don't want it - haven't SMART sales there fallen way below expectations to the point where DCX isn't sure what to do with the brand?

[CARBIZ]

I see a few of them around the Toronto area. A guy on my street has one. It fits perfectly between the sidewalk and his garage - a tiny space that no normal car would fit in. So, yeah, they definitely have their place in an urban market.

They aren't cheap, though: basically $20,000 around here - the same price as a 4 cylinder Malibu, I might add.

[enzl]

If GM made this, I would still laugh and deride it because its the most hillarious, silliest-looking car on the road. I saw one down here recently with Quebec plates. That's Quebec to the west coast of Florida in a SMART two-seater. I think one of those flat-rate USPS boxes would be more comfortable.

By the way, its not about choice. No one is seriously protesting it coming here. You can offer whatever you want, but from the looks of things, even the Europeans don't want it - haven't SMART sales there fallen way below expectations to the point where DCX isn't sure what to do with the brand?

The forTwo isn't the issue....its the other products and their development costs that have hamstrung the effort. Additionally, the enormous start-up costs and some silly marketing efforts have also made the pricing out of whack with the original mission.

If you live in a city where parking and traffic are an issue, you immediately see a place and time for these vehicles.

My reply responded to the NY'er quip, not the aesthetic appeal of the car itself, which, while ugly, is no worse than the Aztek and, functionally, at least has an excuse for its odd proportions and cartoonish appearance.

[aaaantoine]

I actually kinda like the car despite its appearance. This country needs more super-compact commuter cars. I mean, look at all the people that commute.

The one thing that would prevent me from buying one is the whole "what-if" scenario of being T-boned by a Hummer H2.

[sciguy_0504]

I actually kinda like the car despite its appearance.  This country needs more super-compact commuter cars.  I mean, look at all the people that commute.

The one thing that would prevent me from buying one is the whole "what-if" scenario of being T-boned by a Hummer H2.

Forget the H2, you have to worry about the porkers strolling across the parking lot of McDonald's.

[scharmer05]

I could see people buying them in the US, so bring em over. DCX actually owns a "golf cart" company that is based out of Fargo. They are called GEM cars. Most of you have maybe seen them. They are really cool. You can get them in gas or electric and in pretty much any configuration that you want, from 2 to 6 passenger and in a stripped down utility vehicle to a little car that is fully enclosed, is street legal, and has a lot of features a car has. Even when they cost darn near 10 grand, for what is basically a glorified golf cart, I see a lot of people who use them to go back and forth to work here in Fargo. They even get around pretty well in the winter. The city of Fargo is not congested whatsoever. It's only a town of about 120000 people and people still see a reason for them.

Check out the website here

[MyerShift]

If GM made this, I would still laugh and deride it because its the most hillarious, silliest-looking car on the road. I saw one down here recently with Quebec plates. That's Quebec to the west coast of Florida in a SMART two-seater. I think one of those flat-rate USPS boxes would be more comfortable.

Well, then you could technically laugh. GM has something extremely similar to this (although better... I believe Car & Driver called it a smarter SMART) waiting in the wings should the need to produce it arise.

It's called the Opel Trixx.

[Flybrian]

Yeah, I've seen images of the Trixx. It looks slightly more like a real car. My thing against the Fortwo is the hideousness of it and the fact that it isn't even that cheap yet.

[RBB]

Opel Trixx (concept):

-RBB

[RBB]

The C&D article on the Trixx:

http://www.caranddriver.com/minitest/8309/opel-trixx.html

Opel Trixx 

A GM concept car with few prospects lives up to its name.

BY RAY HUTTON

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE VALENTE

August 2004

Had it not been for a chance conversation with Hans Demant, GM of Europe's genial engineering chief, we might have walked right past the Opel Trixx at the Geneva show last March. Dismissing it as just another microcar like DaimlerChrysler's Smart offerings is easy, as most of its innovation is under the skin. "It's worth a close look," said Demant. "The Trixx is a fully engineered, running car with some interesting technical solutions."

A few weeks later we did get a closer look during a drive in Germany. Turns out it was worth it, as the Trixx could be the year's cleverest concept car. It will never make it into a GM showroom, but as do all great concepts, it asks the question "What if?"

The Trixx is what GM designers handed in after being asked to create a car capable of carrying more than two people and their belongings in a vehicle no longer than 118.0 inches. In other words, a car with the advantages but not the disadvantages of a Smart ForTwo—in fact, a smarter Smart. The Trixx differs from the smaller Smart in that it is front-engined and has front-wheel drive.

It's tall because, as the skyscraper has demonstrated to the world, when there isn't a lot of space, the only way to go is up. Sitting 60.0 inches high gives the illusion of more space than there likely is, as well as presenting an SUV-like driving position. The high seating position meant a higher hood, which in turn meant that the radiator could move from being in front of the engine to being on top, thus saving some overall length. The car is 65.0 inches wide.

The "tri" part of the car's name refers to the three seating arrangements. The first is a standard two-seater configuration. The second involves an onboard compressor that inflates a rear luggage platform to become a back seat for one. How trick is that? The final configuration is for hauling small children in a child seat that folds out of the bulkhead behind the driver's seat.

To save space, the controls and the instruments are concentrated on a massive steering column. Machined from billet aluminum, the column looks futuristic and retro at the same time, like a '60s idea of a spaceship control center.

The little car is powered by a 1.3-liter turbocharged diesel from the GM/Fiat joint venture, coupled to a five-speed manual with an automated clutch and shifter that operates, as noted, from switches set into the rim of the unconventional steering wheel. The wheels are big—17 inches, which "help to make it look tough, not like a lightweight little car," says designer Michael Pickstone. The prototype has a pretty stiff suspension and not much body roll, so it is a more sporty drive than that of most tall, small cars.

The Trixx is a good idea incorporating many other good ideas. Opel says right now it doesn't need anything smaller than what's in the stable, the Corsa and the Agila. But with the fuel future very murky, the Trixx is ready and waiting.

-RBB

[aaaantoine]

Trixx - awesome concept.

But nearly as funny-looking as the Smart ForTwo

[NOS2006]

haha It looks so doofy..

[Sixty8panther]

IS that thing a hardtop???

Sure looks liek the rear window rolls down.