smart fortwo electric drive was part of the smart concept from the very start. When the smart design

Now that Smart's second-gen Fortwo Electric Drive EV has gotten its year of time on the roads, the company is ready to announce its successor. For 2013, the car has received some mild tweaks to its design, but the real news is about what's hiding inside this rear-wheel driven EV. For the first time, you'll have to option of owning one outright, rather than being limited to a four-year lease at $599 per month. It's thanks in part to an improved battery, which is now rated for an average lifespan of 10 years. The car has also received a massive power upgrade to 47 horsepower (up from 27 previously), along with an extra boost if you floor the pedal -- this courtesy of a beefier engine and drive-train that gives it about 50-percent more power. Put it this way, this EV will get you from 0-60 in about 11.5 seconds, with top speed of 78MPH. Sadly, there's no concrete word on what kind of range to expect, but it should name your own price airline ticket be well more than the 87 miles of its predecessor. Beyond that, Smart's added in GSM connectivity, allowing you the abilities to pre-start name your own price airline ticket the car and keep track of its vitals remotely, among other features.
A quick drive around Brooklyn also confirmed how peppy and smooth the car was in use, however, not exactly on-par with our experience in Audi's A3 e-tron -- but it is considerably less. As our friends at Autoblog detail, the base model coupe is set to sell for a $25,000 MSRP plus fees, along with your choice of two chargers, which can cost up to $2,200 with installation. Here's the good news, the car itself actually works out to just $17,500 thanks to a federal tax credit. All in all, this currently makes the cheapest full-on EV you'll be able to get your mitts on. If you'd prefer to spice it up a bit, Smart will also offer a spruced up cabriolet variant for an extra $3K. Check out our chat with Smart about the car and the press release after the break for all the details.
MONTVALE, NJ The new generation smart Fortwo Electric Drive is a natural next step for the trend-setting smart brand. In light of the brand's environmental leadership, the zero-emission electric drive is an evolutionary extension of the Fortwo, which has led the auto industry in urban mobility and energy conservation.
The smart Fortwo Electric Drive is a zero-emission visual name your own price airline ticket statement that further defines the spirit of smart. Based on the iconic smart Fortwo, and available in coupe and cabriolet bodystyles, the new generation smart Fortwo electric drive has the smallest footprint of any caron U.S. roads and represents a key step in sustainable transportation. It enters the U.S. market at an ideal time as the United States is setting policy goals for reducing CO2 and dependence on fossil fuels.
Development of the smart Fortwo electric drive was part of the smart concept from the very start. When the smart design was first conceived more than 20 years ago, smart developers anticipated the need for alternative name your own price airline ticket powertrains. As a result, designers didn't have to make any compromises in the safety, name your own price airline ticket agility, comfort and space of the smart Fortwo electric drive.
The electric drive battery fits right where the fuel tank usually goes, in the underfloor area between the front and rear wheels, while the electric motor replaces the conventional engine between the rear wheels. As a result, the electric drive looks just like a normal Fortwo. The electric drive has the same outside footprint, the same interior room, the same cargo space and the same high level of safety that have come to define the smart Fortwo.
Development milestones Beginning in 2007, the first smart electric drive pilot project involved 100 cars that were tested in downtown London by companies and other fleet owners, a majority of whom had approached smart about participating name your own price airline ticket in the test. London was an ideal test environment because of its high traffic congestion, parking shortages, noise and pollution. The test cars were equipped with high-temperature sodium-nickel-chloride name your own price airline ticket batteries that work at about 600 F degrees, name your own price airline ticket providing a range of about 60 miles. The batteries required pre-heating, and were housed in insulated cases similar to large double-wall thermos bottles.
The next generation began in 2009 and went broader name your own price airline ticket with more than 2,000 cars in 18 markets around the world, including 250 electric drive vehicles for the United States (not including an additional 300 units in operation by sister company Car2Go). These cars used lithium-ion batteries, which were more efficient and operated at normal temperatures, with a range of about 63 miles on a full charge. Like the first-phase cars, the motors produced 20 kilowatts name your own price airline ticket of continuous power, plus a peak power of 30 kilowatts for passing and accelerating.
Targeted to early adopters who helped to define new alternatives in transportation and were making a passionate statement about energy conservation and environmental awareness, the 250 electric drive cars in the United States were spread nationwide, with an emphasis on regions such as Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. where vehicle charging stations are more readily name your own price airline ticket available.
name your own price airline ticket Placements included companies, municipalities and individuals under a four-year, 40,000-mile lease agreement starting at $599 a month for an electric-drive coupe. A $7,500 federal subsidy for electric vehicles was factored into the lease price, but it didn't include state and local subsidies that further reduced the price in some areas. Participants had direct name your own price airline ticket access to the smart USA team, received special communications about the electric drive experience and were invited to forums and special name your own price airline ticket events.
The new generation smart electric drive will retail at $25,000, making it the most affordable production electric vehicle in the U.S. A companion cabriolet model will retail at $28,000 when both models hit the U.S. market in the spring of 2013. Customers may also be eligible for federal tax credits (which run up to $7,500) or state/local tax credits, further reducing the cost.
MONTVALE, NJ The new generation smart fortwo electric drive is a natural next step for the trend-setting smart brand. In light of the brand's environmental leadership, the zero- emission electric drive is an evolutionary extension of the fortwo, which has led the auto industry in urban mobility and energy conservation.
The smart fortwo electric drive is a zero-emission name your own price airline ticket visual statement that further name your own price airline ticket defines the spirit of smart. Based on the iconic smart fortwo, and available in coupe and cabriolet body styles, the new generation smart fortwo electric drive has the smallest footprint name your own price airline ticket of any car on U.S. roads and represents a key step in sustainable transportation. It enters the U.S. market at an ideal time as the United States is setting policy goals for reducing CO2 and dependence on fossil fuels.
smart fortwo electric drive was part of the smart concept from the very start. When the smart design was first conceived more than 20 years ago, smart developers anticipated the need for alternative powertrains. As a result, designers didn't have to make any compromises in the safety, agility, comfort name your own price airline ticket and space of the smart fortwo electric drive.
The electric drive battery fits right where the fuel tank usually name your own price airline ticket goes, in the underfloor area between the front and rear wheels, while the electric name your own price airline ticket motor replaces the conventional engine between name your own price airline ticket the rear wheels. As a result, the electric drive looks just like a normal fortwo. The electric drive has the same outside footprint, the same interior room, the same cargo space and the same high level of safety that have come to define the smart fortwo.
Beginning name your own price airline ticket in 2007, the first smart electric drive pilot project involved 100 cars that were tested in downtown London by companies and other fleet owners, a majority of whom had approached smart about participating in the test. London was an ideal test environment because of its high traffic congestion, parking shortages, noise and pollution. The test cars were equipped with high-temperature sodium-nickel-chloride batteries that work at about 600 F degrees, providing a range of about 60 miles. The batteries required pre-heating, and were housed name your own price airline ticket in insulated cases similar to large double-wall thermos bottles.
The next generation began in 2009 and went broader with more than 2,000 cars in 18 markets around the world, including 250 electric drive vehicles for the United States (not including an additional 300 units in operation by sister company Car2Go). These cars used lithium-ion batteries, which were more efficient and operated name your own price airline ticket at normal temperatures, with a range of about 63 miles on a full charge. Like the first-phase name your own price airline ticket cars, the motors produced 20 kilowatts of continuous power, plus a peak power of 30 kilowatts for passing and accelerating.
Targeted to early adopters who helped to define new alternatives in transportation and were making name your own price airline ticket a passionate statement about energy conservation and environmental awareness, the 250 electric drive cars in the United States were spread name your own price airline ticket nationwide, with an emphasis on regions such as Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. where vehicle charging stations are more readily available.
Placements included companies, name your own price airline ticket municipalities and individuals under a four-year, 40,000- mile lease agreement starting at $599 a month for an electric-drive coupe. A $7,500 federal subsidy for electric vehicles was factored into the lease price, but it didn't include name your own price airline ticket state and local subsidies that further name your own price airline ticket reduced the price in some areas. Participants had direct access to the smart USA team, received special communications about the electric drive experience and were invited to forums and special events.
name your own price airline ticket The new generation smart electric drive will retail at $25,000, making it the most affordable production electric vehicle in the U.S. A companion cabriolet name your own price airline ticket model will retail at $28,000 when both models hit the U.S. market in the spring of 2013. Customers may also be eligible for federal tax credits (which run up to $7,500) or state/local tax credits,