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Marking the tenth anniversary of adorable (if slow) little smart cars roaming the streets, Daimler AG has teamed with NASA and equipped the fortwo with solid rocket boosters enabling the vehicle to launch into space and orbit the earth. A moon landing is planned for 2011.

In another zinger, Dr. Dieter Zetsche, President and CEO of Daimler AG, proudly announced, "we invented the car - and we will do it again!"

But in all seriousness, smart is gearing up to produce an all-electric fortwo model, the fortwo ed, that will be beta-tested in Berlin, and will be part of the program known as "e-mobility Berlin." While all-electric smart fortwos have been on the road since 2007, when the brand leased 100 of them to Londoners, the fortwo ed will make use of the ultra-efficient lithium-ion battery, and that is the big news here from smart at the Paris Auto Show.

Automakers are still perfecting the operating characteristics of the lithium-ion battery, so this smart stands as a concept for now. But the promise of a high-range, zero-emissions city runabout with a cult following like the smart has enjoyed since 1998 (over one million on the road in a total of 37 countries) makes a lot of sense for European cities, where fuel costs are outrageous and congestion is a serious issue. Daimler AG promises test versions in Berlin at the end of 2009.

e-mobility Berlin is a consortium of the German government, the state of Berlin, and energy provider RWE. Daimler AG is stepping in to provide 100 smart ed vehicles, and RWE will be providing 500 charging stations. With all four entities working together, the group represents the largest electric vehicle program of its kind, and they all plan to work out the kinks of an electric-only infrastructure, the issues presented by charging, and the challenges of bringing reliable and safe lithium-ion technology to the mass market.

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Long the purveyor of impossibly elegant hardtop coupes like the CL550, Mercedes takes "sense and sensuousness"--Jane Austen is surely rolling in her grave--to a new level in its concept FASCINATION coupe, an early predictor of the next E-Class lineup due in 2010.

The mechanicals are based on a "future E-Class Coupe," Mercedes said as it introduced the new concept to the Paris auto show crowds. The lineup of the next E-Class will include a four-cylinder diesel with 204 horsepower. That's a version of the diesel we'll see in the Benz GLK sport-ute.

Edging over into the Brits' playbook, Mercedes claims it took design inspiration from the classic Shooting Brake idiom, also an inspiration for the Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe. But they are careful to note that the FASCINATION is as useful as it is stylish, and claim to have incorporated impressive amounts of cargo capacity and stunningly decorated passenger space in a segment often defined by cramped quarters and form that trumps function. The gracefully arcing Mercedes hardtop tradition is thankfully continued, albeit with a greater sense of forward motion along the lines of its successful, aggressively styled CLS four-door coupe.

Interior materials are said to be inspired "by the world of equestrianism," and that means loads of leather climbing onto portions of the dashboard. Aluminum, fabrics, and wood are also used throughout. Featuring materials straight from a Bang and Olufsen showroom, even the luggage compartment is lined with a melange of wood, aluminum, and smoked glass, they say. Oh, and in case you have to transport some delicate organic radicchio home for the family, a refrigerated compartment and a humidor are included. (No frozen mixed veggies for my children.)

Ladies and gentlemen, get your checkbooks ready.

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Think Volvos are just for soccer moms? Think again. The Swedish purveyor of "safe" has just confirmed plans for a 300-horsepower, all-wheel-drive edition of the Kammback-cool C30 hatch. This is a nice antidote to increasingly bland entries like the V70 (no longer with turbocharged power), and should be the hottest thing from Volvo since the R-designated 850 on huge rims and low-profile tires.

Production of this fortified C30 will be capped at 4,500 units, says autocar, who also claim that big demand in Britain for sport-edition models means 40 percent of this volume will be headed to the United Kingdom. Visual cues include 20-inch wheels, color-keyed brake calipers, a sport body kit, and sport seating.

Platform sharing dictates that this C30 gets the same 2.5-liter five-cylinder unit as the excellent European Ford Focus. However, a significant mechanical departure is the use of a Haldex all-wheel-drive system, where the Focus makes do with two driven wheels.

Arguably as funky and cool as the '70s-era 1800 ES wagon, this new bad-boy C30 should give a nice big shot of anti-aging serum into Volvo's arm.--Colin Mathews

This isn't the first year that pinched pocketbooks and a faltering economy have forced automakers to re-invent and downsize. After WWII, according to Wikipedia, short-distance, economically minded transportation was a huge need in Europe. Enter the Isetta, designed originally in Italy, and subsequently produced all over Europe, including in Spain, Belgium, France, Germany, and Britain. The vehicle even saw successful production in Brazil. Its popularity made the Isetta microcar one of the most successful ever, speaking in post-WWII terms.

Think the new Chrysler/GEM Peapod looks strange? Legions of Jalopnik viewers apparently do, having launched a design-a-Peapod contest with hilarious and creative results (make sure you scroll down and across pages to check out all the bizarre entries). But try this out for design madness: the BMW 600, pictured below. No doubt, many of you are familiar with the so-ugly-it's-cute Isetta, with its reverse-tricycle wheel layout and front clamshell door that take the entire steering column with it upon opening. But the BMW 600, intended to be a larger version of the Isetta, went rapidly from cute/strange to scary/surreal, like a 16-year-old who just won't stop wearing OshKosh overalls and a little hat with the propeller on top.

The extra-awkward, stretched version of the original Isetta had the trademark Isetta front door but also featured one additional rear passenger suicide-style door. In place of the Isetta's single cylinder, the BMW 600 featured a V-twin air-cooled unit from the BMW motorcycle group with a whopping top speed of 64 mph. According to Wikipedia, only 34,000 units made it out of the factory due to sales pressure from the Volkswagen Beetle, a vehicle that looked a lot more like a traditional car than the BMW 600.

The question remains: did the BMW 600 crawl out of a crazed design mind or was it simply forced by 15 committees in charge of utility and efficiency, perhaps like the AMC Pacer or Cadillac Cimarron? Regardless, this vehicle is unmistakably unique and has earned a place in econo-car history for making remarkably daring (haphazard?) choices.--Colin Mathews, photos from WikiCommons

It's a case of Wolfsburg vs. Stuttgart over in Germany, where privately held automaker Porsche claims "de facto" control over the world's third-largest auto company, VW AG, having gained control of 35.1 percent of voting rights in the German conglomerate.

VW, its union workers, and its second-largest shareholder, the German State of Lower Saxony (in which Wolfsburg is located), aren't having it. Detroit News reports that Lower Saxony's premier, Christian Wulff, is threatening to raise his government's stake in VW by almost 5 percent, bringing it to a solid 25 percent and allowing the government veto power on the supervisory board. But can Wulff make a convincing case that the $6 billion needed to purchase that stake is a worthwhile expenditure? It sounds like he, Wagoner (GM), and Mulally (Ford) are in a similar boat, though the American CEOs have a lot more to lose.

Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking stated that the maker of exclusive sportscars (and SUVs that share a platform, notably, with the VW Touareg) intends to continue increasing its shares of VW until it surpasses 50 percent. The two firms have shared a relationship since their inception, with the very first "People's Car," or Beetle, having been designed by famed engineer Ferdinand Porsche. In modern times, Porsche's grandson, Ferdinand Piëch, was formerly CEO of Volkswagen and is currently the chair of VW's supervisory board.

There are reports of infighting among members of the founding families of the companies. Sounds like Family Feud on a higher plateau, and presents issues that GM, Ford, and America could only dream of having right now. With VW and Porsche both producing outstanding vehicles, the American consumer shouldn't be too concerned either way. Unless Porsche adds an additional turbo to the 2.0T and slaps a $100,000-plus sticker at the top of the monroney.--Colin Mathews, photo by Basheertome