LOS ANGELES, Nov 21 - Smart USA unveiled a sportier, lower-sitting version of its fortwo model at the Los Angeles Auto Show on Thursday, as the quirky carmaker continues its push into the small-car market.
The Smart fortwo Brabus is a partnership between Smart and the German aftermarket tuning company Brabus, Smart said.
The Smart fortwo Brabus retains much of the standard fortwo’s oddball styling, including flat rear, road-hugging design and squashed appearance. The front grille is flatter and the wheels wider, said Dave Schembri, president of Smart USA, and a prominent “B” is branded on the front of the car.
“The Brabus version is designed with the highest level of safety and technology,” Dave Schembri, president of Smart USA, told a crowd of reporters and industry executives.
Schembri said he is not worried by the recent reversal in gasoline prices. Smart has touted the fortwo as highly fuel efficient, and the Environmental Protection Agency says it gets 41 miles per gallon on the highway. Smart debuted the fortwo at the LA Auto Show last year.
“Fortunately for us, people buy this car for a number of reasons,” Schembri said. “Not only its tremendous fuel efficiency, but its urban mobility, its obvious urban applicability. By having a car 2.7 metres long, it has the ability to manoeuvre through city streets.”
Roger Penske, president of the Penske Automotive Group, also highlighted the fortwo’s quirky appeal.
“I think the success of this brand confirms that we Americans are ready for micro-cars,” said Penske, whose company distributes Smart vehicles in the US “Not just because they’re fuel efficient, but because they make a statement.”
Smart will start the coupe version of the fortwo Brabus at $17,990 and the cabriolet version at $20,990.
Mazda unveils new Mazda3 sedan
MAZDA Motor Corp showed off a completely redesigned update of its Mazda3 sedan with updated exterior design, improved performance and new features to improve safety and fuel-economy.
The second generation of the company’s best-selling vehicle has a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine with 148 horsepower. A 2.5-litre four-cylinder that comes from the larger Mazda6 boosts horsepower to 167.
Upgrading the optional automatic transmission to a five-speed gearbox, plus aerodynamic improvements, yielded a 3-mile-per-gallon improvement in highway fuel economy, Mazda said Wednesday.
The 2010 Mazda3 i with the 2-liter engine and the automatic transmission gets 24 mpg in city driving and 33 mpg on the highway. The five-speed manual squeezes out an extra 1 mpg in the city.
Besides the four-door sedan, a five-door hatchback model will arrive later. Pricing was not disclosed.
Mazda said it has sold 1.8 million Mazda3 cars worldwide in the model’s five-year life span. It sold more than 96,000 in the US in the first 10 months of this year, a 7 percent decline from the same period of 2007.
Ford Motor Co has had a partnership with the Japanese automaker for nearly 30 years and owned a 33.4 per cent stake until it said this week it was cutting its holding to 13.8 per cent.
Evora makes N. American debut
BRITISH race car maker Lotus debuted its Evora sports car in North America at the Los Angles Auto Show on Thursday, adding it to the long lineup of high-end debuts featured at the show.
Kevin Smith, Lotus’ top impresario, said the company was looking to build the “purest, most engaging, most visceral, fun to drive sports cars in the marketplace.”
The Evora features a V-6, 276-horsepower engine. The company estimates it gets more than 30 miles per gallon, though no official government estimates are available yet.
Lotus is a relative unknown in the United States, where it competes with strong names like Porsche and Ferrari. The company’s only factory in Hethel, England, makes about 50 to 60 cars per month, said Roger Becker, head of Lotus design.
He said the company, like all automakers, has not been immune to the downturn in sales, and its factory has cut back production as a result. But he said the Evora is “a demonstration of confidence in the market. It’s a demonstration of confidence in the product.”
The Evora goes on sale in the US late next year. The company has not announced pricing, but a spokesman said the car is expected to start in the mid-$70,000s. - AP
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