Smart has unveiled a sweet-looking "near production" preview of its next-gen electric urban cars. The Concept #1 is a compact crossover SUV with a super-slick interior and easy-access suicide doors in back – and it's huge ... for a Smart car, anyway.
"Progressive design, premium equipment and advanced technology" are the key targets for Smart moving forward, says Daniel Lescow, VP of Global Sales. Smart is now an equal partnership co-owned by Mercedes-Benz and China's Geely Automobile, and the next generation of these chipper little urban getabouts will be Mercedes-Benz exterior and interior designs built on a battery-electric chassis developed by Geely.The design of the Concept #1 looks progressive enough, although most of the really eye-catching features, like the rear suicide doors, the full-length panoramic glass roof, the 21-inch wheels, the gold cabin accents and the shiny iPhone 3G-style plastic seat backs will likely be toned way down or thrown out altogether by the time this reaches production.
But production is always a drag; the Benz team sure does know how to make a clean, futuristic looking cabin either way, this time with a splash of gaudy excess thrown in the mix. A gleaming center console runs up between the front seats, acting as a rather grand golden runway up to a large 12.8-inch touchscreen. As a father of two, all I can imagine is cleaning grubby fingerprints off these smooth surfaces forever after - link - Loz Blain - link - more like this - link
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