Daimler is to pilot a new mobility concept that may be the answer to combating the traffic volume present mainly in urban areas.

The company is to test its car2go idea in the southern German city of Ulm, which will allow passers by to in effect borrow a vehicle for however long they need and then pay by the minute for its usage.

Citizens will be required to complete a one-off registration process and then will have access to a fleet of smart fortwo vehicles.

They can either book a vehicle for a usage at a particular time or spontaneously use one as they happen to pass by.

Users will not be charged by how far they travel but instead by how long the vehicle is rented for, with cheaper options available to those wanting a vehicle for an extended period of time.

Dr Dieter Zetsche, chief executive of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, said: "car2go is an intelligent and creative solution that provides a simple, flexible and value-for-money approach to mobility with environmentally-friendly vehicles"

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The newest edition of the smart fortwo is a "vast improvement" on all of its predecessors, according to a review of the model in the Telegraph.

Among the features stated as improvements in the review, by Andrew English, are bigger door mirrors, a dashboard that has branched away from looking like a toy and a boot with a "proper external release".

Also Mr English states that the car is more stable at motorway speeds due to an improvement in handling.

When taken on a road test by the reporter, he stated that the car was highly capable of reaching good speeds and had no trouble in hitting its top speed of 84 miles per hour.

If driven conservatively, economically and kept away from motorway speeds, the article adds that the car is capable of achieving 116.4 miles per gallon of fuel, with an average speed of 30.45 miles per hour.

Thus, for those who want a little town run around the diesel smart fortwo is an ideal car.

Sales this year of the smart fortwo are up 82.4 per cent on the figures recorded for the same period last year.

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smart cars have continued to be a success story this year by being one of the few vehicles to enjoy a solid September as sales in new cars suffered a major slump.

In a month in which sales figures are typically good as new car registration plates enter the market, the smart continued to see its sales increase.

The small, eco-friendly vehicle saw sales improve by almost ten per cent on last September while witnessing a 78 per cent improvement in the year to date.

In comparison with last year, sales in smart are up 101.9 per cent, with 5,929 vehicles sold in the UK in 2008, a stark rise on the 2940, sold at this stage last year.

"Along with the new-generation smart fortwo electric drive, we also presented the first hybrid production car from Mercedes-Benz in September," said Dr Klaus Maier, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Mercedes-Benz Cars.

One of the leading traits of the smart car is that it is short enough to achieve nose-in parking, allowing two or three of the vehicles to fit into a space generally taken up by one car.

One of the leading smart vehicles is the smart fortwo, which recently surpassed sales figures of 100,000 units.

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smart is to present its latest generation smart fortwo vehicle for the first time at the Paris Motor Show, which is now underway.

The latest smart fortwo has an electric drive and produces no local emissions, which is one of the vehicle’s key advantages.

At the show, the vehicle will be demonstrated as part of the project "e-mobility Berlin", which will be presented by Daimler AG together with the energy provider RWE.

The project between the pair underlines the role of smart in developing environmentally-friendly vehicles for the future and builds on the other smart vehicles on the market, already boasting low fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

Among the vehicles already in the smart range is the CO2 world champion, the smart fortwo cdi, with CO2 emissions of just 88 g/km – the lowest figure of any production car worldwide.

Dr Dieter Zetsche, president and chief executive of Daimler AG, said: "The future will see an ever-increasing proportion of traffic on the roads in urban centres around the world.

"Zero-emission electric cars could shape the image of environmentally aware cities because zero local emission motoring is no longer science fiction – and also when seen as a whole, emissions will be further reduced as the proportion of "green" electricity increases."

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