Smart Car TARDIS

It's difficult to express what I want in a Smart Car without referencing the time machine from the British television series, Dr. Who.  The time machine in the show is bigger on the inside.  While the Smart ForTwo certainly seems bigger on the inside sometimes, what I want is impossible.

I want a Smart Car TARDIS.

I want my Smart ForTwo ED to be a 4-door vehicle that still fits in the same 106 inches (2.70 m).  I want my Smart car to have the range and power of a Tesla S.  I think I might sound like Veruca Salt, but I still want it.

The Smart ForTwo is aptly named as it fits 2 people.  That's the best way to put it, because to say it fits two people comfortably is inaccurate.   As long as those two people are of average width or less, it will fit two people.  The car is only 64 inches (1.63 m) wide and when two people of more than average width get in, they had better be fine with a loss of personal space.  Putting a safety belt on is a tandem feat as knuckles or heads may be knocked if the action is done simultaneously.

Head room and leg room do no suffer as much as body room, but I'd still like more space.

I'm happy with the tiny car that I have.  I love the speed of the electric powertrain, and I appreciate the silent running.  But I wouldn't mind if it were more like the luxury of the Aston Martin rebadged Toyota IQ.   I acknowledge that I am one of the outliers, one of those who takes a shine to the odd-looking.

A Very Dirty, Clean Car

I've owned more than one truck in my lifetime and I currently own one of the least efficient trucks that a consumer can, in the US.  I like utility.  Trucks are definitely not considered to be very efficient, unless they are used for moving are objects or numbers of people.

The measure of a vehicle's "greenness" is factor of how efficient it is.  It would be very inefficient to drive a large truck with no cargo and only one occupant (the driver). The phrase "being green" is to state about how little oxidized carbon is put into the air by the operation of the vehicle.  Greenness is Cleanness.

By contrast to the truck, the Smart ED is VERY green.  It was, in fact, determined to be most green car on the road by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) in 2014.   The Smart ForTwo ED has an exceptionally high MPGe (Miles Per Gallon equivalent) rating of 107 average (92 hwy, 122 city).  If you were to convert it's range to an equivalent gas tank, it would be roughly 0.66 gallons.

So why is this such a dirty car, if it has been verified to be very green and thereby clean?

One of the things that drivers (most people in the US) do on a regular basis, is to visit a fueling station. Of course electric car drivers do this as well, but there is one major difference between fueling stations for electric and gasoline.   An industry has grown up around the "Gas Station".  It's not just a place to pump gas into the gas tank any more.

Gas stations are often mini-markets in additional fueling stations, and some are also car washes. It is possible to use a squeegee to clean the windows of your vehicle.  Some stations have LCD monitors embedded atop the pump to run news and advertisements.  The fueling station is nearly a destination.

Nearly 100% of the time I refuel my Smart ED at home.  And although I could quite easily vacuum and wash the vehicle, I had not yet trained myself to do that on a regular basis.   Sadly, I have only done it once in the nine months that I have owned my Smart ED.   And my wife and some friends have made note of the fact that the floor and seats are in need of cleaning.

I have once visited a gas station to use the squeegee and refill the tires, but I do feel a tad unwelcome.  Even if I wanted to get gasoline, I would need a sealed container or a proper gas tank to legally purchase it.

So it seems that at least until electrical fueling stations become popular, I must change my ways and actually clean my car at home.  Or at least hope that the purveyor of the fueling station doesn't care that I use the facilities without paying for the fuel.

The Long Trip

I recently took a long trip down the California coastline from the San Francisco Bay area where I live to Los Angeles.  There are three ways to make this trip in a car, Interstate 5, Highway 101, or Highway 1.  The interstate is always the fastest even when dealing with traffic in the major cities, but I usually take 101 because it's more scenic (and less crowded).   But the shortest route of the three is still much further than my Smart ED can go on one charge.

My truck is the distance vehicle.   Although it sucks down the fuel like almost no other vehicle, it does have a very high capacity for fuel.  But it has a few other features that the Smart does not, including cruise control and powered seats. I've heard that many people who own the ICE Smart love to take it on long trips.  But I'd rather just put the Smart ED in the bed of my truck and unpack it when I arrive.

A long while ago I came to the conclusion that travelling should and can be fun, rather than a horrific endurance test to get there as quickly as possible.  I love to drive both my truck and the Smart ED, but they each have their purposes.

The truck is great for long trips.  It's very comfortable, like driving a couch.  It can go 500 miles before needing to be refueled.  It has lots of storage space for people and things.  But it's terrible for small city streets and parking.  The Smart ED however, is not too comfortable on trips greater than 50 miles. It only has a range of 70 miles, and refueling takes a few hours.  It has almost no storage space and just enough room for two people.  But it's awesome for small city streets and parking.

I will admit that I miss the creature comforts of my truck when I'm in the Smart. And I miss the regenerative breaking, amazing torque, and impressive maneuverability, when driving the truck.  But as far as I know, there is no way to combine the two features for less than $50k and still have it be electric. For now I am resigned to having two vehicles that each have a specific purpose and look forward to the day when I can get an all electric truck that has the range of an ICE vehicle (that is affordable).

Under foot

For those who are aware, the Smart Fortwo is the smallest production vehicle in the US market.   Outside of the Twizzy in the UK and the Tata Nano in India, it might be the smallest in the world.  It is a tiny car and with it comes both good and bad aspects.  In this episode we explore the color of the Smart ForTwo and how it affects the car.

It's been said that certain colors are more noticeable than others.  Some colors are easy to be seen, others are not.  A study in Australia at Monash University pointed out that of all the colors (or lack there of) black is the worst, followed closely by grey, and then silver for likelihood of crashes versus white colored vehicles. The report used "white" as the standard by which all vehicle colors were compared as if to say that white is the easiest to see. Of course the study included comparisons in daylight, dusk, and nighttime.  Dusk it seems holds a particular spite for black.

Personally, I've experienced more than one presumptuous maneuver when driving my Smart, where the other driver doesn't seem to grasp that my car is either real or relative.  Fortunately, with its size, the Smart Fortwo has an excellent capacity move or stop quickly if needed and I've yet to trade paint with anyone.

I am keenly aware of how much I tend to miss vehicles that are much larger and not black, and so I decided on white for my car.  I realize that it's not always possible to get the color of car that you would most like, when purchasing used (sometimes also new).  But I cannot understand why anyone would deliberately purchase or alter the color of their car to black, outside of the precise desire to go unnoticed.

Although I do not have the statistics on the most preferred color in a Smart Fortwo.  I did notice that most of the cars on the lot where I bought mine were black.  Either that was because they were not preferred or because many people seek the color.  I've also noticed, back a few years when searching for a truck, that most of those on the market were also black.  These two observations have lead me to the idea that either black vehicles are unwanted or they are in high demand.  In either case they are still the most likely to be in a collision.

In the United States of America, as far as I know, there is no mandate on what color or size a production car must be or not be.  However, I so chose to make my small car as noticeable as I can, barring painting a sparkling, fluorescent share of pink. I realize that I have no control over the actions of others but I can at least drive Smart-ly and safely.

Not looking for trouble, finding it anyway

The people that know me, know that I've never been a speed freak. If anything quite the opposite, low and slow when it comes to cars.  But I too have fallen prey to the thrill of speed and power when I know that I have it.  Anyone who buys a vehicle that has speed does not buy it for the practicality, there are plenty of cars that are perfectly capable of getting a person from point a to point b.  However, getting from point a to point b is just that much more fun with some added power.

The stigma regarding electric vehicles and their lack of power is slowly ebbing away.  People are beginning to see that electric cars are not just fast, they can be much faster than traditional gasoline-powered because of instant torque.

When I did my review of the Smart ED in May 2013, I knew that the car had some torque. I did not know what they meant by "the kickdown".  That little extra push at the bottom of the accelerator makes all the difference.  When depressing the accelerator on the Smart ED to the floor you get about 75% of the power or roughly 50 hp.  But the motor is capable of 75 hp.  Granted you don't want to push the motor at full power all the time and Mercedes-Benz is aware of this.  They give you about three minutes of full power per fifteen, so that you do not burn out the motor or fry the batteries.

It is that extra 25 hp that is what makes all the difference.

I am aware that there are modified vehicles that can boost the performance of their internal combustion engine vehicle with an additive (Nitrous oxide).  But not many people get that as an option when the buy or lease a new vehicle ( I doubt that is an option anywhere).

On the streets of Silicon Valley, where I drive daily, I get many strange looks and stares.  I've grown accustomed to the comments from people in other vehicles who seem to think that I can't hear them (or else they don't care).  But every now and then, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights, I get street racing propositions. Mind you I have never once agreed to a street race, nevertheless they still happen.

There has got to be some psychology behind it.  I've read that certain predatory animals give chase when something runs.  And so it seems is the case with the mentality of a person who owns a fast car.  It's not always a conscious decision to race.  You have the capacity and you act on it.

A couple of nights ago I was being chatted up by another driver about my tiny car and the light turned green.  As I often do at the front of the line, I sped off.  It wasn't however obvious that I had inadvertently begun racing until I realized that the Mercedes Benz SL500 in the turn lane next to me was flooring it.  The driver apparently needed to gain access to the far right lane, that I was already using, to turn right at the next light.  He did get over in front of me, with less than half a car length to spare. And at that point I let him as I did not actually want to race.

I'm quite sure that I surprised the driver of SL-class in that he knew he needed to get into my lane, but never expected a vehicle so small to have such power.  It is like driving a "sleeper", that is a car that doesn't look like it has power.

Commuter Cars Tango Vs Smart ForTwo ED

If you caught the first episode of the HBO show called "Silicon Valley", then you've seen the Tango.  It's the very narrow electric car that eccentric billionaire Peter Gregory drives in the show. And yes, George Clooney has one.  But how does it compare to the Smart ED?

On similarities, the Tango and the Smart ED are both electric.  They're both exceptionally small vehicles that seat two people and they get about 80 miles of range on the standard battery pack.  One of the comments that both cars get regularly is that they look like they'd fall over in a tight turn. But with all the battery weight in the floor, they both corner quite well.

The differences between the cars are distinct. The Tango uses two DC motors to the Smart's one AC motor.  The reason for the Tango to use these is the raw power, DC can push a vehicle quite a bit faster than AC  Although the Smart has been clocked at around 7 seconds for 0-60 MPH, the Tango is more like a motorbike with its 3.2 second time.

There's no denying the size differences, since the Tango weighs about 50% more than the smart despite being about 2/3rd of its width.  Also, the Tango is 4-inches shorter in length. At 3200 lbs, where does all the weight come from?  The battery pack is about 1200 lbs alone, and much of the frame of the Tango is reinforced with steel bars to guarantee that you will survive in a crash.

The most notable difference between the two vehicles are not the dimensions, but rather the price.  The Tango is quite a bit smaller and does not accommodate two people in the traditional side-by-side seating style.  Oddly enough, the Tango costs nearly seven times more ($160k) than a Smart ED.  But hey, it's still cheaper than a half-million dollar Porsche Carrera GT.

Frankly, the Tango was not built to be direct competition for the Smart.  Mercedes Benz created the Smart ForTwo over 15 years ago as an inexpensive city car for Europe.  It was not sold in the United States until 2008 and then only as an internal combustion model.  The Smart started out at a mere $12,000 and could be leased for $99 per month.  It's remains the smallest and least expensive car in the U.S. market.

The Tango is a limited production model that will never be powered by internal combustion. It is slim so that two Tangos can be driven in the same lane.  It's basically a motorbike with four wheels... a very expensive motorbike.  Okay, okay,... it's more of an electric toy for wealthy people.  But it is at least comparable in size and drive train to the Smart ForTwo ED.   As it is the Smart ForTwo ED gets a lot of attention, I don't think that I'd get that much more from owning a Tango.

If you're interested in either of these cars, check out the websites

National Smart ForTwo ED
San Jose Smart Center
Commuter Cars

How Far Does Your Car Go?

As it stands, the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive has an EPA estimated range of 68 miles. The average U.S. driver covers about 30 miles per day.  It would seem that the electric Smart more covers this by more than double.  But in the near future, your car could go a great deal further.

It's been said that "your mileage may vary".  The EPA estimates that the Smart ForTwo ED gets between 92 and 122 miles per gallon equivalent to gasoline (MPGe).  Unlike internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, for EVs the low number is on the freeway, and the high number is on the street.  But the average still comes out to about 108 MPGe.  The EPA also sets a range for ICE vehicles, which on average tends to hover around 25 MPG.

How far does your car go on a full tank or battery? Does it go 250, 300, 500, 1000 miles?  The average range on a tank of gasoline tends to be between 250 and 300 miles.  Whereas the average for an EV tends to be around 100 miles. For an ICE vehicle, the range depends how many gallons of full can be carried.  The same goes for electric vehicles, but for kWh of charge.   But what if the capacity of the battery could be drastically increased, in the same space?

Currently gasoline has a strong advantage over even the battery that can hold the most charge.  In terms of charge density (Wh / kg) gasoline holds 13,000 Wh / kg.  The technology in electric cars today has a charge density of 250 Wh / kg, a ratio difference of roughly 50 to 1.  Even with the 4 to 1 ratio of better performance over ICE, EVs still can't compete.

However, there's a new technology that's being worked on in chemical labs around the world.  IBM is one company that has taken a strong interest in the idea of greatly improved battery capacity.  The new technology is called Lithium Air and promises to increase the energy density of batteries to 11,700 Wh / kg.

As noted above the Smart ForTwo ED has a range of 68 miles.  With the new Lithium Air battery, and without changing the size of the battery, the range could be increased to as much as 3,182 miles.  I currently drive about 10,000 miles per year.  At this rate I might recharge every 4 months.  The battery in the Smart ED is now 17.6 kWh, with Li-Air it would 813.1 kWh (that's 0.8 Megawatt-hours).  At current electricity prices where I live that's only $80-worth of electricity.

Check out this video that IBM created to better explain the idea of Lithium Air

Six Months and 5000 Miles

I'm quite sure that there are some of you out there in the audience who are scoffing at my low mileage.  I've only driven 5000 miles in six months.  That's only about 833 miles per month or roughly 27 miles per day. I haven't taken too many long trips in the last six months, deliberately. And even so, I can't very easily take the Smart out of town too far.

Correction:  I can take the Smart ED anywhere I please, but since the recharge time is quite slow (5 hours from empty). So it's impractical to go further without a great deal of time to compensate.

The most impressive aspect (and I doubt that it will stop being so until there are many more EVs on the road) is that in these last 6 months and 5000 miles I've only spent $147 on fuel. I get on average 3.4 miles / kWh. That's enough money to fill the tank in my truck once by current gas prices ($4.5 / gallon).  The truck gets about 14 MPG and was costing me about $0.294 / mile.. The car cost me exactly 1/10th as much to fuel.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the cost to drive the Smart ForTwo ED 25 miles is $0.96.  Estimating that the average citizen of the United States drivers 15,000 miles annually, that equates to about $575.  I've driven 5000 miles which in six months which is a third of that total and spend only $147.  So if I drive the average number in a year, I will only have spent $440.

By contrast, had I been driving my truck (and I had for the prior 18 months), I would have spent ten times as much.  And by my own calculation while tracking costs and miles driven, I did tend to spend between $3300 and $3800 per year on fuel alone.  Over the course of several years that costs of driving the same distances back and forth, to and from the office, I could have purchased another vehicle and actually saved myself money.  Which brings be back to the Smart ForTwo ED.

I'm quite grateful to have the electric car with all its apparent shortcomings.  I get about the city to and from work, to and from church, to and from everywhere locally, quickly, quietly, and in all honesty quite happily.

So if you live in the South San Francisco Bay Area and want to find out more about electric cars, the Smart ForTwo ED, or any electric car, please contact me at wes@eaasv.org

Five Months and 4000 Miles

Five Months and 4000 Miles

Okay, okay, so I didn't meet my original goal of 1000 miles per month.  Admittedly, I thought that I would be initially driving a demo car for Beshoff Motorcars, the local Mercedes-Benz / Smart Center.  As it turns out, I'm not as good at selling cars as I thought I was and the Manager of the Dealership read me like an open book.   But I have yet to stop writing about his little car and I expect to continue indefinitely.

What have I learned in five months?

For the first three months I definitely spent a great deal of time tracking at the ECO bar at the bottom of the status screen in the dash.  I've since come to realize that this is not for me.  My own natural style of driving is quite economical and that watching the bar actually caused my performance to decrease.

 During the seven years prior to owning a micro-car, I owned large trucks.  For the most part my personal driving habits have me slowing down early and accelerating slowly.  While constantly eyeing the ECO bar my performance stuck to about 3.4 mi / kWh (115 MPGe), but without my performance jumped to 3.75 mi / kWh (126 MPGe).  

I've also learned that I can go further than I had previously thought possible in a day.  Now that I have my EVSE installed, I don't worry so much about not having enough time to recharge if i burn the whole battery.  Recharging does still take a lot longer than most EVs, but I've come to accept that 12 miles I can get in an hour. The fact that I don't often travel more than 50 miles in a day, is quite practical and a peacemaker for my sanity. 

I still haven't gotten used to the incredible acceleration from stopped.  I find myself seeking the front of the line at a traffic signal, because I know that the 50 horses will be at the ready instantly.  I don't race people, but I have kept pace with some to see how much current I use and if I'm actually pushing it (usually not).   

I'm still not sure if people stare at the car in bewilderment or awe.  I get a great deal of strange looks, but usually once they see that it's electric, their eyes widen.  I've gotten a great deal of "that's a cool little car", and "wow, I love your car".  I think the size does still appear to many in the younger crowd.

Niche Market

I've come to accept that the Smart ED and Smart ForTwo Gas / Diesel is a niche.  It's not for everyone.  It's not even an elite club, either.  When a person buys a sports car, they have a purpose for it whether it be looks or speed (or both).  They have to acknowledge that it's low on seating and storage.  But with few exceptions, they probably don't think about how compact it is.  

The Smart ED is best suited for one person, with very little cargo, and a city range.   My wife and I don't have children or pets (that go in the car).  We are both working professionals who work in locations that are not convenient for carpooling.  The Smart ED can hold a full grocery cart-worth of items.  It can tote up to a 37" boxed LCD TV.  I've had multiple desktop computers and even a large enterprise-sized printer (in-box) in the car.  

I cannot however see a family of five purchasing this car for anything other than the oldest child. And even then, that child had better have only one good friend.  I doubt that two parents with a newborn would find this vehicle attractive.  But I can see retirees using it as a Towed or a daily golf-mobile. 

Conclusion

I sincerely appreciate the use I have garnered from the purchase of the Smart ED and still would not trade it for a Tesla S P85 (maybe the battery pack and on-board charger).  I like the form-factor of the Smart ED and the looks I get when people see a 2m-tall man climb from behind the steering-wheel.   I just hope that the battery pack does double before the end of the first 5 years of its lease.  

Upcoming Upgrades

One of the hardest things for people to grasp when it comes to considering an electric car is the range.  Most electric cars just don't have much range on a full charge. You can buy a Tesla S P85 and get 300+ miles before you need to recharge, but you'll need at least $60k to get started or $1k per month in spare change for the lease.  So if you don't have that kind of money to use for an EV that is comparable in range to a gas-powered, what can you get?

Many EVs in a more common price range of $25k-$35k average about 70-100 miles to the charge.  But unlike a most cars, which need to be refueled at a service station, electric cars can be refueled just about anywhere, and for next to nothing.  Alas, there is yet another advantage in electric cars, that gas cars do not have (at least not readily).  Electric cars can get battery upgrades.

The Smart ForTwo Electric Drive is currently the only vehicle available on the U.S. market with a battery lease plan.  That is to say that you can lease the car and battery, or just the battery.  But why would you want to do that?  Leasing the battery, like most leases, means that if anything goes awry, you don't own it. If for example the battery fails before its time, you can get a replacement for nothing extra.  However, the better option is the possibility that you get an upgrade to the battery within the span of the initial lease.

Let's say that within the first 5 years that you own a Smart ED, battery technology improves to the point where it is possible to get double the capacity for the same price.  The Smart ED currently has a range of 68 miles per full charge, that would mean it would have a range of 176 miles per full charge.  And what if the tech advanced to four times, I think you get the picture.

But for those who out-right own the car and battery, an upgrade might be a bit costly.  Of course, it's expected that if the capacity of a battery goes up, the price is likely to come down.  So maybe it won't be so bad.

The big difference between the electric car and the gas car in this case is that gasoline itself, is not getting more efficient.  If you want to do the same thing for a gas car, that you will be able to do for an electric, you'll have to change out the engine too.  And that is not likely to be comparable to the cost of a battery upgrade alone.

I expect that in next ten years when gas cars are required to have at least an efficiency of 50 mpg, that electrics have (with their already 100+ mpge) have at least 300 miles of range.

Smart Cargo

I'd love to have the cargo space inside my Smart ForTwo Electric Drive be equivalent to that of the TARDIS from the British television show Doctor Who.  But for now, transdimensional volumes are no part of vehicle storage spaces. Nevertheless, it is still possible to fit some large objects in the back of the Smart ED.

Car-parison

When I was first seeking a small commuter car, I tried the Scion iQ.  The storage space behind the rear seats is small (3.5 cubic feet), even by comparison to the Smart car (7.8 cubic feet). But the iQ can turn down those back seats and open up a great deal more room (16.7 cubic feet).  However, the iQ is a longer vehicle and, at least for the electric version, has a short range.

What Fits?

It's a bit tricky on occasion, attempting to fit certain items into the back of the Smart car, but with some manipulation I've managed and entire cart of groceries.  As you can see by the above image, a 32" LED television fit nicely, still in the box.  I hedge that I might have been able to fit a 37" LED television, if that had been the purchase.  The one option that came with the car was a pull-out cover for the back.  It can be used to hide whatever is in the back or as a shelf for more stuff.

A Four-wheeled motorbike

A colleague from work noted that the storage space of the Smart was akin to the storage available on a motorbike.  And that the vehicle itself is akin to a motorbike in that it is small and ideal for one person and few extra items. It's size is excellent for parking and maneuvering, and it's not too much trouble to carry along something extra. The key thing he noted however, as a contrast is that the car is much better for driver safety and as a protection against the elements.

Good things, Small Packages

No doubt, many people find the Smart car's small size and tiny storage, unreasonable when coming from a full size sedan or an SUV.  But if you own or have used either a sports car or a sub-compact, you're probably familiar with small storage spaces.

I appreciate the convenient storage of the Smart car, it feels like that familiar Jansport backpack that I used all through highschool and college. There's not a great deal of room, but it's just about all that I need.  It's amazing how much stuff you can cram into your school bag, and the same seems to go for the Smart.  The Smart, by my estimation is car designed for transporting one person.  Sure it can hold two, but it seems best for one.

What do you think about the cargo capacity of the Smart ForTwo ED?

Overcoming Stereotypes

It wasn't until seven years ago that I actually owned anything larger than a wagon. And then for those seven years, I drove only trucks. I used to think that all economy cars were just one step up from riding a bus, because that's exactly what they did for me.

My first car ever, I got in High School and it was a 1983 Subaru GL.  My brother and I said that the GL stood for "glorified lawnmower", because the vehicle was so under-powered. The car did not help quell the stereotypes that small cars can be slow to accelerate, have poor handling, and barely keep up on the freeway. But as with most stereotypes, they're borne out of some semblance of consistent observation.

When you see a small car or after having seen many small cars, and observed each one's performance, it's reasonable to form an opinion about them.  However, as the old adage goes, you should not judge a book by its cover.

Weight Issues

The Smart ED is exceptionally light for an electric vehicle.  It weighs in at a mere 2160 lbs, barely over a ton. Although it is sporting a motor with a maximum power rating of 74 hp, it's no slouch. The primary advantage that all electric vehicles have over every internal combustion engine (ICE) is instantaneous torque.

Get-up And Go

At a standstill, the Smart ED has 100% torque.  While it's certainly possible to spin-up an ICE and get it into gear in the power band at a standstill, several gear shifts will be necessary at increasingly higher speeds.  Most electric car motors do not have a forward gearbox and thus there is no shifting to do.

Agility

And what about maneuverability or speed?  Okay, so I cannot say that the Smart ED has great handling at speed or that you're going to win in the Grand Prix (much less compete), but that's not what it's to be used for. If you need torque to help you pass at speed, it's got plenty, but for the short-term, the Smart ED is a great City Car.

Size Issues

The Smart ED is best used for getting around town or commuting, that is what small cars do well. The best advantage that any Smart car has is to be found in its diminutive size. Outside the use of a motorbike, there's not much of anything that compares well to the ability to "park anywhere", like the Smart car.  The combination of good torque, great mileage in stop-and-go traffic, and pocket-sizing, the Smart the top choice.

In The Mirror

Despite all the good that the Smart ED has going for it in the city, it's still considered by many to be one of the least attractive vehicles.  Mercedes has made some concessions to attempt to bolster the appeal of the smallest production car in the U.S, but including vehicle-wrap options.  When you order, one of the fun things you can do before the end of the form is pick out your colors.  The vehicle wrap will only change the exterior panels, but can be as colorful as your minds-eye can behold.  There are certainly some amazing ideas just on www.SmartUSA.com  

Conclusion

If I haven't already said so in past posts, I bought the Smart ED for its small size and the fact that it is electric.  I still own a Chevrolet Avalanche, which is great for hauling and travelling long distances.  But I now do 90% of my driving in the Smart ED, and am quite happy with it.

Paradigm Shift

I recently had the opportunity to meet with a local freelance writer because of his interest in my electric car.  He wanted to get a feel for the vehicle as a contrast to the only other electric vehicle he'd driven, the Tesla S.  I loaned the vehicle to him for a while and when he returned it, his comments about the car were of interest to me and lead me to some new thoughts.

These experiences led me to realize just how different the electric vehicle is from the internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle.  It's not merely the vehicle, but the infrastructure and habits of people who were raised with these ideals. I did not think that I would have a shift in my thinking about how to drive, but that anyone who changes to over to driving electric will need to make this change.

So to explain what I mean, I have created some bullet points below.  These points will make note of the current way of thinking and the new way of thinking with an electric vehicle.

(1) Fueling
     Traditional: Drive until empty, then refuel
      Electric: Refuel at every opportunity

     If you like exclusivity and convenient parking, buy an electric vehicle.  Many businesses are installing charging stations in spaces that are as convenient if not more so than handicapped parking.  And expect to do so wherever you go.  You should expect to be topped off at the start of every leg of your trip.

(2) Range
    Traditional: Unless driving out of town, you never think about the range
     Electric: Every time you drive, you consider the distance and whether there is a charging station at your destination

     Electric vehicle owners are much more conscious of the refueling points and distances that they travel.  However, people who are renting an electric vehicle for the first time, although they are aware of the difference in the drive of the vehicle, are not always aware of the range until they're down to 2 miles remaining.

(3) Speed
    Traditional: You ride the line of the speed limit on every road traveled.
     Electric: You are acutely aware of your speed on freeways, rarely on surface streets.

     It's somewhat common knowledge that ICEs perform well at constant speed. And so, gasoline and diesel cars tend to get better mileage on freeways.  Electric motors have no performance degradation when required to change speeds constantly, but at very high speeds use a great deal more energy.  It's also true that ICEs use a lot of energy at high speeds. And the difference in fuel reserve between electric and petroleum is apparent when this comparison is made.

(4) Cost
    Traditional: You are acutely aware of the cost of fueling and maintaining your vehicle
     Electric: You are proudly aware of the lack of the cost of fueling and maintaining you vehicle.

    And here is the final point, people buy EVs for the cost savings..  The cost of fueling and maintaining an electric car is almost nil by comparison to a traditional vehicle. The monetary costs involved in traditional vehicles have shifted to things that you can control in electric vehicles.   With gasoline and diesel you must pay the market price.  With electricity, you can pay the market price or install solar and set your own rate.

     Traditional vehicles require maintenance, this is still true for electric, but with about 1/10th of the involvement.  EV owners really only think about brakes and tires, and less often than owners of traditional vehicles, because of typically lower speeds and less braking (due to braking regeneration).

Conclusion

    The change of perspective that an EV owner will have is distinct.  It is obvious, but not usually until after driving the EV for some time.  It's not bad, it's just different.  Not everyone is ready for the change and they must come on their own terms and their own time.

   Meanwhile I'll be silently cruising down the road, nearly topped off, looking for my next exclusive parking space, that will refuel my car. ;-)

Elite Car Club

The Smart Car is a scarce car in the United States and the Electric Smart, even more so.  Granted it's utility is best found where parking is slim and distances short.  But those who have never owned or driven a Smart, are unaware of what they are missing.

It takes a certain sort of person to appreciate the utility of the Smart Car.  Although smaller vehicles are quite popular in Europe and Asia, people from the United States aren't so keen on such vehicles.  One of the first questions that I get when I am approached by people, is regarding the capacity.  They want to know how I, a near-2m tall person, fit inside such a small car.  Then they want to know how much space there is for storage of things in the back.  Then the usual about electrics, range, charge time, etc.

What most people seem to miss is that the Smart ForTwo ED has more power than just about any other car comparative to its size. Although as an electric it's not ideal for long journeys, it's perfect for all the short commutes around town that so many people do on a daily basis. But even more so, in-town travel is horrible for internal combustion engine vehicles, whereas an electric thrives.

There is a distinct comradery among the elite few who own a Smart Car, let alone the even more elite fewer who own the Electric Drive.  We are enthusiasts, aficionados of small, efficient vehicles.  Of course anyone can get into this market, the price of the gas ForTwo starts around $12k and the electric around $20k.  But how many people are ready for the fun, the awe, and the passion of driving the smallest production car in the U.S.?

The Smart Elite Car Club may very well stay that way for a long time to come, and in my opinion, that's just fine.  It takes a certain kind of person to appreciate the finer aspects of this group of vehicles and only those who are ready, will find a home in one. Until then, I'll be zooming about, finding all the best compact parking, electric vehicle ONLY spots, and driving one of the most efficient cars on the road (at $0.019 / mile).

The Greenest Car

This week saw the American Counsel for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) announce their findings for the "most Green" vehicles.  And do you want to know who came out on top?  Yes, the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive.  With a Green Score of 59 it bested even the Toyota Prius C (57), Prius (55),  and the Prius Plug-in hybrid (55).

But what does the ACEEE mean by "Greenest" vehicle?  What do they measure and is it all empirical?

The ACEEE takes many factors into consideration when attempting to determine a proper score for any vehicle.  In the past, the average vehicle score for the vehicles that are conducive to cleaner driving, often receive a score around 37.  Where as the "meaner" vehicles, like trucks, SUVs, and vans tends to be closer to 17 on average.  The total score is ranked out of a possible 100 points,

Although most of the Toyota Prius line is in the top 10 Greenest, and the Prius C was the champion last year, a score of 59 has not yet been awarded to any vehicle, until now. This year the rating system has some added changes that may have accounted for the fact that the ED made the top of the list.  Here's the list

• Updates to in-use emissions factors for methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) 
• Changes to the methodology for estimating fuel economy for 2b trucks 
• Updates to evaporative emission estimates 
• Rating vehicles with LEV III tailpipe emission standards 
• Updates to upstream emission factors for gasoline, diesel, and CNG 

The primary concern seems to be tailpipe emissions, but materials used in manufacturing the vehicle are also considered.  If you read the comments on the blogs that have reported on this announcement, you may have noticed the dire skepticism and regular arguments that continue to pop-up.  The ACEEE address these issues directly in each vehicle.

Although no vehicle has crested 60 out of a possible 100 on the ACEEE index, it's clearly important to note that whatever Smart is doing in the construction and endgame for the ED, it is good.  I will definitely toot the horn of my Smart ED in saying that it's not just environmentally safe, but also the most affordable battery electric vehicle available in the US.

Your Car is TOO Quiet

There are two very distinct schools of thought regarding the noise that a vehicle makes. While there are some who say that power is only in the roar of the engine, and there are those who would be perfectly happy if all the noise just stopped. But there is a group in the US who is quite serious about vehicles making at least some noise, for the sake of safety.

To dispel the misconception that loud equals power, the Tesla Model S and the Roadster both have nearly noiseless motors and both can accelerate from 0-60 mph in less than 4 seconds.  This speed is primarily due to the fact that both vehicles do not have more than one gear in forward motion and 100 % torque from a standstill. The lack of noise is due to the lack of any controlled explosions in the electric motor. Inside the motor there is no contact between the electromotive force and the drive shaft.

I only mention the fact that the electric motor is "near-silent" because the sound what few gears transfer power between the drive shaft and wheels and cooling fans on the motor controller aren't completely quiet.  Also, you may wonder why I have used Tesla as a model for the speed example.  Although the Smart ED is definitely an electric car, it is not an electric car for speed.  It is an efficient car for getting around town.

But, as a contrast to those who believe that loud equals power, there are those people who are quite happy to drive in silence (at least vehicle silence).  Vehicles are not yet immune to creating road noise.  There is still the sound of tires on the road and of an object pushing air aside at high speed.  Can you imagine what the freeway would be like without the noise of so many engines running simultaneously?  It wouldn't be completely quiet, but it would be much less noisy, especially if tractor trailers went electric.

Despite all the good that can come from a vehicle being much less quiet than before, the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2010 was signed into law in 2011, to guarantee that electric vehicles can be heard.  It's been said that this is for the sake of the blind that electric vehicles have been forced to have some noise generators on-board.

In a sense this Act is on the same level as banning Google Glass before it has debuted.  We've not had a great deal of time to determine whether the lack of engine noise is the issue with electric vehicles or if tire noise is sufficient to keep someone from being hit.

For now, though if you do purchase or plan to drive an electric vehicle know this, the engine hasn't died, it's just "near-silent".

Get an Eco Score of 100%

You too can get an Eco score of 100%.

At first I thought that that I would never be able to accomplish this feat.  I was always driving up and down hills and trying to avoid other cars, that I would never succeed in reaching this lofty goal.  But I did it.

There are two gauges on the top of the dash that give you a good idea of your performance.  These two gauges will become as important if not more so than the speedometer. The gauge on the left is State of Charge (SOC), effectively the fuel gauge. The one on the right is a Charge gauge, it shows the charge used and it can be positive (to the left) or negative (to the right).

Accelerating

You will want to concentrate most the attention that you would give to the dash instruments, to the gauge that shows charge. If you can keep the charge from ever breaking 50% when accelerating or driving, then this will improve the Eco score.  Accelerating using the kick-down will push the charge usage up to the maximum and destroy any decent Eco score that you may have created. Also, driving at or above 70 mph can use more than 50% charge.

The difficulty in keeping the charge meter from crossing the 50% mark is that acceleration will be slow.  This slow acceleration will not make you popular with other drivers. Personally, I've had to make an effort to refrain from bolting, because I know that I can do it.  But if I want to keep that perfect score, I can't use the kick-down too often.

Braking

It's not tough to figure out, after a few tries, how much distance you will need in order to stop the vehicle.  The Smart ED does have more motor braking by default than the typical internal combustion engine vehicle.  As soon as you lift off from the accelerator, the ED will engage the regeneration and slow you down.  If however, you've opted for the regeneration paddles, you can control how aggressively the vehicle slows and recharges.  But it is key to getting that high score, that you brake appropriately.

When braking, you can get the best recharge by barely tapping the brake pedal.  This turns on your brake lights and maxes out the needle, which means you pushing the max back into the battery (about 90 Amps).  The regeneration will reduce as you slow down.  

The ECO bar is quite effective in encouraging a driver to drive more efficiently.  It's right there at the bottom of the screen and hard to miss.  But if it seems impractical or a false ideal, think of it as paying yourself back.  Sure you're driving electric now and saving already, but if you drive at 100% ECO, you're saving even more.

Smart ED Basics

You've got to understand the basics of anything before you can use it.  As an engineer, I sometimes think that I know it all before I get started and this is often due to the fact that I have some experience with mechanical or electrical devices.

The Electric Vehicle (EV) certainly looks like a car, but it doesn't exactly act like one.  This post will cover the basics of what you will want to know about an electric car and in this case the Smart ED.  Hopefully, you have at least had the chance to drive a vehicle that uses an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), as some of the information in this post will depend on that prior knowledge.

Getting Started

It's important to note where all the controls are on the vehicle.  Like an ICE vehicle an EV will have a steering wheel, shift controller, accelerator, and brake pedals. The display panels are similar except for two extra gauges on top of the dash.  These two gauges are for fuel and its use.

The gauge on the left shows how much fuel (charge) remains.  The gauge on the right shows the rate at which the fuel is being used. But there is something special about electric vehicles that cannot be done with ICE vehicles.  When braking, the electric motor can be used  to re-capture some of the lost energy. It's like putting fuel back in the tank.

Fuel 

The fuel for the Smart ED is electrical charge.  If you've used a smartphone then you're already somewhat familiar with the electric car and its energy source. The Smart ED uses electricity just like so many electronic devices that we use in our lives every day.

Unlike ICE vehicles, each EV must be equipped with the proper charger in order to refuel the battery (with electricity).  Depending on the capacity of the battery and the charger will determine how long it takes.

The Smart ED has a 17.6 kWh battery and an on-board charger rated at 3.3 kW, so at that fastest it will completely recharge in about 5 hours.

Shift Controller

Electric vehicles do not have the same sort of transmission that you might find in either a manual or automatic ICE vehicle.  In an automatic ICE vehicle you may find more than just the Park, Neutral, Reverse, and Drive.  But because an ICE vehicle has only a narrow band of speeds that are useful, a transmission is used to allow the engine to operate more efficiently at higher and lower speeds.

The EV does not have "gears" per se, but it does at least have Park, Neutral, Reverse, and Drive.  ICE engines usually only spin in one direction so when you need to go in reverse, a gear is inserted to change the direction that the engine spins the wheels.  But when you want an EV to run in reverse, you need only spin it in reverse.

Acceleration

Many of us are quite familiar with labeling the pedal on the right, as the "gas" pedal.  But no gas used to propel an electric car, the more generic term is the "accelerator" pedal. Most electric motors do not require a transmission to change the gearing ration between the motor and the wheels in order to find the optimum performance, the way an ICE does. Electric motors can spin up to much faster than ICE without overheating.

As electric motors do not have to use a transmission to accelerate, there is no need to think about changing gears.  The motor starts and continues on spinning up with greater speeds. Internal combustion engines have a particular range of speeds that are the most efficient and use the transmission to acquire that speed.

The Smart ED has an electric motor capable of about 50 hp, but nearly 100 ft-lbs of torque.  If you floor the accelerator, there's an additional bit of room at the very bottom know as the "kick down".  When you hit the kick down, you will feel a significant increase in the power, like having a nitro pack built-in

Braking

Electric cars are unique when it comes to slowing or stopping.  Although it is possible to use an internal combustion engine to slow the vehicle (called engine braking), the same action when used in an electric car can will generate electricity.  Most electric vehicles are equipped with the ability to increase or decrease the amount of resistance that the motor implements when using it to stop the vehicle.   The greater the resistance, the more energy is generated, and in turn the more quickly the vehicle slows.

Using the regenerative ability of an electric motor to recharge the battery every time that you need to stop, not only increases the longevity of your brakes, but improves the range of the vehicle.

Range

If there's one thing that I've come to see in a completely different way, it's range. Drivers of ICE vehicles take some solace in knowing that with a full tank of gas, range is not a problem.  This is only a recent notion, as before 1950 gas stations were not nearly as common as they are today. Electric vehicle drivers can take solace in knowing that they can recharge nearly anywhere, as the electric infrastructure of modern society has placed hundreds of millions of electrical sockets in nearly every building.

Ah, but what of the range of the electric vehicle?  ICE vehicle drivers are familiar with the necessity of finding a gas station, every so often.  EV owners are familiar with refueling every day.  The closest analog to the daily recharge is the use of a Smartphone. Most people charge the smartphone every day so that it can be used all day.  The same goes for an electric car.

The statistics say that 50% of all modern citizens drive no more than 30 miles in a day and that 80% drive no more than 50 miles in a day.  Most electric cars can easily cover 50 miles of daily driving.

The Smart ED comes with an EPA-noted range of 63 miles per full charge, at the least 58 miles, but some people have been able to get as many as 90 miles.

Conclusion

There's a whole new world of electric vehicles just waiting to be explored and utilized.  Electric vehicles are fun and useful (but mostly fun).   They're not so different from internal combustion engine vehicles, at least externally.  But once you get used to charging your car like you do your smartphone (every day), it won't take long to forget about the prior need to go to a gas station.

You won't feel bad that, although your range in a day may be limited to between 60 and 100 miles, you're spending less than half as much money on fuel as you might have in a Prius.  If you charge at a public charging station, it is actually possible to never pay for fuel.  Do you know of a gas station that gives fuel away for free?

Lastly, I have yet to get bored with the fun of 100% torque, 100% of the time.  Acceleration in an EV is almost too fun and almost unnervingly quiet.  Unless you love the roar of an internal combustion engine, you may be pleasantly surprised by the silent rocket that is the Smart ED.  It might be small, but it's got plenty of power.

I Bought an Electric Smart Car

It's a challenge for me to express the full ideal what the electric car means in just one sentence, one paragraph, or one article.  So I have chosen to write out the ideas as they come in this blog.  Although I already have another blog that chronicles the intrigues of all eclectic vehicles, this blog is dedicated to the my experiences with the Smart Electric Drive (ED).

On Wednesday, October 30th 2013 I purchased my first electric car.  I then proceeded to drive it all over the San Francisco South Bay Area.  I logged 85 miles the first day, hitting at least 5 separate charge stations and taking pictures (like the one above).

Why did I buy an electric car, especially one so small as the SMART ForTwo Electric Drive?  First off, it's tiny.  It's only 106-inches tip to tail and barely 65 x 67 inches in the other ways.  And yet it's like the TARDIS (bigger on the inside than the outside).  It's literally the smallest production car available in the U.S.

But why electric?  There are just so many reasons, it's tough to enumerate them all, but that is what this blog is about, to let you in on the good and not so good about about electric cars.