Smart Cars

The design story

Back in April 1994, a group of people set up a company called MCC smart Gmbh. The people behind the company wanted to take a fresh look at the traditional car and come up with a new design that was much more sustainable. Their first step was to question what cars really need, how they affect local and global environments, and the life of materials used in cars (from the factory, through the car's life, to recycling). As a result of their research, they decided that their sustainable car should be:

• small, with just two seats (they discovered that most cars only carry one or two passengers)
  
• light but strong and safe
  
• almost entirely recyclable, with interchangeable body panels
  
• keep toxic emissions to a minimum

As they worked their way from initial ideas to blueprint, via plasticine mouldings to a small plastic model, the designers achieved a very different type of car - the 'smart'TM car. Today, smartTM have become a familiar sight on the streets of many countries and the original company has become part of DaimlerChrysler. DaimlerChrysler, with its Head Office in Germany, is one of the world's largest automotive groups.

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