Smart EV (or ED)

[zack]

Dammit Daimler. It's enough to make me sell my other car (G-wagon).

 

[vfx]

Priceless!

 

[TEG]

Seen today in Santa Cruz:

 

[vfx]

Seen today in Santa Cruz:

Well it appears they don't have any J communication problem.

 

[TEG]

Daimler's Car2go Electric Smart Fortwo Fleet Bound for San Diego

...

• Daimler's all-electric Smart Fortwo "car2go" program will launch before the end of the year, previewing the future of German-style urban transportation in the U.S.
• The San Diego car-sharing service will get a fleet of 300 Smart Fortwo electric vehicles.
• The electric Smart Fortwos will be charged at approximately 1,000 Blink commercial charging stations that are expected to be installed by the end of the year for public use in San Diego...

 

[TEG]

Ugh:
Video: Vancouver hockey fans destroy Car2Go Smart Fortwo Autoblog Green

 

[JRP3]

The only possible saving grace is that I believe one of those idiots gets knocked unconscious in another video. Plus the fact that they were all caught on video mugging for the camera, and hopefully identified and arrested.

 

[doug]

2011 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive - Short Take Road Test - Auto Reviews - Car and Driver

Some choice quotes:

And, yes before we go any farther, this car has an “ED” sticker on each flank. Just settle down with your Cialis quips. We’ve heard them (or made them) all already. It stands for “Electric Drive,” okay?

You’ll use the car’s full performance potential (40 horsepower in this case) more often than you will in any other form of transport you’re likely to operate.

It’s governed to a top speed of 63 mph... not only is the ED’s range insufficient for those of us with lengthy daily commutes, it also would turn us into a rolling chicane.

According to the EPA, the Smart ED’s range is 63 miles, but you can literally watch the charge from the 16.5-kWh, Tesla-sourced lithium-ion battery drain away after a brief, maxed-out expressway stint. Smart promises that in 2012, it will begin selling a version of the ED with batteries developed in a joint venture between Daimler and Bosch.

There's more in the article including a Leaf comparison. I laughed out loud at the "rolling chicane" bit. But again they seem to be implying that the poor performance is due to the Tesla batteries.

 

[Doug_G]

It has exactly the performance that Daimler specified. They're trying to keep it cheap.

It certainly sounds like they're trying to lay any limitations of the vehicle at Tesla's feet. To me this sounds like a deliberate ploy. Develop your own competing technology while blaming the limitations of the original version on the supplier who built it the way you wanted them to.

 

[doug]

It has exactly the performance that Daimler specified. They're trying to keep it cheap.

And yet it cost more than the Leaf for way less car. That coupled with the name, it feels like they want it to fail.

 

[Tommy]

It has exactly the performance that Daimler specified. They're trying to keep it cheap.

It certainly sounds like they're trying to lay any limitations of the vehicle at Tesla's feet. To me this sounds like a deliberate ploy. Develop your own competing technology while blaming the limitations of the original version on the supplier who built it the way you wanted them to.

They didn't even bother to move the charging port to the driver's side. In its present location, easy to forget to unplug and inconvenient to plug in after exiting the car.

 

[vfx]

... That coupled with the name, it feels like they want it to fail.

Can anyone say NOVA?

 

[dpeilow]

No longer Tesla but at least the specs are less of a joke.

Third-gen Fortwo ED revealed - Autocar.co.uk


Also possibly the first production EV with three phase charging.

 

[JRP3]

Yes that almost sounds practical. Now let's see how much they charge.

 

[vfx]

Also possibly the first production EV with three phase charging.

Did you read that right Dave?

 

[TEG]

Planned to make its world premiere at next month’s Frankfurt motor show, the so-called phase three Fortwo ED...

"Phase Three" != "Three Phase"... But does "Phase Three" have "Three Phase" (charging?)

Mercedes-Benz put the nominal recharge time at eight hours on a standard mains socket or under an hour with the on-board 22kW high capacity charger.

22kW implying 3-phase charging? That is less than full (CHAdeMO style) 50kW DC, but more than even the Roadster (~17kW).

 

[dpeilow]

Yeah 22kW here means three phase (32A to be precise).

 

[Eberhard]

Yeah 22kW here means three phase (32A to be precise).

Thats what is most wanted for charging with my Roadster here. Currently i can only use one-phase - only 1/3 of possible charging power

 

[Norbert]

Also, I think, if it is not a standard mains socket, then there isn't much else it could be. In any case, great to see more EVs with more than 6.6 kW charging. Curious what the US version will use.

 

[vfx]

Yeah 22kW here means three phase (32A to be precise).

So phase three is three phase.