By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
It’s been a little over a year since I went to see the smart fortwo at a Dallas stop on the traveling road show that preceded its sales in the U.S. I was wowed by the brightly painted, road-hugging micro cars
with their cozy seats, wide-view windshields and buggy like demeanor.
More significantly, I remember the wide range of people in line for the test drive: a neurosurgeon who wanted a commuting car; an avid golfer who wanted to make sure his irons fit in the trunk; a mother shopping for her teenager and a mechanic from the Mercedes service department across the parking lot who was looking on behalf of the entire crew with whom he worked.
The Mercedes mechanic thought the smart fortwo, manufactured by Daimler AG, would be affordable (it is) and reliable (it’s got a track record in 37 countries).
Apparently, Americans agree. A new report on the Smart shows that it sold 20,000 units in its first 10 months on the ground in the United States. Those sales were helped, no doubt, by those who signed up on waiting lists in 2007. And the economic derailment this fall probably didn’t hurt the smart fortwo, which retails for $12.000 to $17,000, the way it kick-boxed expensive SUVs and other gas guzzlers.
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Slideshow: 30 (cars) over 30 (mpg)
November 10th, 2008 · 1 Comment
By Clint Williams
Don’t be fooled. Gasoline prices won’t be bumping around $2 a gallon for long. Driving a car with good fuel economy still makes sense. Higher mpg means lower operating costs for the household budget and fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
Happily, car shoppers today have a myriad of options among fuel frugal 2009 cars. You can find something getting 30 mpg or better on the highway at nearly every dealer lot. In some cases, you’ll have to settle for a trim line with a smaller engine and manual transmission to hit the 30 mpg mark.
Here are 30 with 30 mpg:
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Tags: · Audi, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Clean diesel, Ford, Honda, Hybrid, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Mini Cooper, Nissan, Pontiac, Saturn, Scion, smart fortwo, Suzuki, Toyota, Volkawagen
Journal names Green Car of the Year finalists
October 30th, 2008 · 2 Comments
By Tom Kessler
Green Car Journal editors have chosen the five finalists for the 2009 Green Car of the Year award. They include two “clean” diesels — the BMW 335d and Volkswagen Jetta TDI — the Ford Fusion Hybrid, the Saturn Vue 2-Mode Hybrid, and the Euro-bred smart fortwo. The winner will be announced Nov. 20 at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
According to the Journal’s experts, the five models are important milestones for their manufacturers. The VW and BMW clean diesels signal the advent of highly efficient, advanced diesel sedans that meet emissions requirements in all 50 states. Ford’s Fusion Hybrid is the American automaker’s first hybrid sedan. Saturn’s Vue 2-Mode represents the first time GM has used its two-mode hybrid system in a V-6 front-drive platform. The smart fortwo is fuel efficient micro car from Europe that just made ti the U.S. in recent months.
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Tags: · BMW, Ford, GM, green cars, Saturn, smart fortwo, Volkswagen
Here’s another good reason to think small in these challenging times.
