BORN TO BE...AN EV
"Electric mobility is the true nature of Smart," says brand manager Marc Langenbrinck. We have to agree that the Smart ForTwo certainly looks like it should be an electric car. The tiny two-seater, with egg-like styling and plastic body panels, is so wildly different, it's sort of a let-down to find out that it's powered by a conventional gasoline engine. But the ForTwo, which first came to market (in Europe) in 1998, had been around for nine years before the first Smart EV was unveiled, in 2007. A small test fleet was soon let loose in London. A total of 100 first-generation Smart EVs were produced before the second-generation electric made its debut in 2008. Deliveries of the current, second-generation car began in Germany last November. Now, the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive is coming to the USA.

More than twelve months ago, Mercedes-Benz and Renault-Nissan agreed on a joint program to develop the next-generation Smart. But despite several attempts, a more widespread, all-encompassing global cooperation agreement has yet to be signed. The deal, which would change the face of this industry, likely includes a swap of shares, a near-total component integration of all five brands involved, and a close cooperation in numerous vehicle segments including vans and light trucks. Rumors suggest that Renault/Nissan's Carlos Ghosn and Mercedes' Dieter Zetsche may announce further details in May.

After two years of trying (with BMW/Mini and also with Peugeot/Citroën), Daimler chairman Dieter Zetsche and his engineering chief Thomas Weber have finally struck a deal with Renault-Nissan to develop the next generation of Smart microcars by late 2014. The partners will market distinctly different derivatives under the Renault-Nissan and Smart nameplates.

In many parts of the country, it has seemed like summer would never arrive, but just recently, the midwest and the northeast got an early preview (temperatures topped 90 degrees in New York City). Make no mistake: Summer's lurking around the corner, and you'd best be ready for its arrival.

As the breadth and severity of the Wall-Street-created recession continue to intensify, it's no surprise that auto sales remain flat. Although the figures are a tiny bit better than January's, which is a typical pattern, they're still more than 40 percent lower than a year ago. Once again, the pain is widespread, with the domestic brands suffering a bit more than most imports:

Maybe it's time for somebody to fire up the old Detroit Electric automobile company. That entity was the last major producer of electric-powered vehicles from Detroit, and its last car was delivered in 1939. With all the electric-car news from the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, maybe it's time for somebody to pull a Phoenix move and get the company started again.

Though it made its first auto show debut at the 2008 Paris motor show, the electrically-powered Smart ForTwo ED has already been revealed for quite some time now.

In the name of fuel economy, a mild hybrid system will come standard on all gas-powered 2009 Smart ForTwos sold in Europe.

Small as it may be, the Smart Fortwo just received a giant safety endorsement.

After years of on-again, off-again false starts, the Smart ForTwo is finally headed to the land of the free and the home of the Escalade. If you've traveled anywhere exotic in the past few years, to places such as Europe or Canada, you've likely seen the original Smarts scooting around and dicing up traffic like motorized pygmies on speed. Depending on your point of view, you've either thought, "Those things would never work in America," or "Golly, I wish we had those in America." Well, soon enough we're going to find out which camp is right, because Roger Penske is bringing the second-generation Smart two-seater - in coupe and ragtop forms - to his vast dealer network, and he's promising that a $99 deposit will get you a Smart of your own within six months. So far, 30,000 people have signed up for that deal, so it appears that the Age of the Microcar is off to a good start.

ON SALE: JANUARY 2008 / $12,000-$17,000 (EST.)

Smart has finally released pricing for its teensy ForTwo, which goes on sale in the first quarter of 2008.