Smart has put the ForTwo under the knife in an attempt to give the maligned A-segment vehicle a few more years of life. The ForTwo now wears a smarter-looking revised fascia with a bolder Smart emblem, more expansive grille and redesigned lower valance. The front clip is paired with more defined rockers and a similarly restyled rear valance. Throw in a few more wheel options and the package helps freshen the vehicle quite a bit. Unfortunately, engineers left the engine bay alone. That means buyers will still be met with the same abysmal engine lineup and automated manual transmission found in the current vehicle.

Smart plans to continue to offer five option packages, including Brabus and Brabus Xclusive. The refreshed ForTwo will land in dealers in the UK in April, with U.S. sales commencing shortly thereafter as a 2013 model.

Word has it the next-generation ForTwo won’t see the light of day for another two years at least. Will the 2013 nip/tuck draw enough buyers into show rooms to keep Smart afloat until then? We imagine it won’t hurt, but the company is facing increased competition from big players like Scion and Chevrolet, and its sales numbers are terrible to begin with. Vehicles like the the more efficient iQ and the Spark probably won’t help the ForTwo’s chances. Hit the jump for the full press release.

The Smart brand has been in flux for the last few years. Sales have fallen off a cliff from the days when thePenske Group moved nearly 25,000 units in 2008. In 2010, just 5,927 Smart ForTwos went home with new owners. Mercedes-Benz had enough of watching sales submarine, and plucked back distribution rights, sales and marketing of the brand. Now, the German automaker is looking to inject new life into Smart.

How does Mercedes hope to revive the ailing subcompact brand? For starters, Smart has a new executive team in place, which forms a new group called Daimler Vehicle Innovations USA. This group reports directly to Mercedes-Benz USA sales leader Michael Slagter. The newly formed Smart team is lead by Tracey Matura, who was plucked from her role as general manager of MB’s strategic retail development group.

Matura will work with Mercedes-Benz dealers to incorporate Smart vehicles into their showrooms. In the past, it was required of a Smart dealer to utilize a separate, or even standalone, showroom space. Now, Matura will simply ask for a corner of an existing Benz showroom, and, given the size of a Smart ForTwo, the corner doesn’t need to be very big.

Right now, 75 Mercedes dealerships also sell Smart products, and Matura aims to get that number up to 100 by year’s end. Read all about the new Smart plan after the break.

The 2011 Smart Fortwo, despite all its trying, is a car that needs all the help it can get. True, a big part of the car’s problem is that it just doesn’t make very much sense for the American market. That said, it’s underpowered, uninspiring to drive, terrifying on the highway, and not particularly efficient, given its size. It also features one of the worst transmissions in motoring.

Enter Vilner, a Bulgarian custom shop that has tried with some success to make the car just a little more appealing. Built for a Bulgarian businessman, the Vilner Smart Fortwo employs a design scheme the company has dubbed “square style.”

Inside and outside the car gets a square motif, which translates nicely into a completely redone interior featuring quilted upholstery. Outside, the car gets loud, oversize orange wheels and serious amounts of chrome. While Vilner takes the styling of the Smart to a new, supercar-aping level, the go bits have been left alone. Despite the lack of power adders, Vilner’s efforts have gone a long way to making the Fortwo a bit more appealing. Read the full press release and check out two videos after the jump.

What happens if you take a Smart Fortwo Electric Drive, add a disco-ball finish and then throw in Electriconic Rock group Apparatjik? You get the mirrored two-seater shown above, as well as a rather odd video featuring enough flashing lights to push epileptics into DEFCON 1.

The electric party-mobile is a one-off creation thought up by the Apparatjik crew. It’s a music group comprised of Coldplay bassist Guy Berryman, A-Ha guitarist/keyboardist Magne Furuholmen, Mew lead singer Jonas Bjerre and producer Martin Terefe. The car will be used in a film called Pixel City. It also has a starring role in an Apparatjik music video, which can be seen after the jump. Just don’t crash… that’s a lot of mirrors ripe for a shattering.

The Smart ForTwo and Hello Kitty… who thought it would’ve taken this long for those two to get together? Someone’s prayers have been answered with this, the two-seater wrapped in a vinyl flag of Sanrio’s 35-year-old Kitty that never stops being cute. This is just another addition to the 22 wraps already available via Smart’s Expressions program, and if it gets your attention, it comes in three flavors of its own. It’s certainly not for everyone, but if it’s for you, then follow the jump for all the info.