Mercedes is not slacking when it comes to building concepts and releasing cleaner vehicles. But, in a fairly standard automotive move these days, while the engineers are working, the executives are complaining about patchworks. Speaking in Switzerland, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said that the variety of environmental regulations around the world are a big challenge to his company and all automakers. Automotive News (subs req’d) cites the EU’s goal of having new vehicles meet a 120 g/km limit of CO₂ while the U.S. is focusing its laws on fuel economy. Zetsche described the situation this way: “Our engineers sometimes feel as if they are forced to play European soccer on an American baseball diamond by Japanese sumo wrestling rules.” Zetsche singled out moving targets and different attribute qualifications as problems areas. “We’re not fighting against environmental regulations. Our ultimate goal is emission-free driving. It’s just that this ‘patchwork quilt’ of regulations doesn’t necessarily support us in getting there,” he said. Of course, Zetsche’s argument would be a lot more convincing if global automakers didn’t already sell different vehicles in different markets. They’ve been working within a patchwork for decades, sometimes one of their own design.

Popularity: 1% [?]

The Smart Car Fortwo, the tiniest car for sale on the US market, on Wednesday received top marks in its class in crash tests by the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the group said.

The positive safety ratings, combined with rising fuel costs, could spell good news for the Daimler AG vehicle which was introduced this year amid skepticism from a US public that tends to favor larger trucks and sports utility vehicles (SUVs).

The car “earned the top rating of ‘good’ for front and side crash protection,” the institute said, adding that it earned the “second highest rating of ‘acceptable’ for protection against whiplash in rear impacts.”

The test results “generally demonstrate how well vehicles stack up against others of similar size and weight,” the institute said, noting that a “small car that earns a good rating isn’t safer than a large car that’s rated less than good.”

The frontal crash test involved a 40 mile-per-hour (64 kilometer-per-hour) crash test with a dummy in the driver’s seat, while the side tests involved a moving barrier striking the car at 31 mph (50 kph).

The rear crash simulation involves a stationary vehicle struck at 20 mph (32 kph).

“All things being equal in safety, bigger and heavier is always better,” said Adrian Lund, institute president. “But among the smallest cars, the engineers of Smart did their homework and designed a high level of safety into a very small package.”

The Smart Fortwo falls into the microcar category, meaning it is even smaller than a minicar. At 1,800 pounds (816 kilograms) it is 700 pounds (318 kilograms) lighter and three feet (one meter) shorter than a Mini Cooper.

Although commonly seen on the streets of Europe, the Smart Car Fortwo was introduced to the United States in January, and Daimler hopes to sell 20,000-25,000 models at 68 points of sale.

Popularity: 1% [?]

In an effort to demonstrate the fuel efficiency of the A4 TDI, Audi France recently invited a dozen journalists to go for a drive. The teams set off in pairs driving six A4s powered by the 2.0L TDI from their starting point in Paris. They ended their journey in Madrid Spain after covering a distance of 1,260km (783 miles). The winning team used slightly less than 17.8 gallons of diesel. If they had run out the all the fuel in the tank they could have covered almost 907 miles. That comes out to an impressive 52.9 mpg (U.S.) in real world conditions. The other five teams all managed to be nearly as thrifty with their fuel allotment with even the worst team managing 49.8 mpg. The 2.0L TDI is the same engine that will be arriving in the VW Jetta this summer and an A4 TDI should be available in the U.S. next year.

Not a member? Join now 

Popularity: 1% [?]

Since Mitsubishi first introduced the i concept back in 2003 it has been the subject of much speculation. Would it come to America? Would it be sold in the U.K.? Is it even any good? And that’s just the gas version. The electric version, the i MiEV, has caused even more confabulation. Soon we will have our own opportunity to get up close and personal with these little machines when they make their North American debut at the New York International Auto show this coming week.

Hopefully, we’ll even get news from Mitsubishi about their plans for selling these cars in the U.S. I mean, they can’t just wave them under our noses and then whisk them away back to Japan. I think they’ve noticed that 42,000 people have put deposits down on a Smart ForTwo that gets the same mileage as the i but holds two fewer passengers for about the same price. I also think we’ll be paying close attention to what side of the car the steering wheel is on.

Not a member? Join now

Popularity: 1% [?]