Daimler delays launch of 2012 Smart ForTwo EV

[mwalsh]

Americans are not very used (yet) to small cars. For me, the Smart it works incredibly well in the city of Amsterdam en still good on the sub urban highways (speed limit in the Netherlands between 62 and 80 mph).

I've got a BMW 1 series as a company car, but drive the electric Smart around town (car2go) very often. I love it and I feel save in it. But I must admit that the average car size in the Netherlands is less than half of what I see when I'm in California.

I'm looking forward to the 3rd Generation, as that might give a significant sales boost to electric cars in the Netherlands.

Americans have long been deluded in thinking they need battle tanks for the morning commute. They don't, but most haven't come to the realization yet.

 

[adric22]

So the article says the cost will be $25,000. I wonder if that is before or after any tax credits. If it is before, then that means you could by an EV with range similar to the Leaf for about $17,500. Not bad. Obviously it is a 2 seater with no cargo space and slower acceleration than the Leaf, though.

 

[surfingslovak]

So the article says the cost will be $25,000. I wonder if that is before or after any tax credits.

It's definitely before tax credits, Pitt mentioned in earlier discussions that they wanted to have the most affordable EV on the market.

 

[Herm]

So the article says the cost will be $25,000. I wonder if that is before or after any tax credits. If it is before, then that means you could by an EV with range similar to the Leaf for about $17,500. Not bad. Obviously it is a 2 seater with no cargo space and slower acceleration than the Leaf, though.

$25k before any tax credit.. in California you would get it down to $15k.. a perfect commuter.

 

[Robster1979]

Exactly, a perfect commuter. And with the 3rd gen, you don't have to shy away from the freeway. How cool is that for 15k!

 

[Randy3]

My LEAF was a replacement for a smart fortwo. I sold the smart to my sister in December 2010 after driving it for a couple of years. We took it on a few trips (San Jose, CA to Las Vegas, NV was the longest one). I found the freeway ride to be bumpy and rough. But it was also the most fun car I've ever owned. I loved being able to put the convertible top down while driving.

About smart fortwo safety, a few months after buying it from me, my sister was involved in an accident where the car turned upside down. The safety cell design worked as it is supposed to and she came out of the accident fine. We think it did better than most convertible cars would. The little yellow and black car was totaled, but she immediately replaced it with another smart fortwo convertible.

To me, the smart fortwo just looks like it should be an EV. Back when I drove one, I was constantly asked if it was electric (once while I was filling the smart with gas). I saw the Think EV at this year's San Jose Hybrids to Hot Rods event. The two seem very similar.

 

[GRA]

I think the biggest drawback for the Smart ED is that, as a city car, it's primary reason for existence is that it's easier to find a parallel parking space for it overnight for apartment dwellers. But unless you give those apartment dwellers a curbside charging infrastructure (or they can charge during the day somewhere), it doesn't make any sense to own one. If you own a house with a garage you don't need something that small, and the majority of daytime workplace parking is in pay lots or free at work.

The gas version doesn't suffer from this problem.

 

[gkalexdc]

What I want to know is, did the GEN 3 smart get a temp management system for the battery.