What does it mean?

There are symbols that surround us every day that we instantly recognize but what do they mean? Mercedes-Benz has the three pointed star that adorns every hood and trunk lid. The three points mean Air, Land and Water. You show a child the golden arches and they'll tell you with McDonalds. What about smart? What does our symbol mean?

Very simple, this is the beauty of it. The silver "c" simply stands for coupe. The yellow arrow is symbolic for forward thinking. Together, I believe, they stand for reducing our carbon footprint but keeping what our passion for high quality and fun to drive.

Take the current model smart car, the fourtwo. The panels are made out of recycled plastics, we use recycled water at all of our plants, and our emissions compete with the highly regarded hybrids of the world. Look at the bigger picture and our future electric car (debuting in January 2011) is going to be even more efficient and earth friendly because we're not using the traditional nickel plated hybrid battery. We are using a lithium-ion battery which Mercedes-Benz first introduced in their S-class.

Our forward thinking does not stop there and I think we will soon discover that smart will be a leader in the small automotive industry, a part of the automotive industry that has been neglected. With the rapid growth and expansion of metropolitans I am seeing a higher demand for these efficient vehicles. One day we are going to find the smart symbol as easily recognizable as Mercedes-Benz, Coca-Cola, McDonalds and many of the other major brands.