While some sites are busy making fun of its name (yeah, we thought of that too... and you? Does it matter? Comments are welcome), others were busy conducting interviews with Dr. Z. in an attempt to find out when we may see the smart ED in America. The answer is that it's coming, if not next year then shortly thereafter. Daimler hopes to have 1,000 electric smarts running rather silently around the world by the end of next year, and it's distinctly possible that a portion of them will be in the U.S. This is the second-generation of the smart ED, and it is now powered by a lithium ion battery pack that may or may not be supplied by Tesla Motors. The last-gen model used a sodium battery. With the new pack, the smart ED can achieve a range of up to 150 miles -- plenty of distance for the urban use the little car is likely to be subjected to.

[Source: Popular Mechanics / Photo: Inside Line]

Smart currently has an electric version of its little ForTwo runabout... um, running about in Europe known as the Smart ed. Using a a sodium-nickel-chloride (commonly called a Zebra) battery, the 41 horse electric motor has plenty of power to move the vehicle around, and urban performance is actually said to be improved over the standard model. So far, the electric smart has only been for testing, but that looks to be changing rather soon. According to Dieter Zetsche, a fully electric ForTwo will be on sale to the public beginning in 2010.

We would expect the production model to be equipped with lithium batteries and have better range than the Zebra-equipped models currently on the roads. So far, no firm pricing information has been provided, though Dr. Z says he doesn't believe consumers would be willing to pay a large surcharge. The total cost of the smart ev would also depend on whether the automaker chooses to sell the batteries with the car or lease them seperately -- both options are currently on the table. We look forward to hearing more about the new model in the coming months, especially to find out what markets will be blessed with its presence. Stay tuned. Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

[Source: Sustainable Business]

We recently confirmed the rumor that, yes, Mercedes is planning on building an electric car or two and now some of the details are starting to be firmed up. In an interview with German business daily, WirtschaftsWoche, Thomas Weber, a Mercedes board member responsible for research and vehicle development, let it be known that the company is building what was originally meant to be the fuel cell-powered A-Class (and possibly B-Class) as an all-electric model. Because of its "sandwich" construction and pre-existing electric drivetrain, these cars should be the first to join the electric Smart in the e-Mercedes lineup.

Another magazine, Automobilwoche, as well as reporting 2010 as the year of the e-Mercedes arrival, states that the supplier of the battery for the cars would be none other than the American firm Tesla Motors. The source of their information was not revealed and since this has not been officially stated by either company, it's still somewhat speculative. We know from talking with Tesla's Elon Musk that something is going on between them and Mercedes and it's definitely not a motor for the Whitestar, since Musk made it clear that Tesla products will remain gasoline-free. We also know that Daimler claims to have solved the thermal issues associated with lithium ion batteries of a certain chemistry by integrating battery cooling systems with that of the car. Then again, Continental has already been named a battery supplier for the Mercedes S 400 hybrid. If you care to enter into the supplier speculation sweepstakes, hit us up in the comments section.

Source: WirtschaftsWoche / Wall Street Journal]