Smart History:
The idea behind the very short "smart car" was started by Swiss watch manufacturer Swatch and was nicknamed the "Swatchmobile". The name SMART is an acronym for Swatch Mercedes ART. Being inexperienced in automobiles, Swatch CEO Nicolas Hayek sought an established car maker to produce his Swatch car and found a partner in Volkswagen. Plans never reached a final stage so Swatch teamed up with Daimler-Benz. In 1993, Mercedes-Benz started a feasibility study on a subcompact car. Together with the Swatch Group Ltd., they founded the Micro Compact Car AG in 1994. The purpose-built factory complex Smartville in Hambach, Lorraine, France, was established in 1994.The final car design proved to be far from Hayeksexpectations: its engine technology was more expensive than many small 4 and 5 seater cars sold in Europe. The joint venture experienced heavy losses and Swatch pulled out. In 2005, DaimlerChrysler decided against purchasing a 50% share in the Dutch NedCar plant used to manufacture the Forfour supermini. DC also halted development on the Formore and decided to discontinue production of the Roadster. In 2006, after dwindling sales, smart GmbH was liquidated and its operations transferred within the Mercedes-Benz automobile group. It was later revealed that smart GmbH lost nearly 4 billion euros from 2003 to 2006. In the same year, DaimlerChrysler announced that it would also cancel the Forfour and redesign the Fortwo to debut in Europe in 2007.

Smart Overview:
Smart GmbH, formerly known as “MCC smart” is a brand of microcars and superminis of Daimler AG based in Boblingen, Germany. It is marketed as the "smart”. The letters are all lower case, as in the logo. The current smart brand logo (seen on the right) denotes a C for "Compact" and an arrow for "forward thinking". The name of the company, part of Daimler AG, was changed from "Micro Compact Car GmbH" to "Smart GmbH" in September 2002. It was merged with Mercedes-Benz Cars in 2007.

Other Smart Details:
Popular models over the years include; Smart Formore, Smart EV, Smart Fortwo, Smart Forfour and Smart Roadster. The larger Formore was released worldwide (including the United States) in 2006. It is a small all wheel drive SUV, riding on the same platform as the Mercedes-Benz C-Class. The architecture is shared with the Mercedes-Benz MLK-Class, an SUV smaller than the M-Class.The Smart Fortwo EV is a Fortwo modified for operation as a battery electric vehicle. Production started early in 2008. The Fortwo is a two-passenger urban vehicle, short in length, powered by a rear-mounted engine driving the rear wheels. The Smart "Micro compact car" was designed primarily for urban use in European cities, where parking is scarce and fuel economy is of great importance. The Smart Forfour is a supermini produced by Smart from 2004 to 2006. Unlike the other models of the marque, the Forfour is a more conventional five-door hatchback with a roomy interior, available as a four or five-seater.The Smart Roadster is a two-door microcar first introduced in 2003 by Smart GmbH.