(Source: Autobloggreen)

 

You know what state needs more smart fortwos? Texas. That must have been Daimler’s thinking before approving an expansion of the car2go carsharing service there. Daimler started car2go in Ulm, Germany last October and it will be coming to Austin, Texas – that little blueberry in the big red cherry pie of a state – this fall. There are now more than 200 fortwo cdi models that anyone in Ulm, visitor or resident, can rent by the minute, hour or day, 24/7. Costs range from 19 euro cents a minute to 9.90 euros an hour to 49 euros a day. Unlike other car-sharing services, registering for the car2go service is free. Daimler didn’t release any information on possible pricing for the U.S. service.

 

The Daimler press release available on Autobloggreen has some additional info. on this, including this nugget:

The capital of Texas with its 750,000 residents is appreciably bigger than Ulm and is distinguished by its open-mindedness and its very involved citizens. “We very much look forward to becoming the first international partner of car2go,” says mayor Will Wynn. “Our city is known for its strong sense of environmental responsibility. car2go fits this wonderfully because we can then offer the residents of Austin an intelligent mobility concept with a high positive environmental factor. The project has our full support.” 

As in the first phase of the German pilot project, car2go will begin in Austin with a defined group of users, for example city employees. It is then planned to make car2go accessible to the public in Austin in a second step.  Other factors predestining Austin to be the first international car2go city are the city’s size and its up-to-date economic structure. Among other things it is the location of the fourth largest university in the USA. Beginning in autumn 2009 a fleet expected to number 200 smart fortwo mhd vehicles with automatic start/stop function will be put into operation there.

Click here to read more and to view an awesome picture gallery showing more Smarts in Austin.

(Source: Wall Street Journal)

Last summer, when gas cost $4 a gallon, buyers snapped up small cars so fast that dealers couldn’t keep them in stock. Now, with gas prices half that level, almost 500,000 fuel-thrifty models are piled up unsold around the country.

The turnabout comes at a bad time for the struggling U.S. car industry, which has revamped factories and shifted product plans to produce more small cars in coming years. The moves are prompted by coming stricter federal fuel-economy standards and the Obama administration’s car-bailout plan, which encourages auto makers to boost their vehicles’ mileage.

 Practically every small car in the market is stacked up at dealerships. At the end of February,Honda Motor Co. had 22,191 Fits on dealer lots — enough to last 125 days at the current sales rate, according to Autodata Corp. In July, it had a nine-day supply, while the industry generally considers a 55- to 60-day supply healthy.For other models the supply situation is even worse. Toyota Motor Corp. has enough Yaris subcompacts to last 175 days. Chrysler LLC has a 205-day supply of the Dodge Caliber. And Chevrolet dealers have 427 days’ worth of Aveo subcompacts. At the current sales rate, General Motors Corp. could stop making the Aveo and it wouldn’t run out until May 24, 2010.

“I don’t think Americans really like small cars,” said Beau Boeckmann, whose family’s Galpin Ford in southern California is the country’s largest Ford dealer. “They drive them when they think they have to, when gas prices are high. But we’re big people and we like big cars.”

The logjam of small cars is caused in part by the recession, which has sapped sales of all types of vehicles. But it also underscores how badly gasoline prices have whipsawed the industry. A year ago, car companies rushed to react when Americans practically stopped buying large vehicles and flocked to hybrids and small cars.

Click here to read the entire article (Subscription Reqd.  Free Registration available).

(Source:  Autobloggreen)

Click above for a high-res gallery of the smart fortwo

Question: Should you only pay half the price for a parking spot if your car only takes up half as much room as other vehicles? According to Central Parking System, Inc., which owns more than 350 parking garages in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and New Jersey, the answer is yes. CPS has partnered up with smart USA to offer drivers of the fortwo half-price parking in all of its garages.

Click here to read more.