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"View Slideshow\n\nYou'd never guess this is a Mercedes. Well, okay, related to a Mercedes. The cute little car known as the smart\u2014all lowercase letters, please\u2014began 18 years ago as a project of the Swatch watch company, went through a brief partnership with Volkswagen and then formed another one with DaimlerChrysler. Swatch is no longer a partner, but DaimlerChrysler\u2014the parent company of the vaunted Mercedes brand\u2014is. The smart's scheme of developing a compact, economical city car suitable for Europe's narrow streets and high gas prices was successful: Three-quarters of a million of these pint-size machines have already been sold in three dozen countries.\n\nThe smart was a long time coming to the United States because it didn't meet American emissions or safety requirements. But now a redesigned version of the basic model, the smart fortwo, is scheduled to go on sale here in early 2008. The pitch: This is a car for the \"creative class,\" those forward-thinking and typically urban-dwelling trendsetters among us. It gets more than 40 miles per gallon in the city and can be parked anywhere\u2014even two to a single space. The vast majority of city driving, so the reasoning goes, involves only one or two people; and cars spend 90 percent of their time parked\u2014assuming you can find a space.\n\nStill, if you ask yourself what would happen should this little fellow get into an argument with an SUV, you're not the first. Worry over what might befall the occupants in a collision is probably the single biggest marketing hurdle the car will face in America.\n\nUnlike most cars, which extend several feet ahead of and behind the occupants (and make use of all those \"crumple zones\" to absorb the shock of an impact), the for-two takes what you might call the whiffle ball approach to safety. Essentially, it surrounds its occupants with a cage of high-strength steel, which the company refers to as a \"tridion safety cell.\" In a collision with a larger car, this steel frame flexes and then springs back. In collision tests, the fortwo has proved superior to other small cars. The company expects to win a four-star crash-test rating (out of a possible five) for the American version.\n\nAnd though it may look as if it could be blown away by a passing semi, it's engineered to achieve the roadholding and stability of a larger car. In addition to anti-lock brakes, it has an electronic stability- augmentation system that balances braking and acceleration independently at each wheel in order to keep it pointed in the right direction. The rear-mounted, three-cylinder engine, manufactured by Mitsubishi, delivers 76 horsepower through a five-speed Mercedes-built transmission. There is no hybrid component to the powertrain; it's a pure gasoline engine.\n\nInside the fortwo, your impression is the opposite of what you may have been expecting. It feels roomy. The windshield and instrument panel are as far from the driver as they would be in any other car, and the seats are slightly staggered to increase shoulder room. And because a driver sits comparatively high up (the smart is taller than most sedans), he or she won't suffer from that disturbing feeling that an unseen Hummer could squash the car at any moment.\n\nThe smart's price shouldn't be an object: The basic model, which will be called the \"pure,\" is expected to start at under $12,000, while the elegant and extensively equipped \"passion\" will cost $2,000 more. The convertible, or \"cabriolet,\" version of the passion will start at less than $17,000.\n\nStill a novelty in the United States, this tiny car draws honks and waves from other motorists. United Auto Group, the Penske chain of dealerships that will be handling the smart, can reasonably count on a high adorability factor to offset whatever doubts about safety may linger after prospective buyers have watched the video of the little car hitting a wall at high speed and bouncing off unharmed. The question of whether to spend one's money instead on a conventional five-seater may ultimately come down to one of style. The smart seems destined to be, like certain dogs, a defining accessory."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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