A Canadian P.R. stunt has the new smart fortwo electric drive posting a Guinness World Records title for the “Most Balloons Suspended by Static Electricity.” A team of employees from Mercedes-Benz Canada and its advertising and media agencies, BBDO and OMD, set the record by using static electricity to hang 415 balloons from a single wall at a sound stage in Toronto’s west end.
Official requirements had the balloons inflated manually (a handheld pump was permitted, although the agency no doubt had a lot of hot air available) and no participants in the record-setting had product in their hair, as it would have artificially increased the adhesiveness of the balloons.
smart electric drive
The smart electric drive is available in the smart fortwo coupe and smart fortwo cabrio, the only electric cabriolet on the Canadian market. MSRPs are Canadian $29,050 and $32,050 for the convertible. Both are eligible for green rebates in some provinces. Both use a 17.6 kWh Lithium Ion battery pack with an 8 year / 100,000 km warranty. Range, ahem, is only 93 km for the tiny cars with a 130 km/h top speed.
Mercedes-Benz Canada
Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc. employs approximately 1,500 people in 21 locations across Canada. Through a nationwide network of 11 Mercedes-Benz owned retail operations and 48 authorized dealerships, Mercedes-Benz Canada sold 48,320 vehicles in 2016. This represents the best year ever for the company and has positioned Mercedes-Benz as the top luxury manufacturer in Canada for the third consecutive year.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
