SMART ELECTRIC CARS in AZ

[jstack]

I just heard about some new all electric SMART cars beijng sold right here in Arizona. Check out their website www.azsmartcar.com

They are suposed to be here by Earth day April 22 ,2008 !
I'm set to test drive one as soon as they are in.
I'll buy one on the spot if they check out.

[miscrms]

Let us know what you find out!

Specs are a little hard to reconcile:

• Batteries: NANO TITANATE 3X1.2kw hour each
• Most advanced with 4kw per kg - fully recharged in 10 minutes
• 30kw/ peak power, 6-phase motor
• Normal speed 55-60 MPH (range: 320 miles; Max. speed 75 MPH (range: 200 miles)

320 miles on 3.6kWh would be 11.25 Wh/mile. By comparison the Prius is commonly estimated at ~250Wh/mile at 55mph. If the SMART platform were capable of being more than 10X more efficient, you would expect its gas version to be much better than 41mpg highway. I assume just a typo some where. By comparison the Tesla has a 53kWh battery, so 3.6kWh sounds impossibly small. Thats not even 3X bigger than the Prius's 1.3kWh battery.

Lastly, the factory SMART electric, featured in the Youtube video on the website isn't slated to be available until 2010, and only claims a 70 mile range. I'd be a little bit careful, and find out who is actually doing the conversions.

Rob

[Tideland Prius1]

Well for those of you who are reading this you might call me a fool or really smart now that gas prices are approaching $4.00/gallon on the east coast. I left a deposit for one of the Four-Two Smart Coupes about a week ago and indicated in the notes of my credit card payment that the $99 deposit was being made but it would be refunded if I (the buyer) did not accept delivery of the Smart vehicle for any reason.

The next day when I logged onto the website, I couldn't help but notice that everywhere on the site that talked about the $99 deposit that it had been updated to include "non-refundable". I found that very interesting that this piece had been added immediately after I had added my deposit with the "refundable" language in the notes for the payment.

The guy who put up the website "Jim" called me that night and led me to believe that he would be able to deliver an electric vehicle within 2 weeks to the east coast. I asked about getting the car worked on and he indicated that prior to delivery he would work out the details of service and/or warranty work with a dealer in this area of the country. He did ask how I would be paying for the vehicle and I indicated that it would be a loan from my credit uniion and that I needed a sales agreement with a VIN from him to apply for the loan. He said that I would receive one but as of 1 week later I have seen nothing. I'm only hoping I haven't been fished here, if the car is what it claims to be it will prove to be a unique piece of equipment. The information on the Nano battery technology clearly exceeds the Lithium Ion technology being pursued by GM and the Volt.

[Tideland Prius]

YouTube - Fifth Gear - Smart ED vs Normal Smart...

[Tideland Prius1]

Just an update, I just spoke to the Jim Laurence by phone and he has verbally assured me that within a few hours he should hear something from the shipper with regards to availablity and he has several applications for potential dealerships in this (eastcoast) area. His comment "it will happen quickly" has got me excited but time will tell how this unfolds. . .

Well I'm hoping this isn't a sign but here it is 7:00PM and I have heard nothing from Jim Laurence who assured me that he was going to call me within hours of my call to him this morning. Starting to smell fishy . . .

[kabin]

Just wondering out loud how many electric cars our power grids can handle before we would need to increase capacity. After hours plug in would help but some would need to charge during daytime too.

It's nice to see they're going down the ED path but I have to admit to not being a SmartCar fan.

[Godiva]

Originally Posted by kabin

Just wondering out loud how many electric cars our power grids can handle before we would need to increase capacity. After hours plug in would help but some would need to charge during daytime too.

It's nice to see they're going down the ED path but I have to admit to not being a SmartCar fan.

Most cars would charge overnight during off-peak hours. Plenty of electricity. There was a discussion on this some months back.

[Tideland Prius1]

Well it is approaching the close of 2 weeks since I paid my $99 deposit and there is NO EV Smart car sitting in my driveway. Had a phone message from Jim on Monday night who said he would know something in 48 hours which would make that today - haven't heard anything yet. . . .

[alanh]

Did you get it? I saw one driving around this afternoon.

[Tideland Prius1]

No EV Smart car as of yet - and I am very disappointed with the communication or should I say lack of communication with Jim Laurence. Emails go unanswered and the same is true for phone calls.

Have you really seen an EV Smart or was it a gas powered model? The first time I spoke with him he indicated that he had 4 going out west the day we spoke and that I would/could have one within 2 weeks - it has been 3 weeks and I see and have heard nothing other than I'm missing $99. The last time Jim talked to me (about a week ago) he indicated that I was in the top 5 waiting for my car. This is really really beginning to smell . . .

For those of you that are interested, keep an eye on this thread and I will continue to post periodic updates as things progress (hopefully progress is the word I can use in my next post with regards to this subject), stay tuned . . .