LA Auto Show: Ecodriving the Smart Fortwo
 

Well, calling it ecodriving is pushing the limit a little bit, but I did get to take the fortwo out for a serious spin around the block. I test drove the U.S. version of the car, and not any of the cooler, European options, so that certainly needs to be taken into account. On that [...] Related posts:

1. Modded Smart ForTwo Wins European Cannonball Run
2. LA Auto Show: Mitsubishi i MiEV Test Drive
3. Ford Smart Gauge Encourages Ecodriving

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It would be nice if Daimler would offer a proper manual shift in this car. The characteristics of the automatic manual is probably the top complaint I read about.

Eh? So the tach and speedometer should be digital numeric displays too, by that logic.

I'm under the impression that analog instrumentation (including a clock) is actually easier to process at a glance than numeric displays.

I think there's a difference just in terms of what you're used to seeing in cars, but I do tend to think it's easier to read all digital displays. Mehbe that's just me though.

SVOboy -

Aesthetically I like old-school gauges. That said, once you go flat-screen display (as in the Ford Smart Gauge?) you can have "classic mode" with gauge clusters or new-school digital mode. It can have "skins" just like computer media players and such. Also, all the data that is being reported from the ECU/PCM to the Scangauge is just *waiting* to be displayed on the dashboard, *straight* from the ECU/PCM, no middle man.

CarloSW2