Smart Car's Electric Version Takes to the Road

The rubber hits the road for Smart Car's EV, following in the recent success of other all-electric vehicles like Nissan's Leaf and Chevy's Volt. This makes a lot of sense, given the compact and forward-thinking efficiency of the Smart Car. So far, only 250 of the EVs, dubbed the "Smart ForTwo", will be launched this year, with the official nationwide release coming in 2012. But in the meantime, the first ForTwo was delivered to Ms. Mindy Kimball of Silver Spring Maryland. Smart USA's president Jill Lajdziak said of the announcement, "We are extremely excited to add the Smart Fortwo electric drive to the smart product lineup, solidifying our position as a key player in transportation electrification." The car has a range of just under 100 miles, with a total charge time of 8 hours on a regular 220 socket (but the car can reach an 80% charge in 3 hours). Read all the details on the Smart Car website.