Austin, TX – In a joint partnership with the City of Austin, Daimler is launching its groundbreaking car2go pilot project in North America today. The innovative mobility concept makes city driving as easy as using a mobile phone. It offers Austin an easy, flexible, reasonably priced and progressive solution to the growing challenges of urban mobility. Austin becomes the official headquarters of car2go North America LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler. The first pilot phase starts with 200 smart fortwo vehicles and a defined group of users. At some point in 2010, the number of cars will be increased and car2go will be made accessible to all Austin residents and students.

The car2go system is straightforward. 200 smart fortwo vehicles are made available within the city for all registered car2go members. This fleet of vehicles can be accessed 24/7. After a one-time registration process, the customers can use the service on the spot by accessing any available vehicle on the street, or can book in advance through the online reservation process. One significant difference from traditional car-sharing programs is that car2go offers cars on demand and the customers may use the vehicle for as long as they like, without committing to a specific return time. Furthermore, car2go allows users to make one way trips. Charges are not based on distance, but on time – with rates starting by the minute.

“car2go is an innovative answer to current and future mobility needs in urban areas”, says Dr. Thomas Weber, member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development. “We are pleased with the success we achieved in Ulm, Germany – the first car2go city – and we are ready for the next logical step on our way to an international rollout.”

Austin becomes first international partner for car2go

The City of Austin is the first North American city to partner with car2go. This launch follows the successful implementation of the first car2go pilot in October 2008 in the southern German city of Ulm.

The 200 smarts of the first pilot are rented 500 to 1,000 times per day and they are used by 15,000 customers which equals more than 15 percent of the citizens who possess a driver’s license in Ulm. 90 percent of the participants take advantage of the unique offer to use car2go spontaneously without booking in advance and for one-way trips.

“The City of Austin is committed to identifying and implementing solutions to address the challenges associated with urban growth, mobility and environmental sustainability,” said Mayor Lee Leffingwell. “This pilot-program partnership between car2go and the City of Austin represents a significant step toward helping us alleviate congestion, reduce emissions and increase the use of public transportation.”

For the pilot, the pick up and drop off area is limited to the greater downtown Austin area which has an expansion of about 17 square miles where more than 60,000 employees work. The use of a car2go vehicle includes all city-controlled parking fees: No need to feed the meters! car2go is paying a usage fee to the City of Austin in the form of free driving minutes for employees driving on City business.

“Facilitating innovative transportation solutions is integral to the City of Austin’s goal of becoming the best-managed city in America,” said City Manager Marc Ott. “By promoting large-scale car sharing, we can help address mobility challenges in and around our urban core, ultimately reducing the burden on city center traffic and parking.”

How car2go will work in Austin

More than 13,000 city employees have the opportunity to use the smart vehicles not only for business but also for private use. Billing is handled with the same degree of simplicity and flexibility as every aspect of car2go – the rates are all-inclusive: fuel, maintenance, insurance, miles and parking. Competitive hourly or daily rates apply to longer rental periods. The trademark of car2go is its user friendly system, developed to meet and exceed the needs of customers. A car2go service team on the ground will handle daily maintenance of the vehicles. The service team will also ensure the vehicles are fueled and clean. If customers want to refuel the vehicles by themselves, they can use a pre-paid credit card found in the glove compartment of the car2go. The time for refueling the car will be credited to the customer with 10 minutes of free driving.

”The goal of the Austin pilot project is to gather experience we can use to ensure the public launch of car2go in North America in 2010 is successful,“ says Nicholas Cole, CEO of car2go North America LLC. “In the second phase we will increase the number of cars in Austin and open the service to the public. We are also talking to a large number of cities in North America and Europe about additional rollouts of car2go.”

The smart fortwo vehicles for the Austin pilot phase are provided by the smart USA Distributor LLC. The vehicle size and its maneuverability are perfect for car sharing programs in urban areas.

Visit car2go website.

car2go smart cars and City of Austin Team Up For On Demand Mobility is a post from: CleanCarTalk

Note to readers: Beware of scams already popping up to take advantage of the CARS of “cash for clunkers” program. Never give out personal information on a website, especially your social security number. Your only trusted source should be www.cars.gov.

Updated 07-21-09. President Barack Obama has signed a law for a scrappage incentive for old cars based on the European model, which draws the attention of car buyers to the smart fortwo. In future, Americans who trade their old car for the two-seater with its exemplary environmental credentials will receive the maximum premium from the state.

Buyers of new cars will receive a maximum scrappage bonus of $4,500 in future (currently the equivalent of around €3,200) when they exchange a gas-guzzling old car for an environmentally friendly new one. Unlike the German system, the Car Allowance Rebate System (Cars) – commonly called “cash for clunkers” plans for a sliding scale with the amount of the bonus depending on the fuel consumption of the new vehicle. smart fortwo buyers will always receive the maximum premium – irrespective of the old car being scrapped. The innovative smart concept with its outstanding fuel efficiency therefore presents a further attractive advantage to customers in the USA.

According to the American Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the smart fortwo is America’s most fuel-efficient car without hybrid drive. The US authority confirms independent European studies that had previously established the clever two-seater as the most economical car. In addition, the smart already exceeds US standards for fleet consumption (CAFE = Corporate Average Fuel Economy) that will apply from 2020 and it has been classified as an ultra-low emission vehicle by the California Air Resources Board on account of its extremely low exhaust-emission figures.

The EPA has listed the smart fortwo as the top two-seater class for fuel economy for the 2009 model year.

CleanFleetReport.com has the smart on its list of New Cars that Already Meet 2016 Fuel Economy Standards.

Thanks to its outstanding features and its fresh design that combines functionality with joie de vivre, the smart fortwo has become a sought-after city car in many countries. smart fortwo models take up an unrivaled amount of road and parking space and yet they bring two people including luggage to their destination extremely comfortably and safely. smart provides lots of unique answers to questions concerning individual and eco-friendly urban mobility.

See the smart fortwo $99 program details.

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Cash For Clunkers: smart fortwo Gets Maximum Incentive is a post from: CleanCarTalk

Note to readers: Beware of scams already popping up to take advantage of the CARS of “cash for clunkers” program. Never give out personal information on a website, especially your social security number. Your only trusted source should be www.cars.gov.

Updated 07-28-09. The Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS,) or “Cash For Clunkers” program as some in the press like to call it, is the federal program that helps consumers purchase a new, more efficient vehicle when an older, less efficient vehicle is traded in. All transactions made on or after July 1, 2009 are eligible under the CARS program, and many dealers have already registered with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to offer these credits directly to consumers.

The credit received by consumers will not be treated as reportable income for tax purposes. In other words, it is tax-free. Dealers, on the other hand, will have to report it as an income.

The Facts

Here’s a quick run-down of important things about the CARS program you should know, from the government’s official website www.cars.gov:

• Your vehicle must be less than 25 years old on the trade-in date
• Only purchase or lease of new vehicles qualify
• Generally, trade-in vehicles must get 18 or less miles per gallon or mpg (some very large pick-up trucks and cargo vans have different requirements)
• Trade-in vehicles must be registered and insured continuously for the full year preceding the trade-in
• You don’t need a voucher, dealers will apply a credit at purchase
• Program runs through Nov 1, 2009 or when the funds are exhausted, whichever comes first.
• The program requires the disposal of your eligible trade-in vehicle and that the dealer disclose to you an estimate of the scrap value of your trade-in. The scrap value, however minimal, will be in addition to the rebate, and not in place of the rebate.

Here are some specific requirements of the CARS program:

• Your trade-in vehicle must
  • have been manufactured less than 25 years before the date you trade it in
  • have a “new” combined city/highway fuel economy of 18 miles per gallon or less. Use this site http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/sbs.htm to find your car’s combined city/highway fuel economy. It’s the red mpg number under the red banner “Estimated New EPA MPG” in the graphic below. UPDATED 07-28-09: You now need to find your eligibility here: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/CarsSearchIntro.shtml
  • be in drivable condition
  • be continuously insured and registered to the same owner for the full year preceding the trade-in
  • The trade-in vehicle must have been manufactured not earlier than 25 years before the date of trade in and, in the case of a category 3 vehicle, must also have been manufactured not later than model year 2001
  • Work trucks and cargo vans have different requirements
• Consumers can either buy or lease a new car, as long as the lease period is at least for 5 years. Used cars are eligible.
• Both domestic and foreign made cars are eligible.
• The manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the new car cannot exceed $45,000.
• New passenger cars to be purchased must have combined fuel economy of 22 mpg; Category 1 or class 1 trucks (up to 6,000 lbs GVWR, Gross Vehicle Weight Rating,) 18 mpg; Category 2 trucks (6,001 to 10,000 lbs,) 15 mpg; and Category 3 trucks (10,001 to 14,000 lbs), no specific minimum mpg requirements but other restrictions apply.
• The law requires your trade-in vehicle to be scraped (destroyed.)

The Upsides

So what are the amounts of the credit and how are they determined. Purchasers of new qualified cars are eligible to receive either $3,500 or $4,500 credit.

• $3,500 credit. Consumers receive this amount if the new car’s combined mpg is at least 4, but less than 10 mpg, higher than the old car’s.
• $4,500 credit. Consumers receive this amount if the new car’s combined mpg is at least 10 mpg higher than the old car’s.

I’m sure many consumers will jump on this deal because these are some very attractive discounts on top of any other discounts, incentives and special offers made available by dealers and manufacturers. Expect dealer showrooms to have increased traffic between now and November 1. Also expect to see fewer polluting cars on the roads.

The Downsides

So is there a downside to this law? I can think of at least a couple.

One, low income people won’t be benefitting from the Cash for Clunkers program because they can’t afford a new car anyway. Not surprisingly, they are the largest population driving clunkers.

Two, the charity industry (which is very active in the older car sales and auction trade) will probably lose out because traded in cars (all of which are still operational by law) will all head for the scrap yards. As environmentally undesirable as they are, some poor families can still use them to maintain their livelihood. So again the poor lose out.

For  the latest information on the CARS program, follow this link to view helpful Q&As for consumers.

By the way the smart fortwo also qualifies for this “cash for clunkers” program.

Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) or Cash For Clunkers Program Kicking Into Gear is a post from: CleanCarTalk

A new study indicated, among other trends, that 21% of Europeans said they would buy a car from Apple, while 48% would buy a car from BMW.

Okay now let’s put things in context. According to a BusinessWeek article “Luxury Buyers Ready for E-Cars, Bain Says” posted by Jack Ewing on January 27, 2009, the survey by consultant Bain & Co. of Munich, Germany included 4,000 people from eight countries, including the U.S., China, Japan and Germany. General finding is that high-income buyers are ready to buy electric cars as a second vehicle. Now this is no surprise since affluent buyers don’t need basic transportation and can afford a second car, be it a Ferrari or a Tesla. What’s more interesting though is the fact that those surveyed said they are ready to buy electric cars.

It is Tesla’s strategy to build an electric car for the high-end market first. Then with experience and volume, roll out more affordable sedans for the mass. It makes a lot of sense for a company which has not produced an automobile before. But what does this really do to the industry?

According to the article, the study seems to indicate a major shift in traditional car manufacturers mentality that actually forces them to go slowly with new electric-powered vehicles. This is because as the internal combustion engines, transmissions and other conventional fossil fuel-related components are removed from the automobiles, as in the case of hybrids, plug-in hybrids and all-electric cars, the less there is to differentiate between car brands. As Mr. Ewing wrote, “Electric motors are much less complicated to build than internal combustion engines and require only a simple gearbox … The qualities that have sold BMWs, Lexus and Mercedes won’t be as unique anymore.”

What’s left is unique design, which can still give you a strong competitive edge. This means we’ll probably see more collaborations between car manufacturers and non-automobile companies in the future. And when you have the Swiss watch manufacturer Swatch choosing Daimler-Benz to build the Swatch Mercedes ART, or smart as we know it, an Apple car may not be that far-fetched.

What’s your take on this? Share your opinions by leaving a comment below.

Only the Affluent Can Afford Electric Cars Today, and One in Five Would Buy Car from Apple – Yes That Apple (AAPL) is a post from: CleanCarTalk

This is a collection of interesting smart fortwo cdi diesel cars on YouTube. New videos will be added as I find them.

E-Mobility Brings Electric Cars to Berlin. (2:33)
Sept 08 – With e-mobility Berlin, Daimler AG and RWE AG launched the worlds largest joint project for environmentally friendly electric cars.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyYn9qH_Nd0

Very cold start Smart CDI turbodiesel. (2:18)
3 January 2008, -26°c. The car is stop in the yard since 2 days. CDI diesel technologie is so “Smart”!!!

1000 Km in the Smart fortwo CDI. (4:14)
The Smart fortwo needs only 33 liter in 1000 Km. Driving 15000 km a year, the Smart driver only has to visit the pumps 15 times.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VAXWrNojlw

SMART ForTwo CDI – Auto Video. (1:57)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9Wb14jnBYY

200 000 km. (2:29)
Reflecting on the first few years of owning a smart fortwo cdi, just before rolling over 200 000 km. Amazing machine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MBFdHiQeMQ

A collection of YouTube videos of smart fortwo cdi cars is a post from: CleanCarTalk

Based on information available on the official smartusa.com site, U.S. markets won’t get a diesel version yet for 2009 model year. I’m a little disappointed. It’s one of the reasons I’m holding out from buying a first U.S. smart model. I was so looking forward to a smart powered by Mercedes’ Bluetec technology.

According to the company, the 2009 models will introduce 2 new colors which are to replace 2 existing colors. The new sporty and intense “rally red” and cool and elegant “gray metallic” will replace the 2008 “light yellow” and “red metallic” colors. Existing owners will be glad to learn that the 2008 colors will still be available as replacement panels or full bodypanel kits. For the interior minor enhancements will be incorporated including new door nets replacing solid storage areas on driver and passenger doors, and the LCD display on the instrument cluster will have a loose gas cap warning added. For me both are very minor changes, and for all intent and purposes, you’re buying pretty much the same car.

I guess we’re lucky that the smart fortwos are here in the states finally. It will take some time for things to pick up, and from a business standpoint, you have to sell the mass first. So I’m willing to wait out another year and see. Guess I’ll continue checking the rumor sites.

Follow this link to view my collection of YouTube videos of smart fortwo cdi cars.

No Diesel Version For 2009 smart fortwo is a post from: CleanCarTalk