zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Tech
/
The Fully-Autonomous Electric Smart ForTwo Concept Car Has A Grille That Will Greet You With 'Hey'
The Fully-Autonomous Electric Smart ForTwo Concept Car Has A Grille That Will Greet You With 'Hey'-April 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:10:39

Mercedes-Benz has lately over the new Smart ForTwo Electric Drive Cabrio, which doesn’t jibe well for the tiny car subsidiary, which intends to sell only electric vehicles . But electric Smart cars —they’re meant for cities after all—and a new autonomous all-electric Smart concept shows how they can work in a future robotcar-dominated world.

Called the Smart Vision EQ ForTwo, the Daimler Group feels it takes a “logical step” toward jettisoning a steering wheel and pedals. It’s pegged as an all-in-one mobility option—an all-electric, fully-autonomous ride that can be hailed by passengers looking to get around town.

The car’s design looks like it was made with downtown cores in mind, however quirky some of the concepts may be. Instead of a sleek grille, for example, there’s a display panel that can greet passengers with pleasantries. “Hey David,” one example reads in a photo of the concept. Next to the greeting, there’s a photo. (That’s surely one way to cut down on )

The car clearly has ride-hailing or car sharing services in mind; Daimler mentions its car2go platform in a press release announcing the concept car, saying it can rely on “swam intelligence”—an idea that the car can constantly be in motion and called upon where needed—to make finding a ride easy.

Those transparent doors may seem a bit off-putting, with an uninhibited look inside. Smart says they’re coated with a film that can be activated by touch and display information to passengers in the car. The wing doors pivot over the rear axle, making for what Smart says is easier access into the car.

If the car’s unoccupied, basic information—current events, the weather—could be displayed outward. The grille on the front can communicate to pedestrians on the road when it’s OK to cross, that the car’s en route to a destination, and can show if only one or two car passengers are inside (because options like UberPOOL or Lyft Line are apparently permanent in the future).

The interior has a minimalist, roomy appearance that’s appropriate for a fully-autonomous car. Without a steering wheel or pedals, the center dash is left with only a wide 24" screen that sits inside a gold frame. It’s futuristic and carries a cool, blue-heavy color scheme. (For a car that Smart says will have “unprecedented” individualization, I’m wondering if things could be brightened up in the interior.)

The lounge seat looks like something out of a modern office, or maybe IKEA. Smart says it allows for two passengers, and if, say, both occupants are trying to catch a pooled ride around town, there’s a retractable armrest to create some sort of barrier on the seat.

It’s still a concept, but it’s sensible for Smart. If fully-autonomous cars are going to be on the road by next decade for ride-hailing purposes, a compact Smart vehicle seems like an obvious suitor.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Tech
Canadians Wary Of EVs Because Of Cold Weather
Canadians Wary Of EVs Because Of Cold Weather
With the push for electric vehicle adoption, one thing that may be overlooked by automakers is how extreme temperatures due to climate change will affect EV battery performance. Canadians seem to be keen on this, however. Multinational accounting firm published a study that showed that, while Canadians are warming...
Apr 6, 2026
The Fisker Pear Sounds Like An EV With Actual Promise
The Fisker Pear Sounds Like An EV With Actual Promise
Pretty much every new EV startup ends up being a disappointment sooner or later, either by flaming out before they have an actual product ( ), or by delivering questionable products (), or by overpromising on product (Tesla and several others). The EV startup Fisker still has a shot...
Apr 6, 2026
Tesla's FSD Beta Struggles To Navigate Detroit's Nightmare Roads
Tesla's FSD Beta Struggles To Navigate Detroit's Nightmare Roads
A ton of Tesla FSD Beta videos as select owners with the beta version of the software show off their cars bumbling along city streets, but there’s something particularly terrifying and heartless about this one in Detroit, where even a minor car crash can literally ruin a person’s whole life....
Apr 6, 2026
The Rimac Nevera Will Keep You Relatively Safe Should You Decide To Wrap The Hypercar Around A Pole
The Rimac Nevera Will Keep You Relatively Safe Should You Decide To Wrap The Hypercar Around A Pole
The is that much closer to production now that it’s passed the last of its . Four years of impact testing and ten pre-production cars later, the is ready to protect drivers and co-drivers in dozens of crash scenarios. This latest and final test certifies that the will protect...
Apr 6, 2026
An Extremely Detailed Look At The Porsche Taycan's Engineering Designed To Take On Tesla
An Extremely Detailed Look At The Porsche Taycan's Engineering Designed To Take On Tesla
Porsche’s first fully electric car is here, and , it could be the most serious competition the Tesla Model S has faced yet. It’s called the , and it is an all-electric sport sedan promising up to 750 horsepower, acceleration from zero to 60 mph in 2.6 seconds, and a...
Apr 6, 2026
Consumer Reports Dropped Tesla In Its Rankings And It's Because Of The Yoke
Consumer Reports Dropped Tesla In Its Rankings And It's Because Of The Yoke
People who are paid to promote Ford’s products , because today Consumer Reports released , and the Mustang Mach-E pointedly beat the Tesla Model 3. Connoisseurs of Tesla’s will also note that the automaker , and it was because of . : Tesla Inc’s new “yoke” steering wheel installed...
Apr 6, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved