mark.pearson@haymarket.com
GENEALOGISTS WHO LIKE to trace the characteristics of an individual through their immediate ancestors would have a field day with my new Smart #1.
Initially, Smart was a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Swatch, and was for many years a purveyor of tiny, impractical city cars and sports cars. Now, though, Smart has relaunched itself as an electric-only car company and is jointly owned by Mercedes and Chinese conglomerate Geely, which in turn owns Lotus, Polestar, Volvo and taxi firm LEVC, among others.
If you can imagine a small electric SUV that’s a blend of those brands, you can perhaps see why anyone would be intrigued by my #1. However, genetics being what it is, traits are often inherited in distinct units and are not actually a blend. So,…
