smart fortwo drivers and others who regularly get behind the wheel of a vehicle in the smart range have been invited to get in line and join a coastal convoy, reports the Lancashire Evening Post.

Motorists who do become a part of the convoy will take in the sights of Blackpool, with the drive incorporating a visit along Blackpool’s promenade and through the illuminations.

As well as the sight-seeing expedition smart drivers will also be able to meet with other enthusiasts, compare vehicles and enjoy some group photographs.

The organiser of the convoy Darren Pamplin, from Leyland, believes the event provides a good chance for smart drivers to parade their vehicles to others.

He told the newspaper: "All are welcome to come along and be part of a huge convoy of smarts along the Promenade in Blackpool and show their cars off to the public and other smart car fans."

The smart fortwo was first shown at the 1998 Paris Motor Show.

Good things come in smart packages at thesmart.co.uk

Daimler AG is joining forces with German electric power and natural gas public utility company RWE AG to produce more environmentally-friendly electric cars.

The benefits of the vehicles include that they provide locally emission-free driving and will combine innovative drive technology with customer-friendly infrastructure.

Daimler AG is to provide 100 electric cars from both Mercedes-Benz and smart, with RWE handling the development, installation and operation of charging the battery-powered vehicles, with some 500 charging points to be accounted for.

The project has been named ‘e-mobility Berlin’ and the new generation of smart ed and electric-battery driven vehicles from Mercedes-Benz will come in use through the project.

Mercedes-Benz UK are the pioneers of the first smart ed project, while the electric smarts are available for trial with customers all around the country.

Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the board of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, said: "Our joint initiative is a good example of what can be achieved when policy makers, energy suppliers and the automotive industry all work together towards the same goal.

"We are convinced that the future of mobility is green, and the German industry has all assets for assuming a leading role in this direction. We invented the automobile and now we are reinventing it. Today, in collaboration with RWE, we are taking an important step into the future."

Explore the many other innovation stories from Mercedes-Benz

A few days after the one millionth smart fortwo rolled off the production line, the Mercedes-Benz Cars division has provided information of a sales rise.

Sales of Mercedes-Benz, AMG, smart and Maybach brand vehicles increased by five per cent in 2008, compared with the same time frame in 2007.

Between January and August this year a total of 857,600 vehicles were delivered to customers, compared with 817,600 in the same period last year.

In August alone, 75,200 Mercedes-Benz vehicles were sold and 84,400 passenger vehicles from Daimler AG were snapped up by customers.

The UK market was doing especially well in Mercedes-Benz registrations, by bucking the wider market trend with a two per cent rise in sales to date this year.

The results come days after the smart brand announced it had reached its milestone at its Hambach plant.

Dr. Klaus Maier, executive vice president responsible for sales and marketing at Mercedes-Benz Cars, said: "The smart fortwo has become especially successful over the years. In fact, the fuel-efficient two-seater is now in greater demand than ever before, and we have delivered more than 90,000 smart fortwos this year."

Smart has recorded sensational figures for the year to date, scorching to a 144.4 per cent rise for the year to date compared with 2007.

Good things come in smart packages at thesmart.co.uk

Mercedes-Benz is to present a range of innovative products, services and processes for the after-sales business at the Automechanika trade fair later this month.

The fair runs from September 16th-21st and Mercedes-Benz is to present its innovations under the motto "Success through professionalism and partnership".

To help support its pitch at the largest international trade fair for the global after-sales market, the company has turned the 1,500 sq m Forum hall at Messe Frankfurt into a "real workshop".

Among the key elements of the Mercedes-Benz stand will be state-of-the-art workshop processes and new workshop systems, while live demonstrations will be provided by staff, including several small repair jobs.

Dr Frank Reintjes, head of global service & parts at Mercedes-Benz and smart, said: "Quality and customer satisfaction are at the heart of everything we do at Mercedes-Benz, and at this year’s Automechanika we will again be presenting numerous product innovations, services and workshop processes that will support our partners, providing them with new ways of offering our customers the very best service and support."

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Although many motorists will see the smart fortwo as being a car possibly for a shorter person, one 6ft 7in man sees getting into the vehicle as no problem.

Keith Edwards, who is a member of the Tall Persons Club GB & Ireland, has proved the belief as being wrong as he sees the car as a perfect fit for him.

The 42-year-old opted to downsize to his smart fortwo passion cabrio after deciding that he no longer required his larger saloon as his company vehicle because of its excess costs.

And the business development manager has decided that his 71hp model is more than suitable to accommodate his height and the 20,000 miles he covers in a year.

He said: "With air con, CD player and automatic transmission it ticks all the right boxes and I find it remarkably comfortable, even when I’ve completed my regular round trip from Devon to my firm’s headquarters in Cambridge."

Mr Edwards added that other benefits include that it only takes ten minutes to wash and it is cheaper to insure, tax and generally run.

Understand more behind Mr Edwards’ smarter thinking

Daimler AG manufacturer smart has celebrated the tenth anniversary of its smart fortwo by rolling the one millionth smart fortwo vehicle off its production line in Hambach, Germany.

The anniversary vehicle, which is a micro hybrid drive in the passion equipment line, has been given a silver metallic colour and has a 52 kW/71 bhp engine and will be donated to charity.

Dr. Dieter Zetsche, president and chief executive of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, said: "The continuing rising demand shows the success and the potential of the smart fortwo from Hambach. This year we have already sold 90,000 cars."

He added that further smart developments are in the pipeline with a small series of smart fortwo electric drive vehicles with lithium-ion batteries expected by the end of 2009.

The smart fortwo is a rear-engined two-seater vehicle that was first debuted at the 1998 Paris Motor Show and one of its key benefits is its small size, invaluable for trying to squeeze into small parking spaces.

Discover all the big benefits of the smart at www.thesmart.co.uk

Daimler AG is to support the prestigious ‘St. Moritz Art Masters’ festival in Switzerland between August 29th and September 7th.

Visitors to the event will get the opportunity to view two exhibits from the Daimler Art Collection, which compromises of around 30 pieces of work including paintings, sculptures and light works.

Josef Albers, Max Bill and Andy Warhol are among the artists who will have work on show at the festival, which is also supported by Daimler Ag companies Mercedes-Benz cars, AMG and smart brands.

The performance brand of Mercedes-Benz, AMG, will also allow guest the opportunity to test-drive some of the brand’s various models through the Engadin Mountains.

Two works of art will also be shown from the AMG PERFORMANCE STUDIO.

The Daimler Art Collection is one of the most renowned European corporate collections and is an event which concentrates on 20th century abstraction and consists of around 1,800 works by a range of European and international artists.

See the current road-going models in the AMG showroom

With the credit crunch and rising fuel prices making it more expensive to keep a vehicle on the road, there has never been a more appropriate time to buy a more fuel efficient car to keep the costs down.

And for motorists unsure of which vehicle ideally suits their needs, Mercedes-Benz has the answer.

Step forward the smart fourtwo, a vehicle described as the most feature packed ever from the smart range.

Among the benefits of driving the vehicle are heated seats and a three-spoke steering wheel, gearknob and edging on the floor mats.

But as well as being pleasing on the eye, the vehicle could be pleasing in the pocket.

Buyers of the petrol model can benefit from 57.6 to 60.1 mpg while still experiencing 71 bhp.

In terms of the impact on the environment the smart four two is also impressive, with combined CO2 emissions of 112-116 g/km.

Most of the extras the vehicle has is automatically provided on the car, with the only added options including electric power-steering, a lockable glovebox and an upgraded sound system.

Good things come in smart packages at thesmart.co.uk

Daimler AG manufacturer smart has celebrated the tenth anniversary of its smart fortwo by rolling the one millionth smart fortwo vehicle off its production line in Hambach, Germany.

The anniversary vehicle, which is a micro hybrid drive in the passion equipment line, has been given a silver metallic colour and has a 52 kW/71 bhp engine and will be donated to charity.

Dr. Dieter Zetsche, president and chief executive of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, said: "The continuing rising demand shows the success and the potential of the smart fortwo from Hambach. This year we have already sold 90,000 cars."

He added that further smart developments are in the pipeline with a small series of smart fortwo electric drive vehicles with lithium-ion batteries expected by the end of 2009.

The smart fortwo is a rear-engined two-seater vehicle that was first debuted at the 1998 Paris Motor Show and one of its key benefits is its small size, invaluable for trying to squeeze into small parking spaces.

Discover all the big benefits of the smart at www.thesmart.co.uk

Daimler AG is to support the prestigious ‘St. Moritz Art Masters’ festival in Switzerland between August 29th and September 7th.

Visitors to the event will get the opportunity to view two exhibits from the Daimler Art Collection, which compromises of around 30 pieces of work including paintings, sculptures and light works.

Josef Albers, Max Bill and Andy Warhol are among the artists who will have work on show at the festival, which is also supported by Daimler Ag companies Mercedes-Benz cars, AMG and smart brands.

The performance brand of Mercedes-Benz, AMG, will also allow guest the opportunity to test-drive some of the brand’s various models through the Engadin Mountains.

Two works of art will also be shown from the AMG PERFORMANCE STUDIO.

The Daimler Art Collection is one of the most renowned European corporate collections and is an event which concentrates on 20th century abstraction and consists of around 1,800 works by a range of European and international artists.

See the current road-going models in the AMG showroom