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]

Smart has been field testing a fleet of battery-powered ForTwo ED models in Britain for several months. Now Auto Motor und Sport out of Germany is reporting that an updated version could begin testing in the U.S. as early as 2009. The current model uses high temperature sodium-nickel-chloride Zebra batteries. The new generation will switch to a lithium ion pack and could be tested in the Los Angeles area. There are no specs available at the moment, but Smart's Anders Jensen has said that if the testing provides positive results the car could move to production quickly. Given the relatively disappointing fuel economy of the gasoline-powered version of the ForTwo, an electric drive model could prove quite popular. The layout of the Smart makes it amenable to alternative drivetrains, with a battery pack able to slide under the double floor and an electric motor easily replacing the internal combustion engine.

[Source: Auto Motor und Sport]