Have you ever flown Austrian Airlines? We haven't because we don't often think of Vienna has the gateway for our European vacations. And usually, we're frantically trying to make the most of our miles accumulated on domestic airlines like American and Continental.

But in an effort to persuade people like us, Austrian Airlines has unveiled its Smart Car "Airplanes" to create awareness about their business class services, calling it the "smart ride to Europe."

The Smart Car "Airplanes" will be cruising throughout New York and Washington, D.C. for the next month (first NYC; then after Labor Day, DC.) As an added bonus the cars will be handing out free bottles of cold water to folks passing by.]]> juliana 2009-08-26T13:54:41-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/4/7/72326/18674

Another car sharing program is getting into the game, and they’re starting their plan for world domination in Austin. Even though everything is bigger in Texas, this service is going to deploy about 200 Smart Fortwos onto city streets, which are certainly little guys. After a test run in Ulm, Germany—mostly with friends and family—Daimler’s new car2go service starts testing things out here in the states. Too bad SXSW is already over.

Of course everyone will immediately compare this new kid on the block to ZipCar. However, company officials insist that the car2go service is different. Instead of making a reservation, members are free just to pick up any Smartcar that they see and take it for a spin. There’s no need to decide how long you’ll need the car for, so there’s no overage fees or other penalties. Just walk up to the car and you’ll be able to see if it’s available. If it’s not, just look at the screen on the back, and it will reveal the nearest available car.

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