"Micro Hybrid" Smart in the U.S. with engine stop/start?
Parallel hybrid; serial hybrid; full hybrid; two mode hybrid; mild hybrid and now... micro hybrid. Yes, one more competing technology has entered the fray, with its very own nomenclature. The technology behind the stop/start system that is apparently being readied for the Smart FourTwo is nothing new to our readers. The start/stop Smart will have a 1.0-liter engine with 71 hp and a 5-speed sequential gearbox. Hybrids have the capability of turning off the internal combustion engine when it's not needed, and BMW has implemented a similar scheme for their non-hybrid models.
All of these competing technologies beg the question: what exactly is a hybrid? Perhaps I'm being too picky, but to me, a hybrid is not a hybrid unless it is capable of moving itself using either power source, be it electric, gasoline ICE, diesel ICE or hydraulic. But, anything that helps raise the fuel economy of any given vehicle is a good thing, even if they do call it a "micro hybrid". I wish we could get a diesel Smart over here, though.
[Source: Motor Authority via Autoblog]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
susan.kraemer 12:39PM (6/06/2007)
Why wish for their smelly diesel that also makes CO2? I wish we could get their ELECTRIC Smart over here!
My solar roof garage is waiting for the first EV off the assembly line!
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/10/the_smart_ev_co.php
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Ron Fischer 3:13PM (6/06/2007)
Hybrid descriptions could include engine/motor power. Prius would be 76/67. A micro hybrid would be 71/0. Every little bit helps. After trying to drive efficiently in city traffic I've concluded start/stop would be a significant help, though nothing matches the THS system in the Prius. I just hope the diesel SMART has full particulate and NOx emissions controls...
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Joseph 4:37PM (6/06/2007)
This is no "micro-hybrid." It's just a start-stop ignition system.
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susan.kraemer 5:02PM (6/06/2007)
Do you know if the mileage stays good in the US version?
Some bright spark apparently decided to dump a little more gratuitous weight on ours than the European Smart that gets 46 mpg.
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Owen 8:03AM (6/07/2007)
I've got my deposit in for the Smart and I'm certainly hoping it does come with the start/stop tech. What I really want is the Diesel Smart, that would be a great car, more MPG, more torque, who could ask for anything more. I'm less than impressed with the Smarts' US mileage, but someone has to support the technology as it comes out, and since I can't afford a Tesla and I can buy a his/hers Smarts for the price of one Prius, there will be one (maybe 2) in my driveway this upcoming Spring.
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NormReitzel 12:58PM (8/03/2009)
Heck, a whole lot of us would like a diesel smart. I drove them in Canada, and they're great. However, the attitude of dealers in the US seems to be, "There's no demand for diesel cars, so please stop asking for them."
calguy 5:56PM (6/07/2007)
I'm with Owen. Deposit, in. US mpg, not impressed. My '92 Civic VX (a much larger car) got 52mpg... but the size and safety help my Smart interest. If it comes with Start Stop here, it would HAVE to get better than 40. That's what a Corolla gets on a good day. I too, really might wait till the diesel comes along. I love the environment, despise filling stations and would love a tight, fun, tiny car. We'll see.
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tim mcleod 9:56PM (8/08/2007)
I'm an older, apolitical, kinda crabby, frequently selfish guy who lived thru the first earth day as an idealisitic teen and read silent spring, future schock, unsafe at any speed, the enemy within, and the like when they first came out, lived thru the first woodstock and the start of the zpg movement, loved easy rider and vanishing point (all just to help you cubby-hole me a little for perspective), but only lately am i beginning to see efficiency as a laudable, and even interesting objective in itself, regardless of if/when one might believe in tipping points or peak oil, both from my selfish interest in puzzles and optimization/better mousetrap mental gymnastics, as well as from a less selfish and growing appreciation that the coming threats are very real, regardless of how near or slowly approaching or technologically mitigatable they may be; and if you believe in any god-like creator or however i can say that while reaching a balance between avoiding offending but disclosing that it fits for me, isn't it just sensible stewardship, of resources, whether mine, yours, our kids', a creator's, or even just secularly because those resources are finite, to increase application of our creativity to better efficiency? so i'm spending a greater fraction of my free time on the net to learn, and frequently hear opinions that don't ring true for me, but i just don't know enough to illuminate, so humbly ask for help: susan kraemer (below) and all others who might know, while i too am fascinated w/ the smart in usa, barely didn't put the $99 down but still am greatly intrigued, and odd for my age and not primarily, or at least only for its likely environmental benefits, find my interest wanes why i compare the limited seating (which is not a problem in itself for me, actually an attractant) with it's ok price and ok mpg ratings; despite those misgivings,like owen below i think i'd jump all over anyway if the electric or clean diesel came stateside, esp w/ stop/start and regen braking; so finally to my question, why "smelly"? while clearly a problem for decades, aren't we all but elimminating that with the new engines that run on the 15 ppm sulfur we're finally supplying here? and isn't the extra CO2 for diesel mostly a problem if your stat of choice is CO2 weith released per gallon, not per vehicle mile? i truly ask only to tease out more facts for the debate, not add vitriole or confirm my opinion, because i just don't know; so anyone want to take a stab at giving a short, simple elucidation to this old windbag? thanks for your forbearance, and may the truth set us free Tim Mc
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