smart delivers its first smart fortwo electric drive to Mindy Kimball of Silver Springs, MD

Jill Lajdziak deliver smart fortwo electric drive to Mindy Kimball of Silver Spring, MD

Washington, DC (January 26, 2011) – smart USA Distributor LLC, a subsidiary of Penske
Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE: PAG), today delivered the first smart fortwo electric drive to a
retail customer in the United States. Penske Automotive Group Chairman Roger Penske and
smart USA President Jill Lajdziak made the ceremonial delivery to Mindy Kimball at her home
in Silver Spring, MD.

“This is a groundbreaking day for smart in the United States,” said Lajdziak. “We are extremely
excited to add the smart fortwo electric drive to the smart product lineup, solidifying our
position as a key player in transportation electrification.”

Mindy Kimball is a 36-year-old early adopter of electric vehicle technology and a Major in the
United States Army. Kimball chose the smart fortwo electric drive after thoroughly comparing
and evaluating every electric vehicle available because she believes smart’s offering is the
most modern electric car on the market. She has been a volunteer presenter with The Climate
Project since 2007, educating the public about the science of climate change and the ways to
reduce negative impacts on the environment. Kimball is also an active member of the Electric
Vehicle Association (EVA) of Washington, DC, and she will display her new car in the EVA/DC
booth at the 2011 Washington Auto Show. smart USA will have three smart fortwo electric
drive vehicles at the auto show including the “Advanced Technology Superhighway” exhibit.
The smart fortwo electric drive is a zero-emission vehicle and the ultimate visual statement on
conservation. It is powered by a 30 kW magneto-electric motor and 16.5 kWh lithium-ion
battery. According to the U.S. EPA LA4 test cycle, the smart fortwo electric drive can travel up
to 98 miles on a full charge. In combined city and highway driving, the U.S. EPA estimates the
range on the smart fortwo electric drive to be 63 miles. Using a 220 volt outlet, it takes only
three and a half hours to charge the battery from 20 to 80 percent of its capacity and about
eight hours to reach full charge from a depleted battery.

This year, smart USA is strategically placing 250 smart fortwo electric drive vehicles across the
United States with companies, municipalities, organizations and individuals interested in
-moremaking a passionate statement on conservation and environmental awareness. Series
production on next-generation vehicles for retail sale through smart USA’s dealer network is
expected in 2012.

Mindy Kimball becomes the first member of “Team 250,” an elite club, featuring a concierge
service, for all smart fortwo electric drive lessees. Each Team 250 member will have personal
access to smart USA’s electric drive expert, 24/7 roadside assistance, receive electric drive
communications, and be able to participate in dialogue around their electric drive experience.
Members of Team 250 will also have the first opportunity to move into the next-generation
smart fortwo electric drive vehicle.

The smart fortwo electric drive is available for lease through participating smart USA
dealership locations at http://www.smartusa.com/electricdrive.

About the smart fortwo and smart USA
smart USA Distributor LLC, headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, is the exclusive
distributor of the smart fortwo in the United States and Puerto Rico and is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. The smart fortwo is a brand of and is
manufactured by Daimler AG. The smart fortwo and the smart fortwo electric drive form a
portfolio of sustainable, forward-looking technologies for urban mobility. The smart fortwo
achieves an EPA estimated 41 mpg on the highway and is an ultra-low emissions vehicle, as
certified by the State of California Air Resources Board. The smart fortwo is available in three
trim levels starting in price from $12,490* to $17,690*. The smart fortwo electric drive is the
ultimate zero-emission visual statement on conservation and environmental awareness and is
available for lease. Both vehicles measure 8.8 feet long, 5.1 feet tall and 5.1 feet wide and
come equipped with many functional and safety features. smart is currently sold in more than
40 other countries, and more than one million smart fortwos have been sold since 1998.
*Excludes tax, title, registration, destination charge, options and other dealer fees.

About Penske Automotive Group
Penske Automotive Group, Inc., headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, operates 323
retail automotive franchises, representing 39 different brands and 25 collision repair centers.
Penske Automotive, which sells new and previously owned vehicles, finance and insurance
products and replacement parts, and offers maintenance and repair services on all brands it
represents, has 172 franchises in 17 states and Puerto Rico and 151 franchises located
outside the United States, primarily in the United Kingdom.

Penske Automotive, through its wholly-owned subsidiary smart USA Distributor LLC, is the
exclusive distributor of the smart fortwo vehicle and related parts in the United States. smart
USA supports over 75 smart retail centers in the United States and Puerto Rico. Penske
Automotive is a member of the Fortune 500 and Russell 1000 and has approximately 14,100
employees. smart and fortwo are registered trademarks of Daimler AG.
Caution Concerning Forward Looking Statements
Statements in this press release may involve forward-looking statements, including forward-
-morelooking statements regarding the anticipated availability of future products. Actual results may
vary materially because of risks and uncertainties, including external factors such as consumer
credit conditions, adverse conditions affecting a particular manufacturer, macro-economic
factors, and other factors over which management has no control. These forward-looking
statements should be evaluated together with additional information about our business,
markets, conditions and other uncertainties, which could affect our future performance. These
risks and uncertainties are addressed in Penske Automotive's Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2009, and its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission
("SEC"). This press release speaks only as of its date, and we disclaim any duty to update the
information herein.
For additional information, visit www.smartusa.com or www.penskeautomotive.com

Drop off your Toys for Tots donation at Keeler Motor Car Company

Keeler Motor Car Company is an official drop center for the The United States Marine Corps annual Toys for Tots campaign for the 2010 holiday season. Keeler has drop boxes in all of its stores, including; Keeler Mercedes-Benz, Keeler BMW, Keeler Honda, Keeler MINI and smart Center Latham.  Please drop by any of our stores with your unwrapped toy.  We are taking donations through December 20, 2010.  

This campaign has reached out and assisted needy and deserving children all around the capital region for over 43 years. Without this wonderful program, children in our communities would not have the opportunity to celebrate the holidays the way they deserve to. In last year’s campaign the Marine Corps reached their goal of collecting over 120,000 toys and distributing them to deserving children, making their holiday’s memorable ones. This year, the Marine Corps with your help, hopes to exceed that goal and reach out to even more children. With these trying times and the recession still looming over this holiday season, we are in an even bigger need of support from our Capital Region community.

We're bringing the test drive to you, smart fans!

To help celebrate Earth day The smart Center of Latham, a Keeler Motor Car Company, will be be at Crossgates Mall Thur April 22nd and Fri April 23, from 11AM-6PM. We will be located at the upper lot near the food court entrance. We are bringing the test drive to you! Look for the smart RV and make sure to stop by and take a spin behind the wheel of a smart fortwo!

Report: Smart fortwo Electric Car Announced for 2012

Daimler AG has announced that the second generation Smart fortwo electric drive will go into series production starting in 2012. The announcement was made during the visit of French President Nicolas Sarkozy to the facility where the electric Smart cars will be built in Hambach, France.

A small number of vehicles will begin production in November of this year as Daimler continues to test the product durability and battery capability. Using a more compact lithium-ion battery pack sourced from U.S. electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc., the second generation of the Smart fortwo electric drive doesn’t compromise space and has adequate room for two adults. Power is rated at 30 kW (40-hp) and 120 Nm (89 ft-lbs) of torque, with a range of 135 km (84 miles). The initial vehicles will begin testing this year in cities across Europe and the U.S.
Smart claims the cars can hit 60 km/h in 6.5 seconds (the same as the gasoline models) and are speed-limited to 100 km/h (60 mph).

Click here for the official press release.

Source: Autoguide.com

New York Auto Show: A Smart iPhone App, Literally

How do you make a Smart car even smarter? You guessed it: Create an app for that.

Smart has developed an iPhone app that acts as a infotainment system for the Fortwo.Smart’s new Smart Drive App for the Lilliputian Smart Fortwo is more ingenious than most. Developed by Mercedes-Benz software engineers, the coming application for the iPhone not only adds features like navigation to the car, but also does something the iPhone usually can’t do on its own: multitask.

Demonstrated at the New York auto show, the software is part of a package that will include a cradle than needs to be installed by dealers. The application divides the iPhone screen into larger, legible quadrants, rather than using tiny icons that might tend to distract the driver (or distract the driver even more). The four on-screen buttons cover media, phone, map and assist functions.

The phone button takes drivers to the usual hands-free calling functions, while the quadrant entitled maps takes drivers to a full, turn-by-turn navigation program based on Navteq’s maps. Like built-in nav systems, it will mute a call in favor of spoken instructions, and it’s here where the multitasking function comes in handy. Unlike other nav-only applications for the iPhone, you don’t have to choose between chatting on the phone or following the nav system. It can run both simultaneously because the developers built both functions into a single application. In other words, the iPhone doesn’t know it’s multitasking.

Also tapping into the iPhone’s abilities, the Smart app can play music from the phone or tune in countless Internet radio stations from around the world using the vTuner service (sorry, no Pandora yet). Again, because it can trick the iPhone into multitasking, the program will automatically mute the music for instructions from the navigation part of the program.

Lastly, the car assistance section includes Google 411 for free searches of local points of interest via voice instructions, and it will find and call a local dealer should your Fortwo break down. Best, however, is the automatic car finder feature. Like the coming iTag software for Android phones, the Smart software automatically marks your car’s location when you remove the iPhone from the car’s cradle. So if you forget where you parked the car (or just can’t find it in a sea of S.U.V.’s) the phone will lead you back to your wheels. No more marking the spot before you leave.

The company says the software will be available by June for $9.99, but a price for the cradle and professional installation hasn’t been set yet.

Source: NY Times, Wheels Blog

You can drive to the YUKON in a Smart car

THANKS to a combination of passion, planning and patience, man has not only proven that he can walk on fire, but that he can also walk on the surface of the moon.

With that spirit in mind, I like to think that my gas tank is always half full rather than half empty. Anything's possible. What's the worse thing that can happen? I've got life insurance. Buy the ticket, take the ride.

That said, even a perennial optimist like me was filled with doubt when Mercedes-Benz Canada sent me an invitation to partake in a winter driving expedition from Kelowna, B.C., to Whitehorse, Yukon. The itinerary outlined a four-day, 2,500-kilometre road trip to the Arctic that promised to be the adventure of a lifetime.
The only catch was we had to take this expedition in a Smart car.
My initial thought was that maybe the Smart marketing team wasn't as smart as those cute little cars they sell.

A division of Mercedes-Benz, the Smart is the smallest road-legal car sold in Canada. Although I'd driven one in the past and thoroughly enjoyed it, I have to admit that the mere prospect of driving a Smart car through some of the harshest and most severe weather conditions on the planet had me thinking that this was a very tall order for a very small car.

Dubbed the Smart Winter Expedition, the checklist did little to ease my doubts. Seven Smart cars, three Mercedes-Benz support vehicles and a flock of automobile journalists from across the country. The fact that a support team made up of professional drivers and technical specialists had been assembled to hold our hands throughout the journey helped to somewhat ease my worried mind, but as I boarded the plane I still couldn't help but wonder what I was getting myself into.

Read the rest of this great article here.