[JPaul]

Nicolas Hayek, who design the first concept of the "SwatchMobile", the forefather of our smart, died in his office from a heart failure at 82.
Sources:
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100628-709306.html
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/Swatch_founder_dead_at_82.html?cid=15315486&rss=true
Bio:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Hayek

This one was taken last Summer, when N. Hayek christened his SWATCH new headquarters' in Biel/Bienne. They refurbished his original concept car for the occasion...

 

[Krusty]

I slept through french class.
But R.I.P. Nicolas Hayek, and thanks for your vision of what a car can be.

 

[Miss Mercedes]

You gave the world an excellent car...

R.I.P.

 

[Pee-wee Germa]

Thank You Nicholas Hayek and your vision for the urban transport of the future.
You lived long enough to see your dream come to fruition. Your invention is thriving and we number in the thousands.:smartlogo::smartje.zw.zw:

 

[Brand Manager Kamaal]

R.I.P., Father. You are an inspiration to us all, and you were way ahead of your time.

 

[Dunerunner]

Thank you Nicholas!! Your legacy lives on!!!

 

[jefn01]

Just read this elsewhere and was going to post

'Mr Swatch' Nicolas Hayek dies age 82 - Business - World business - msnbc.com

Hayek became a national figure, respected as one of the economic leaders of Switzerland, despite his very un-Swiss flamboyance. In 1998 he came up with the idea for the ultra-compact Smart car, now made by a subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler AG, saying a city car only needed "room for two big adults and a crate of beer."

Jef

 

[vwW12]

For those interested in watches and watchmaking, the Nicolas G Hayek German Watch Museum in Glashütte (Saxony) is quite a treat, and one of the ways this brilliant businessman left a legacy —he created and bankrolled this museum to the epicenter of the German watch industry.

We were fortunate to visit it earlier this year and is a recommended excursion just a short drive away from Dresden or Prague.

Museum link.

 

[JPaul]

If you wish to read more about Nicolas Hayek and his achievements, check his SWATCH page at:
http://www.swatchgroup.com/
and click on his pictures...

 

[1983JZR3W]

And thank you for giving us your lovely daughter Selma,,,,,,,

 

[jose3030]

Thanks dad!

Rest in Peace!

 

[Pee-wee Germa]

King, ‘Father’ of Range Rover dead at 85
Celebrity deaths usually occur in threes. Who will be the third?

 

[SmartMadness]

R.I.P.

 

[Mike T]

RIP Nic Hayek

 

[smartcar111]

R.I.P. father of an invention that is way too smart for many to understand.

 

[mamboo]

Smart Fortwo inventor Hayek passes away

Nicolas Hayek, Swatch founder and Smart Fortwo inventor died unexpectedly on Monday while at work from heart failure at the age of 82
he didn't say who would succeed him
read more here Smart Fortwo inventor Hayek dies. World cars news. Smart auto news

 

[Miss Mercedes]

Old news...sad news...

 

[rgaus]

RIP, St. Nic... What could have been if Mercedes had accepted your original idea for the smart, a hybrid, in the 1994 planning stage. If the smart is viewed as innovative now, how much more could it have been as a hybrid back then? What could have been? Still, thanks for the innovation and its recognition as only the 6th car entered into permanent display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

 

[Wdhitch]

Like threads combined...............

 

[Brand Manager Kamaal]

Very unfortunate. The burden is now on all of us to carry on his legacy. . .