It's beginning to appear more and more likely that my previous speculation about the nature of the relationship between Tesla Motors and Daimler may have been accurate. In a Fox Business News interview with Tesla CEO Elon Musk in June, he mentioned the company has deal of some kind with the parent company of Smart and Mercedes-Benz. Since then I have looked at the possibilities and determined that Tesla may be supplying lithium ion batteries and other hardware for the second-generation Smart ED that will go into fleet tests in 2009.

StreetImportOnline posted today that someone spotted a Smart ForTwo sitting in front of Tesla's San Carlos headquarters. This in and of itself means nothing since the Bay Area is a popular location for the little cars. There was one there in January when I visited to drive the Roadster, in fact. This time, though, the Smart had no tailpipe and was plugged into the charging station outside the front door. A quick call to Tesla SVP Darryl Siry yielded the expected "no comment." In general, suppliers are never allowed to comment on any potential work they are doing for client companies and this situation is no different.

If you happen to be in the neighborhood of Tesla's Bing St. headquarters in San Carlos, CA and you see a Smart plugged in out in the open, please feel free to snap some pics and send them our way. Just use the tips link at the top of the page and we'll give you an email address to send your shots to.

[Source: StreetImportOnline.com]

Perhaps the cheapest way to get around is by walking, followed closely by cycling. But, if you want a roof over your head and four wheels on the ground, the cheapest way to drive in Germany is with a smart fortwo. Studies performed by auto motor und sport, Auto Bild, Autozeitung, the ADAC and now EurotaxSchwacke GmbH all come to the same conclusion. The latest numbers show that it costs €27.52 to drive 100 kilometers in a smart fortwo pure micro hybrid drive. It's not just fuel savings, though that certainly plays a part, as the study included wear items, maintenance, insurance, taxes and the car's remaining value after 36 months of ownership. In addition to saving money, Germans who choose to drive a smart fortwo that's equipped with the micro hybrid drivetrain will emit just 103 grams of C0₂ per kilometer driven. Currently, electric smart fortwos are undergoing testing. It will be interesting to see the cost comparison of running a smart ed with the standard mhd model.

[Source: smart]

Next year's arrival of the S400 BlueHybrid appears to be just the first stage of a massive move to hybridazition of the brand's lineup. The ML450 is scheduled to get a Two-Mode hybrid late next year, pending resolution of issues with battery supplier Cobasys. A new generation of the high-volume mid-sized E-class arrives sometime in 2009 and Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche reportedly told media in Paris last week that it, too, will get the hybrid treatment. The smaller C-Class that debuted in 2007 gets a refresh in 2011 that is also expected to add an electric motor into the drivetrain package. The C and E are both likely to use the smaller, less expensive mild hybrid system that goes into the S rather than the larger Two-Mode. Finally, Zetsche had good news for EV fans when he said the company expects to be producing 12-15,000 electric Smarts per year starting in 2012.


[Source: eGMCarTech]

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]

Click the photo for a high res gallery

Daimler AG and German utility RWE are teaming up for what they are calling the largest electric car field test in the world. The "e-mobility Berlin" project will see Daimler deploy a fleet of over 100 second-generation Smart ED and Mercedes A-Class cars powered by lithium ion batteries. In order to facilitate the use of these cars around the German capitol, RWE will install 500 public charging stations. The charge points will get vehicle ID information when the cars are plugged in to allow accurate billing of the drivers. By working with the utility, Daimler wants to develop an integrated system that includes both electrically-driven vehicles and a publicly-accessible charging infrastructure. The latter is actually quite important because at least in the early years, the limited range of battery vehicles will mean that they are primarily used in urban environments. Many people living in such locales don't necessarily have a garage or other place to plug in. Automatic charging points like the ones to be deployed by RWE or those developed by Coulomb technologies here in the U.S. will be an important part of the equation. The new electric Smarts to be deployed by Daimler will use lithium ion batteries but the company has not confirmed who will supply the packs. Previously the Financial Times had reported that Tesla would be supplying the batteries for these cars.


[Source: Daimler]

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]

Gajillionaire Donald Trump wants to spend £1 billion ($2,005,048,751.80) building the world's largest golf resort. It would feature two golf courses along with a 5-star hotel on 1,400 acres of "spectacular sand dunes" at Balmedie Beach in northeast Scotland. Not surprisingly, there is some amount of environmental criticism of the plan. To silence the critics, "The Donald" is planning on supplying each of the 500 planned properties, and possibly some for the 950 other holiday homes intended for the area, with their very own Smart ed.

If you're worried that Mr. Trump is just using some electric cars to greenwash his project, don't. His assistant in Scotland, George Sorial, assures, "We aim to protect and enhance the environment in everything we do." While it seems likely the development will eventually happen, we suggest the local inhabitants "see" his electric car and "raise" him a wind and solar farm. Check out the gallery below for photographs by Brian Morgan, Richard Le Sueur and Derek Ironside of the breathtaking seaside vistas Trump plans to destroy enhance with his development for wealthy vacationers.


[Source: Scotsman.com]

We've discussed these electric cars before but now Whatcar? has gathered the NICE Mega City, the Smart ed, the Micro-Vett Fiat Doblo, and the Reva G-Wiz together for a group evaluation on the streets of London town to "...decide whether or not they do make a practical alternative to urban transport.". The first thing they discovered about the cars as they prepared for the initial shoot is that people are now extremely interested in electric vehicles as the quartet attracted "masses" of people with lots of questions.

So, how did they do? Somewhat surprisingly the G-Wiz seemed to best the Mega City as it was quicker, stronger and less expensive. The G-Wiz is set to get even better in Q4 when lithium ion batteries become an option and it's range and, no doubt its power, receive a welcome boost. The presenter, Peter Lawton, enjoyed the Smart ed saying that after driving the quadricycle entrants it "felt as safe as a tank.". This is another vehicle whose performance will greatly improve when they are produced with a lithium ion battery though the sodium-nickel chloride version is already quicker then the gas burning one. Lastly, the electric Doblo was the only vehicle already equipped with li-ion and had the best range and top speed. It also had the seating for 5 and a "boot". Although it was also the most expensive at £30,000 (nearly $60,000), it seemed the best choice for both the streets of London and those of America. Hit the jump to check all the shootout action as well as a bonus visit to a fuel price protest at the end of the clip.

[Source: WhatCar?]

We've seen two reviews now of the smart ed, one favorable, the other... not so much. Regardless, we hope that smart is able to offer an electric version of their little runabout sooner rather than later. Whether using the Zebra batteries of the ed or newer lithium ion packs, an electric smart car is just what the market needs in the U.S. We'd like a diesel and the micro-hybrid too, of course.


Halfway there: Number 10.

We can think of a few electric cars which have gotten less-than-stellar reviews, probably deservedly so. The first reviewer that we know of to tackle the smart ED, though, was rather in favor of the diminutive electric machine, enjoying the 60 mile-per-hour top speed and 72-mile range. Top Gear, though, was less than impressed, citing a distinct lack of range and suggesting that "the Smart looks less appealing than a bike." Granted, smart thinks that the review unit provided to Top Gear must have had some ailments, but perhaps the system still has some growing-pains to overcome before it's truly ready for the mainstream market. It's likely that the Zebra battery would be replaced with lithium ion's in any real production version, in any case. Still, we remain wanting to get a crack at the smart ED ourselves. Thanks for the tip, Forrest!

[Source: Top Gear]

Thanks to tipster Adam, we've read the first review of the smart ed, and now we wish even more that we could buy one for ourselves. If you've never heard of ed, as we like to call it, smart's U.K. operations has made available an electric version of the diminutive microcar to companies willing to power it using electricity generated only from renewable means. So far, the general public is unable to purchase ed, no matter where they live. This is a real shame, because it sounds like ed's a perfect little electric city runabout. Being able to reach 60 miles per hour and travel for 72 miles in between charging in a near-silent and completely non-polluting - not to mention safe - car really does sound smart.

Ed uses a sodium-nickel chloride battery along with a Zytek electric motor and is able to hit 30 miles per hour from a dead stop in 6.5 seconds. Not bad for a city car! Also, that 60 mile per hour top speed is electronically limited, so there could be enough power for highway travel, depending on how long the stretch of roadway is. In short, the smart ed is a real car, one that just happens to be powered by electrons. We want.

[Source: Smart Planet, thanks Adam!]