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smart fortwo gets a facelift for 2012

The smart fortwo gets a nip and tuck for 2012 The smart fortwo has been given a small cosmetic facelift for 2012, and will debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March. The perpetual loss-maker for Mercedes that is the smart car (the other being Maybach, which is now being left to wither on the vine) still continues, and Mercedes are planning a replacement, previewed by the recent smart forvision concept which heralds the new smart fortwo which will share its platform with the next Renault Twingo. But to freshen the current smart fortwo until the all new smart fortwo arrives, Mercedes has rolled out a few cosmetic tweaks for the current smart fortwo for 2012, but haven’t bothered to tweak either the chassis or engines.

UK buyers plugging into electric cars

Renault New figures suggest UK motorists are charged up about electric vehicles (EVs), with a record number of zero-emission cars now on Britain’s roads. Figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) suggest there are more than 10,000 electric cars on the road today, with as many as 1,200 EVs sold in March alone. In the midst of an EV revolution Compare that to the lowly 270 that were sold during the same month in 2013 and it becomes hard to argue that we’re not in the midst of an EV revolution, especially when you combine the figures with the 10,200 hybrid cars sold so far in 2014, up by 45% on last year.

Scion considers moving upscale

Toyota's struggling Scion brand may move upscale to challenge entry-level luxury models coming from European automakers. The new lower-luxury niche includes Mini, the front-wheel-drive Mercedes-Benz CLA arriving this fall and Audi's compact A3 sedan shown last week on the eve of the New York auto show. Scion has gone after young entry-level buyers since its inception 10 years ago but has lost its early momentum.