AFVI 2010: Smart ED makes its U.S. debut

The first car that caught our eye on the AFVI Expo floor in Las Vegas was, well, the first Smart Fortwo of its type in the U.S. This is the all-electric Smart ED, which is currently being tested in Berlin and London. It will begin on-road tests in the U.S. this October, and Smart USA and Coulomb Technologies brought the only model on the continent to Sin City to show off the vehicle and the charging options (including Coulomb's as-yet-undisclosed Level 2 home charging system).

The second-generation Smart EDs include a 16.5 kWh lithium ion battery pack, a 30 kW drive motor and a 3 kW on-board charger. The pack and charging system were developed and supplied by Tesla Motors. The car can charge in 4-6 hours and has a range of about 100 miles per charge .

We talked with Smart USA vice president Derek Kaufman, who said that he's driven the Smart ED in a few places in America to great feedback. On one college campus, he said, he could have sold 50 in an hour, it got so much positive attention. We think the Fortwo was made for electric drive, and look forward to getting the chance to test drive one for ourselves soon.

Photos by Sebastian Blanco / Copyright ©2010 Weblogs, Inc.