All-Electric Smart Car Debuts

Mercedes-Benz's Smart car has been available in the U.S. for some time now. It's no longer unusual to see them cruising around some of the country's major urban areas, where they can find a home in very small parking spaces. The Smart cars available here are driven by a small, but conventional internal combustion engines. Now, after four years of testing in Britain, a plug-in electric version, called the Smart ED (short for "electric drive) "will be available soon in very small numbers.

The ED is powered by a "lithium-ion battery pack along with chargers made by Tesla, a pioneer in the EV industry for environmentally friendly batteries," according to Daimler press release.

That a lithium-ion battery could be earth-friendly is probably a stretch, but the battery allows it to be a "zero-emission" vehicle. The company says the Tesla battery "takes four hours to charge to 80%, and eight hours to charge to full capacity." That's not bad. It can reach a top speed to 60 mph, so it would be possible to make limited runs with it on the highway.

It can be plugged into a standard 110-volt outlet to charge and has the safety equipment you would find on a regular Smart, including air bags and anti-lock brakes.