I know these are built well and are safe in crashes. But I've never got used to the styling (it wouldn't be all that hard to smooth over those bumps) and, with another 6 inches or so of wheelbase length, you'd have enough room for a pair of back seats or a few extra cubic feet of cargo space.

Yet, I'm glad to see they'll be offering here in the US for this price point and (presumably) not putting it through a glacial compliance-states-first rollout.

I remember Laurent Masson giving us a detailed write-up of this one not so long ago. Anyone remember the details of the battery thermal management?

This seems like a good deal. With the state rebate for California buyers, the net price would be closer to $15K.

With 74% of the battery storage capacity of the LEAF and only 59% of the weight, the Smart ED should get better range driving up mountains than the LEAF (something that interests me personally).

Does anyone know what sort of battery cooling mechanism, if any, this vehicle employs?

Unfortunately, according to Smart, it takes seven hours to charge from empty to 100%. That's great for overnight charging, but like the current LEAF is too slow for daytime/opportunity charging.

I don't know if the 1 ton tandem seat quadracycle you describe would do particularly well in an accident, Warren. Nice idea, though. While the Smart ED wouldn't meet your particular needs (nor the requirements of many, including me,) it looks to be a well thought out urban car that can be taken onto a freeway on occasion and, if something nasty happens there, allows the occupants to walk away relatively unscathed . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJHpUO-S0i8

If Smart were to offer a "stretch" version of the ED, with space for a couple more seats in the back, I think they'd have an even larger audience. It might actually improve the looks as well . . . and I'd add it to my list of potential 4-seat EVs with realistic city range requirements.

In search for the above link (I had posted it to an earlier Plug In Cars Smart ED article,) I found a partial answer to the battery question Brian and I had asked about. Here is what Laurent Masson wrote on July 18, 2012 . . .

"The battery cells come from Li-Tec. They are assembled into packs by Deutsche ACCUmotive, a joint-venture between Evonik Industries and the Daimler group (which owns both the Mercedes and Smart brands) in a brand new factory." . . . "They are the only cells in the world with the famed ceramic SEPARION® high performance separator, which is said to make them very long-lasting. I was told they could last a decade with no additional wear from fast-charging. Of course, that is the theory. We'll see in 10 years, but Daimler's engineers are not known for overpromising."

So . . . no description on air or liquid thermal management, or high heat durability. Smart would . . . ah, um . . . smart to bring a few EDs to Death Valley and drive 'em around over the summer.