Official: Smart Forjoy bounds in ahead of Frankfurt

Filed under: Concept Cars, Frankfurt Motor Show, Convertible, Smart, Electric

Smart Forjoy Concept

Smart has revealed its newest concept car, the jovial four-seater Forjoy. The “joy” part of that sobriquet is rather obvious ­- with the doorless, roofless, rear-glass-free concept looking like a beach-wagon full of fun ­- but it’s the four seats that might prove most prescient as far as Smart’s future plans are concerned.

The German small-car maker goes as far as to call the Forjoy “the forerunner of a new smart generation” in its press release, saying that the concept car’s proportions portend a lot about the appearance of a four-seat production car. That upcoming Forfour (most likely) should get an official launch at the end of 2014.

Of course, while there might be some production-car cues hiding in this wispy, white and pearlescent concept buggy, the detailing of it can be safely categorized as “concept car only.” Polished bits of milled aluminum brightwork are shiny flights of fancy, as is the modern minimalist furniture that ornaments the airy cabin.

On the other hand, the powertrain inside of the Forjoy, a 55-kilowatt electric motor drawing from a lithium-ion battery pack, has been scooped directly out of the production Fortwo Electric Drive. Other than its existence in the concept car, Smart hasn’t dropped any hints in the press release as to the ED unit making into a production Forfour. We certainly wouldn’t rule it out as a variant.

Look for live images and more info about Smart’s hint-heavy Forjoy when we see it on the Frankfurt show floor next week.

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Smart Forjoy bounds in ahead of Frankfurt originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 05 Sep 2013 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: Smart Forjoy bounds in ahead of Frankfurt

Filed under: Concept Cars, Frankfurt Motor Show, Convertible, Smart, Electric

Smart Forjoy Concept

Smart has revealed its newest concept car, the jovial four-seater Forjoy. The “joy” part of that sobriquet is rather obvious ­- with the doorless, roofless, rear-glass-free concept looking like a beach-wagon full of fun ­- but it’s the four seats that might prove most prescient as far as Smart’s future plans are concerned.

The German small-car maker goes as far as to call the Forjoy “the forerunner of a new smart generation” in its press release, saying that the concept car’s proportions portend a lot about the appearance of a four-seat production car. That upcoming Forfour (most likely) should get an official launch at the end of 2014.

Of course, while there might be some production-car cues hiding in this wispy, white and pearlescent concept buggy, the detailing of it can be safely categorized as “concept car only.” Polished bits of milled aluminum brightwork are shiny flights of fancy, as is the modern minimalist furniture that ornaments the airy cabin.

On the other hand, the powertrain inside of the Forjoy, a 55-kilowatt electric motor drawing from a lithium-ion battery pack, has been scooped directly out of the production Fortwo Electric Drive. Other than its existence in the concept car, Smart hasn’t dropped any hints in the press release as to the ED unit making into a production Forfour. We certainly wouldn’t rule it out as a variant.

Look for live images and more info about Smart’s hint-heavy Forjoy when we see it on the Frankfurt show floor next week.

Continue reading Smart Forjoy bounds in ahead of Frankfurt

Smart Forjoy bounds in ahead of Frankfurt originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 05 Sep 2013 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading “Official: Smart Forjoy bounds in ahead of Frankfurt”

Video: Bad parenting and bad driving know no bounds

Filed under: Etc., Europe, Safety, Videos

Driving baby

In Poland, babies drive the cars – Click above to watch the video after the break

Warning: Do not try this at home. As much as we’d love to read you the riot act that contains the rest of the typical automotive video warnings – “professional driver on a closed course,” “no animals or small children were harmed in the making of this video” – well, we’re not entirely sure we can claim any of those things are true.

What we have here is a man and a woman who have apparently taken it upon themselves to exercise their inadvisable right to procreate. Oh, and a baby and a car. We’ll set the scene: Man and baby jointly drive car, on what appears to be a public street in Poland, in traffic. Woman records grainy video, family later uploads results to YouTube.

We’ll be the first to admit that we don’t know how old this video is (it has a recent upload date, but who knows?), but it’s still worth watching. We don’t want to spoil it for the rest for you, so all we’ll say is that you have to watch it all the way through to get the full scope of the awful parenting involved. Click past the break to see what all the fuss is about… and please, no Polish jokes in the Comments.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Bad parenting and bad driving know no bounds

Video: Bad parenting and bad driving know no bounds originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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