An electric-motor manufacturer has build a high performance Hybrid Mini Cooper - the QED (Quad Electric Drive), 65-80mpg on fuel, up to four hours on battery (70Ah 300V LiPoly, plus an 11Farad ultracapacitor) - does regenerative braking, 600-900 miles range, 150mph top speed (which is a good trick given that it is a motor per wheel and no gearing ( Read more... )

• It looks like DaimlerChrysler is showing off a SmartCart fourTwoEV this week in London, for corporate pool lease only.
• Tesla Motors, the Google-founder-backed electric sports car company, is actually showing off their Roadster - 0-60 in 4s, 250 mile range, "real car features" (not a stripped down shell like the ACPropulsion T-Zero, but using ( Read more... )

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Seen on Jalopnik: the ebay auction for an americanized SmartCar is up to $34,100 with half a day left to go. Can't be delivered to CA or New England, though.

As for ZapWorld themselves, apparently for all their press releasing, DaimlerChrysler supposedly isn't actually selling them any cars...

Seen in Green Car Congress, the Detroit Free Press is reporting that DaimlerChrysler is actually considering building a US model of the SmartCar as soon as 2007:

DaimlerChrysler AG, the world's fifth-largest carmaker, might begin selling Smart small cars in the United States as early as 2007 if the market and currency conditions allow, said Ulrich ( Read more... )

An article in Green Car Congress quotes ZAPworld press releases about $1e9 in orders and strategic partnerships, but also points out that they've so far delivered exactly one actual car, last week, to someone in Nevada who has waited a year for it. Let's hope they can ramp up a little faster than that :-)

ZAPworld is selling their first legal Smart conversion on eBay. As of this post, it's up to $16,800, 7 hours into a 10 day auction, with a $0.01 starting bid.

Update: halfway through (5 days to go) and it is at $24,100.

Update^2: I saw it go as high as $24,200, and then it vanished, possibly as an "erroneous listing." I wonder what happenned ( Read more... )

The US Environmental Protection Agency has approved the 60mpg Smart Car for sale in the US. The agency issued a certificate of conformity to the car, which has been selling in Europe for several years, clearing the way for the Smart to be sold in the US by ZAP, a marketer of alternative-energy vehicles and electric scooters., as reported by ( Read more... )

"G&K is in the final stages for the Smart car project. Smart cars will be available in the USA soon!"

(Mentioned in a current wired article. Amusingly, it does point out that the fortwo diesel actually gets 70 mpg, leaving hybrids in the dust...)

Update: ZAPworld, an EV vendor in california, also claims that they'll be selling Smarts soon. They ( Read more... )