Detroit 2007: your guide to the show - Smart

Small car, big country
Smart was meant to have launched in the US already, but it has been going through a rather difficult patch.

Now that there's been a little bit of reassessment at the company (a planned 4x4 was axed and the Forfour supermini and Roadster were scrapped), it's pushing ahead with a launch of the Smart ForTwo in the US.

Smart - in the US
Yup, the same city car that arrives in the UK this year is tackling the big trucks, minivans (a misleading name if ever there was one) and SUVs of the US.

It's difficult to see what kind of market there might be for the car, but perhaps it will be adopted by the legion of Hollywood stars that snapped up the Toyota Prius in an effort to save the world.

If they do, they'll probably be best off sticking to the city limits. The ForTwo might have bigger engines with more power than ever before, but it might be quite daunting to travel along an Interstate in a Smart. You'd almost be at exhaust level to the big pick-ups.