Smart Pulse

Smart is showing today yet another special edition of the ForTwo, called the smart pulse.

The Smart Pulse comes with restyled front and rear aprons and side skirts as well as a sports package, all included as standard. 3-double spoke design 15-inch alloys have also been added, plus black painted exterior mirror caps and radiator grille.

The smart pulse also boasts a sporty interior. It comes with a 3-spoke leather sports steering wheel with additional shift paddles which make shifting with manual softip gearshift a real pleasure. The black fabric/ leather look of the upholstery and the pearl black contrast components underline the dynamic appearance.

The pulse will be available for both the coupe and the cabrio versions and will be offered with three engine choices: 71 hp petrol mhd with micro hybrid drive technology, 84 hp turbo petrol engine and 54 hp diesel fitted with a diesel particulate filter.




Press Release

Sindelfingen – The smart pulse is celebrating spring with a sharper profile, making this dynamic variant of the smart model series even sportier. The front and rear aprons and the side skirts of the bodypanel plus sports package, which is included in the standard spec, have a new design with sharper contours. The sharper smart pulse will be available from smart dealers from April 2011. It can be ordered from
1 February.

The pulse is the dynamic smart with a distinct sporty flair that will be even more pronounced in future. This is due to the more angular geometry of the new skirts
that are painted in the bodypanel colour as standard. Boasting 3-double-spoke alloy wheels with wide tyres measuring 175/55 R 15 at the front and 195/50 R 15 at the rear, and door mirror caps and radiator grille in black, the smart pulse, which is available as a coupé and a cabrio, leaves no doubt as to its position among its siblings with its compact and dynamic design promising sporty motoring both in and out of town. The most powerful engine – the optionally available turbo petrol engine rated at 62 kW (84 hp) – is ideal for this.

The smart pulse also boasts a sporty interior. It comes with a 3-spoke leather sports steering wheel with additional shift paddles which make shifting with manual softip gearshift a real pleasure. The black fabric/ leather look of the upholstery and the pearl black contrast components underline the dynamic appearance.
The fortwo pulse can be ordered as a coupé or a cabrio with the following three engine versions:

• 52 kW (71 hp) petrol mhd with micro hybrid drive technology
• 62 kW (84 hp) turbo petrol engine
• 40 kW (54 hp) diesel fitted with a diesel particulate filter as standard.

Daimler Beautiful Cars Images

With pressure mounting on Iran to halt its nuclear program, Daimler is reportedly joining the growing list of businesses – German ones especially – that are reducing their commercial activities with the rogue nation.
Daimler has strong business ties in Iran, principally centered around the production and sales of commercial vehicles and diesel engines. Among the moves being undertaken by the German industrial giant are the sale of its 30 percent stake in Iranian Diesel Engine Manufacturing and the withdrawal of an application to sell civilian vehicles to Iran. Critics maintain that the moves are insufficient in the global campaign against Iran's nuclear program, but point towards the initiative as a positive step in the right direction.
The announcement has hit the wire hot on the heels of the nuclear security summit which President Obama hosted recently in Washington, where measures – largely supported by German Chancellor Angela Merkel (pictured above with Daimler chairman Dr. Dieter Zetsche) – aimed at isolating Iran were discus

Daimler Beautiful Cars Images

Daimler Beautiful Cars Images

Daimler Beautiful Cars Images

Daimler Beautiful Cars Images

Daimler Beautiful Cars Images

Daimler Beautiful Cars Images

Daimler Beautiful Cars Images

Daimler Beautiful Cars Images

Daimler, Renault-Nissan alliance could be announced Wednesday

According to an unnamed source, the Renault board of directors has called an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday, April 6th, to discuss plans to enter into an agreement with German automaker Daimler. As was the case when Renault teamed up with Japanese automaker Nissan, there will reportedly be an exchange of stock, but not nearly at the same level as Renault's 44-percent stake in Nissan.

If the board chooses to move forward – and all indications are that it will – an announcement could be made as early as Wednesday detailing the partnership. It's widely thought that Daimler is keenly interested in Renault's small car expertise for its less-than-wildly-successful Smart car division, and it seems increasingly likely that the two automakers could jointly develop new city car platforms. Might a more family-friendly ForFour be in the offing as rumored?

Spy Shots: Mercedes officially reveals development of electric SLS AMG supercar

As hinted at last week, the car will bear the same name as its V8-engined counterpart, the standard SLS AMG, but instead of pumping 571hp out of a single engine, the electric drive SLS AMG will generate a total of 525hp from its four corner-mounted electric motors. Torque of the electric model tops out at a heady 650lb-ft.


Electricity is held by many in the industry to be the true way of the future, but so far only a tiny handful of companies have made serious attempts at a highway-capable production electric vehicle - and aside from the electric Smart, Daimler and Mercedes-Benz haven't been among them. But now the brand's AMG division is skipping straight over the mundane family tourer, today officially announcing development of an all-electric supercar built on the 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG platform.


"With the SLS AMG with electric drive, we wanted to redefine the super sports car. For us, it is not just about responsibility. We attach just as much importance to excitement and classic AMG performance," said Volker Mornhinweg, Chief Executive Officer of Mercedes-AMG GmbH.


By using four motors, the SLS AMG's all-wheel drive system can modulate power to each individual wheel far more precisely and efficiently than any torque vectoring solution. Two transmissions - one for each axle - help to distribute power. Mercedes intentionally skipped mounting the motors in the wheels to reduce unsprung weight.


Of course, the electric SLS AMG will have a good deal of weight to deal with in the form of its 400V, 48kWh total battery pack, which will be located where the transmission tunnel is in the V8 model, while the engine bay will also be used for some of the electronics. Despite the addition of all the new drivetrain equipment, the Gullwing's body required no structural modifications, and due to the modularity of the electric drive system, it can all be positioned very low in the chassis to improve the center of gravity.


Performance of the car will be very close to the combustion-engine version, with 0-62mph slipping by in just 4.0 seconds - 0.2 seconds off the V8 pace.


Unfortunately, no clear time frame for the car's development and release was announced, so we'll likely have to wait several years before it hits the streets. Also undisclosed is the electric SLS AMG's range on a single charge.
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