Difference Between 2008 and 2009?

[Mark08859]

My due date is currently February `09. One would presume it'll be a 2009 model. Are there any known differences between a 2008 and 2009 Smart? Also, for those of you who have already received your Smart; how far in advance did you get the e-mail to finalize your options?

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[MercPlease]

The "newer" smarts (starting in October I believe) will have something called Micro Hybrid Drive. When the car is traveling under 5mph the engine shuts off and then re-engages when you press the gas pedal.

[Mike T.]

I hear that N.A. will not get the MHD....

[MercPlease]

Originally Posted by Mike T.

I hear that N.A. will not get the MHD....

I'm not sure but I'm just telling you what my dealer told me.

[Mark08859]

Just got an e-mail from SMART. The 2009 Passion will have the option of a solid black roof (still plastic) for those worried about too mush sun coming in the car.

[Buellwinkle]

They will replace yellow with ralley red, a bright red instead of the orangy metalic red which will be replaced with metalic gray but you can still buy the yellow and metalic red panels. It won't have a glove box door, just a net and they will have a no cost option of having the Pure roof on the Passion for those that don't want to drive a plastic bubble in hotter climates. The first ones will come out soon but the complete cutover to 2009 won't happen until 2009.

Personally, we avoided the coupe because of the clear plastic roof and got the Cabrio instead and we are glad we did, works really well as both a sunroof and a convertible top. We like red but avoided the metalic red because it's looks orange in bright outdoor light.

Be glad you won't get the micro-hybrd drive, it's being recalled.

[Mike T.]

Do you have any references for the recall of mhd? That sounds interesting.....

[Buellwinkle]

Can't find it now but this is really cool, your roof and windshield can fly off because of bad paint. Thank goodness I have a black cage, only affects silver -

http://www.autobloggreen.com/tag/smart+fortwo+recall/

[PHYBENZ]

I find it pretty annoying that they are deleting the glovebox door. That is basically the only closeable storage area. Def a cost cutting move. Turns out it's not the glove box door.

Here are the '09 changes:

For the exterior, the 2009 smart fortwo will introduce two new colors – a sporty and intense “rally red”, and a cool and elegant “gray metallic”. These two colors will replace the 2008 “light yellow” and “red metallic” colors, though the discontinued colors will still be available through your local smart center as replacement panels or full bodypanel freshup kits.

On the interior of the vehicle, new door nets will replace the solid storage areas on the driver and passenger doors. The flexible door nets will offer a bigger and more functional storage area for you and your passenger. Finally, the LCD display of instrument cluster will now including a Loose Gas Cap Indicator light to warn the driver when the fuel tank cap is not fully closed.

[Mark08859]

Originally Posted by Buellwinkle

Can't find it now but this is really cool, your roof and windshield can fly off because of bad paint. Thank goodness I have a black cage, only affects silver -

http://www.autobloggreen.com/tag/smart+fortwo+recall/

Weird. Luckily it seems to have only affected 43 cars.

[Buellwinkle]

Originally Posted by Mark08859

Weird. Luckily it seems to have only affected 43 cars.

But those 43 people are totally screwed. They want to re-powdercoat the tridium safety cage. If you don't know what that is, it's basically a roll bar cage that's on the outside of the car that protects you in a crash. OK, to powdercoat, you have to bake in an oven. This mean every single part in that entire car has to be removed, cage redone and then put back together. Any extra parts after the install are placed in a bag left in your car The process has been quoted as taking 2 months and because they love you, they will get you a cheap rental car while it's out.

You tell me, would you want that car after it's gone through that process? I wouldn't, because two years later when the warranty is bye-bye, you may find some bolt lose, parts missing, electrical connectors that came lose, who knows. At least in CA you can lemon the car for being out for more than 30 days and force them in court to give you a replacement.

[Mike T.]

I am certain that the powder coat will be removed and the tridion will be painted with regular lacquer. That's how collision repairs on tridions are done, and I doubt they'd be wanting to strip all the guts off a car for a re-powder coat. It would be cheaper for smart to scrap them.

I have been on two factory tours in Hambach France and when there is a tridion with bad finish, they........paint the car with lacquer in a spray booth at the end of the line. This recall will be the same.

[Saprissa]

Originally Posted by Next Autos

In our time covering the auto industry, we've heard of many, many recalls taking place. Most of them are pretty innocuous sounding. Though some could potentially lead to an accident, it seems that the situations required to make that possibility a reality are not all that likely to actually take place. Here's one, though, that really caught our collective eye. Apparently, the NHTSA has called for a recall of 43 smarts for some bad paint. No biggie, right? Wrong. It seems that the paint could let go unexpectedly, which is especially bad for the smart because there's adhesive sitting on top of it which holds on the roof and windshield. So, uh, they could fly off while driving. To quote the NHTSA, "This could cause a crash if the roof or windshield separated from the vehicle while in motion." Ya think? Worried? See your local dealer to see if your car is one of the affected.

Originally Posted by buellwinkle

Thank goodness I have a black cage, only affects silver -

Buell, where did you read that it only affects silver tridions ????
I didn't read that in the blog (pasted above).
I have a black tridion too, but I want to know for sure.....

Carlos

Saprissa@aol.com

[Wiedermann]

Originally Posted by Buellwinkle

Be glad you won't get the micro-hybrd drive, it's being recalled.

Here are some pics of a MHD 10th Aniversary Edition







MHDs are on sale, they are quite cool toys

Cheers

Wiedermann

[Buellwinkle]

Looks good in all white with the beige leather interior.