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29 Asian, some 46 in all. But they wanted a vehicle that would resonate better in America. Realize that the model they were replacing has a length of 106.1 in., a wheelbase of 73.5 in., a height of 60.7 in., and a width of 61.4 in. So the new fortwo has a length of 105.91 in., a wheelbase of 73.74 in., a height of 61.02 in., and a width of 65.35 in. Which is to say that essentially, they made the new car wider by 3.9 in., with the rest of the dimensional changes being nearly imperceptible. This width modifcation is, according to Winkler, "decisive." Yes, this means more interior room for the passengers. But it also means that the wheels are set more widely apart part, and located at the corners of the vehicle, which has the consequence of there being larger wheelhouses, which allow greater wheel turning, which results in one of the most touted aspects of the fortwo, which is that it has a turning circle of 22.8 ft. (Putting the engine in the back down and low and having no storage in the front helps this compact footprint, too.) t The smart fortwo is designed to be a car for the urban environment: realize that it is just 105.9 inches long and is powered by an 89-hp three cylinder engine. While it can be driven on a freeway, clearly the city is where it is more at home. q One of the concerns that people may have with a smart fortwo is its level of safety in an environment where there are signifcantly larger vehicles on the road. So Mercedes-Benz decided to perform a crash test of a fortwo with a Mercedes S-Class. This test was at an impact speed of 50 km/hr and 50% frontal overlap. The mass of the fortwo: 2,478 lb. The mass of the S-Class: 5,080 lb. In terms of the materials used to construct the cars, the fortwo is 51% high-strength steel, 13% ultra-high-strength steel, and 8% hot-formed steel. The S-Class is 14% aluminum, 55% high-strength steel, 10% ultra-high-strength steel, and 12% hot-formed steel. According to Prof. Rodolfo Schöneburg, head of Vehicle Safety at Mercedes-Benz Cars, "The well- proven tridion cell forms the basis for the high crash safety of the new smart. It ensures efcient energy absorption, for example, in a frontal impact. To this end, the crumple zones of the new smart have been made as large as possible. Homogeneous application of force in the structure is achieved with several loads of paths." Schöneburg added, "The high proportion ultra-high-strength steels ensures high stability for the passenger cell."