One Smart Car

Driving the tiny Smart Car Plug In invoked memories of buzzing around Disney World's Tomorrowland Speedway.  It appears the car of tomorrow is finally here.

The silent ignition, the retro looking instruments, even the spring green Crayola-colored hubcaps endeared several people to the buggy standing in front of the Wilton Library on Tuesday.

"It's so roomy and there's lots of head room," said Becky Bunnell, co-chair of Wilton's Go Green Festival. "It's lots of fun."

The Smart Car is next year's festival's first official exhibitor. That's quite a feat since only 250 of the cars are scheduled to arrive stateside from Europe in October.

The car will debut in five markets: Portland, Oregon; San Francisco/San Jose, California; Tampa/Orlando, Florida; Indianapolis, Indiana; and the I-95 corridor, which includes Wilton and area towns. The Wilton metro area will get between 50 and 70 cars.

"This area makes sense because there is a lot of commuting to train stations," Ferreira said.

Jana Bertkau, the festival's co-chair, said she's excited the car will debut at next year's festival. Festival committee members gathered at the Wilton Library Tuesday to plan the May 1, 2011 event.

The electric car can run about 83 miles on a fully charged battery, said Ridgefield resident Jon Papa, who exhibited a Tesla during last year's Go Green Festival.

"Most people's trips go between five and 15 miles," said Papa, an electric car expert. "They're going shopping, taking the kids somewhere. Constant shuttling."

The car's brakes recharge the battery as it drives. People can also plug the car in at home. In addition, charging stations will likely crop up across the country, said Papa. Already the Westport train station, which received a federal grant to refit, is exploring the possibility of including ten charging stations.

Because of the car's small size, some wonder how it will perform during a New England winter.

"That's not a problem," said Ferreira. "It has a rear-mounted engine, so the weight is in the back. It's like a snow mobile."

In 2010, drivers took the Smart Car on a jaunt over the ice road in the Yukon. According to an article in Motor Trend magazine last June, the car performed admirably.

Some worry about safety on I-95, where trucks jackknife, or the Merritt Parkway where trees sometimes topple.

"First of all Mercedes-Benz designed and built this vehicle," said Jennifer Ferreira, a Ridgefield resident and director of Northeast Operations for Smart USA. "They wouldn't put their name on something if it wasn't safe."

Four airbags and a triple reinforced steel tridion safety cell protect both driver and passenger, said Ferreira.

"It's shaped like an ellipsoid," she said. "The occupants are in a protective cage. You're in a tight cocoon."

In 2008 Consumer Reports said the Smart Car scored a 'Good' in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety testing. The article explained that the test is based on colliding into a car of the same size.  Crashing into an SUV might prove more harmful, according to the report.

Initially the car will lease for $599/month for 48 months.

Electric cars are estimated to run at about 10 to 15 percent the energy costs of a gas car, said Ferreira.  For example, it costs about $2 to travel 100 miles in the Smart Car if one pays $.10 per kWh for electricity.  A gas car getting 20 miles per gallon would cost $15 to go the 100 miles at $3 per gallon.

"So 10,000 miles of commuting a year would cost you $200 of electricity or $1500 of gasoline," said Ferreira. "Over $100 per month savings!"