Welcome to Smart Cars

Coming Soon to a Neighborhood Near You

If you live in the U.S., the odds of seeing a smart car, the tiny egg-shaped car built by Mercedes-Benz in France, in your neighborhood, are increasing day by day. According to sales figures released by Mercedes-Benz USA, sales to the end of May, 2008 were over 8,800 vehicles, with almost 2,600 of those sales coming in May alone.

According to a press release from Daimler AG, Mercedes parent company, dated June 3, 2008:

\"The vehicle is attracting an overwhelming number of buyers who want a solution to high gas prices, to reduce their environmental footprint and urban mobility on congested city streets in a package that\'s fun to drive. The fortwo offers a powerful combination of outstanding fuel efficiency, innovative safety, environmental friendliness and low cost of ownership. There are currently 69 smart centers open in 31 states.\"

Smart control systems for cars

Carmakers are working on entirely new control systems for the cars of the future that will work like smartphones or tablet computers.

BMW to use touch-sensitive smart fabric in cars

BMW GINA Light Visionary Model. (Credit: BMW) As car makers look for ways to replace unsightly buttons or add more controls without crowding the center stack, researchers are turning to smart fabric. The driver's seat has always been synonymous with total control, and that could become even more true as manufacturers begin embedding controls into its fabric. Researchers at the Polytechnic School ...

Smart brushes up marketing

Detroit — The Smart car was the canvas for edgy, urban art, and the auto show was its gallery this week.

NCKU Scholars Envision Smart Cars to Boost Car Manufacturing Industry

An engineer-based research group convened by Yen Tjing Ling Industrial Research Institute of National Cheng Kung University in southern Taiwan presented innovation ideas and

Timothy Lord Looks at Gas and Electric Smart Cars (Video)

While he was at the International Auto Show in Detroit, Timothy Lord looked at the Tesla Model S, then the CODA electric car. Now he shows us the latest Smart (brand) gas and electric vehicles, including a "concept car" he doesn't think will make it into production. Read more of this story at Slashdot.