Smart Cars - The Smart Fortwo Corpé

In many countries if not most, people have come to rely on the car. In the past, Children, Workers, walked or cycled to work, but more and more people are driving these days. As a result of this, the amount of traffic on the roads grows each year.

The “car” shelters people from the weather, is quick and on the best part reliable. The number of jobs in the car industry is huge, and plays a big part in many peoples lives manufacturing or services cars to make money. However, cars maybe quick and convenient for people, but this has an adverse effect on the ozone, this is called Global Warming. Not only has the running of cars contributed to this, but also the manufacturing of as well. A very large amount of energy is used in production of cars. Another adverse effect of this is that most run on finite oil-based fuels, wars are fought of the power to control over oil supplies. In turn as more people drive, more cars need to be made, which means the roads are more clogged up which leads to more new roads being built. So not are there only economic effects to cars but social effects as well, not only a small scale, involving powerful countries and bloodshed.

In the short term we rely on cars as a way of transport, in the long term however this is not a sustainable solution to transport.
I will explore the effects that the Smart Car “Fortwo Corpé” has on society and the environment, also comparing with a petrol car to see which is more economic.

So why the smart car fortwo corpé?

Well, I myself passed my test over 2 years ago now and I'm one of those people contributing, so exploring this topic is personal to me, but not only to me but to alot of my peers and lecturers. The smart car Fortwo Corpé is smarts latest innovation and answer to the environmental crisis.

Smart Cars first came about in April 1994 when a group of people formed a company called MCC smart Gmbh. This company was formed to take a traditional car and reform the idea making it much more sustainable. Thirteen years later this is where there at: The Smart Fortwo Corpé.

“The smart fortwo sets standards – especially with its unparalleled low CO2 emissions” This is what they promise, how true is this? Well the low CO2 emissions are only the start of it. Comparing the fuel usage of the Fortwo Corpé against a Vauxhall Corsa you can see from the word go the Smart car is more economic on petrol.

Per Gallon = £4.50
Average Miles per day = 35

Car Miles Per Gallon Petrol Cost Per day.
Vauxhall Corsa 48.3 MPG £2.65
Smart Fortwo Corpé 59.3 MPG £3.26

Here are some other facts about the smart car fortwo corpé which contribute to be more economic than normal cars:

• The TRIDION shell is made from steel. The body panels and many other components are made from plastics, which reduces the overall weight of the car. This means that less fuel is used.
• Fuel consumption is low; as are emission into the atmosphere.
• The manufacturing processes have been developed to minimise the car's impact on the environment.
• have a small three-cylinder engine (599cc) – Having good fuel consumption, in towns car has said to do 16 kilometres to the litre and on open roads 23 KM/L.

And here’s the best bit about it all, the designers continually try to improve each component from an ecological perspective, to use recycled and sustainable materials as much as possible. As well as the fact the car has been designed for disassembly, so that each part can be individually replaced when needed and the discarded parts can be recycled, through this the car is said to be 95% recyclable.

Another aspect to smarts cars evolutionary car production is there factory which is an innovation in itself. Smartville – a small factory in France is where it all happens.
With most of the materials and everything needed for production made on site, the cut in transportation of materials saves a lot of pollution in itself. Not a great deal is known about smartville but this is how smart describes its factory:

'smartville is as novel as smart itself. Nearly all the components are made on-site, so it's no effort to get them from where they're made to the assembly line, and that cuts transportation and emissions by up to 95%. Because everything is so close together, smart models are produced in the quantities needed, so there are no tarmac airfields lined up with homeless cars.
'None of the buildings at smartville in Hambach, France, are exposed to harmful substances like formaldehyde and asbestos. In fact, most of the fade linings are built from beautifully seasoned timber from quick growing European woods. smartville even operates its own biological treatment plant and heat recovery system in plastics processing, so nothing goes to waste. It's a safe and attractive place to be.'

The technology itself could be used in other forms of transport. But I don’t think it will be or should be, it’s a expensive route to go down and as proven doesn’t seem at the most upfront of safety. Unless they can find a suitable application for the technology where the cost is competitive with other solutions whilst improving the safety/sturdiness this technology isn't going anywhere.

Ranging from a starting price of around £6000/7000 the car is meant to hold good value, whilst also being cheap to run. The drawback after reading reviews however, is the servicing itself, which brings in a hefty price tag for your wallet. Not only that many people who have owned the car have said it doesn’t stand up in crashes and comes off much worse off compared to a lot of other cars.

The smart car fortwo corpé is a great idea, even down to the manufacturing, the impact on the environment has been minimised. But just because a car has been made to be recycled, this does not mean that it will be recycled. The price for the car itself isn’t cheap, keeping it serviced and working costs a fair bit as well. So in the end for most people looking to buy this car it comes down to Price + Safety vs helping the environment. Which in most cases isn't even argued.

The market for this car is very small and hasn’t taken off a great deal, and the future for it doesn’t look any better. In terms of being a sustainable technology, it more than likely could but, but not in our age and society. But instead of finding a more sustainable form of transport should the government aim to cut down on use of cars in cities and replace them with better public transport?

Future Research on - (Further plan of Enquiry)

How does it reduce C02 Emissions?
Is there anyway they can improve the safety of the car without compromising the sustainability of it?

Questionnaire:
*How many people know how Smart Cars work (basics)
*How many people a Smart Car.
*How many people drive long distances daily. (Average driving distance)
*Do they know the environmental issues caused by CO2 emissions.
From this data i will be able if The Smart Car is helping the enviroment (C02 Emissions / Fuel consumption)
Whether the Government can do anything to help the Smart Car Fortwo Corpé take off, or in general promote the idea of hybrid cars.
Email Gmbh (The company behind smart cars) - With any issues raised from further research / questionnaire results.

My sources

http://www.broadspeed.com/new-smart-fortwo-coupe.shtml
http://www.greghughes.net/rant/SmartCarForTwoAFunLittleDrivingMachine.aspx
http://www.thesmart.co.uk