For those of you who find the regular SMART FourTwo either too mundane or not fuel efficient enough, I present the following. Not only does the car keep the same Euro chic image of the regular SMART FourTwo, but you also get the added benefit of a lithium-ion battery. With the electric SMART you also get a 0-60 of 7.1 seconds, top speed of 80MPH and a range of over 140 miles on single charge. The charge time is approximately 6-8 hours and you should get a duty cycle of around 1500 charges on the battery.

Want to know more about it? Discuss it with us on the EasyAutoSales forums and we’ll give you all the juicy information: Hybrid Technologies LiV “Dash” (SMART FourTwo)

A friend of EasyAutoSales, Lance Weatherby, recently wrote an article on his blog about the Wheego Whip plug-in electric vehicle. EasyAutoSales would love to share his insights with you! Check out what Lance thinks below…

This past weekend while the North American International Auto Show kicked off in Detroit I had my own little personal auto show.  I spend the weekend tooling around in a prototype of the Wheego Whip by RTEV.  It was a fun experience.  When I brought it home both of my kids exclained “cool.”  And boy did it generate a lot of attention and spark several a conversation over the course of 72 hours.

Nearly everyone that looks at the Whip says “Is that a Smart Fortwo?”  The answer is no.  The car’s platform and body is manufactured by Shuanghuan Automobile in China and then shipped to the US for final assembly at the RTEV manufacturing facility in South Carolina.  While the production car will eventually be capable of speeds of up to 60 mph, it will be launched as a Low Speed Vechicle (LSV).  LSVs are generally capable of speed up to 35 mph and allowed to travel on streets with that same speed limit.  The prototype I tested was an LSV.

The Whip is a “plug-in” all electric vehicle.  To charge it you literally plug the car into a normal 110 or 220 volt electrical outlet.  A single charge was getting me about 20 miles in the prototype.  The production vehicle is expected to get 60 on a single.

In place of the fuel input there is a male electrical receptacle.  It is so easy to charge that a fifth grader is capable of doing it.

The dash on the Wheego is straightforward.

Almost as straightforward as putting the car in forward or reverse.

Before the weekend was over we were using the Wheego as our main vehicle to run errands or ferry the kids to sports practices and sleepovers.  It’s fun to drive in a way that is a lot different from my power laden and gas loving 540.  I was mostly just hanging out in the right lane of four way streets while cars buzzed around me (in Atlanta a posted 35 mph means go 50).  But what I began to notice was that I was pulling right up to these cars at the next traffic light, pretty much making my way at the same pace.  And I spent not a penny in gas.

The Wheego Whip is expected to be available in May of 2009 at a price in the $20k range.

vs.

Lock up your GMs! Seem as if criminals have it out for you this year. Between Cadillacs and Hummers, GM hold 4 of the top 8 spots on this list. In fact, if you have any large American car, you might want to think about building a small shed to house it.

Car: Claims Per 1,000/Average Loss Payment Per Claim

10. Honda S2000 Convertible: 8.1/$13,624
9. 2005-2007 Dodge Durango: 8.1/$9,682
8. 2005-2007 Hummer H2: 8.7/$18,791
7. 2005-2007 Dodge Magnum: 9.9/$8,926
6. 2005-2007 Hummer H2 SUT: 10.0/$23,771
5. 2005-2007 Ford F-350 SuperCrew: 10.7/$20,138
4. 2006-2007 Dodge Charger: 11/$7,047
3. 2007 Cadillac Escalade: 11.3/$14,657
2. 2005-2007 Ford F-250 SuperCrew: 13.1/$19,250
1. 2007 Cadillac Escalade ESV: 15.0/$13,060

For the same reason American car makers love to sell large SUVs and truck, thieves are seeking these behemoths out. They are large, cheap ways to get a nice car that will allow you to put expensive stereos, large rims and other accessories on that are easy to steal and resell without too much worry. Dropping 24s on your Hummer may say, “You’re ballin’” to your friends, but it says, “Come steal me” to every car criminal out there.

On the other hand, should be you be looking for the most inconspicuous (boring) cars on the road to protect your insurance premiums and pimped car stereos, you might want to check out the list below. To be honest, not all of them are boring or lame. Some of them just have excellent security systems and car-jackers know that it’s not worth the time to steal the car or there will be no way to re-sell the expensive parts off the car. As you can see, most of the cars are people carriers though with a preponderance of SUVs. The interesting thing is that whereas some of the cars are rather popular (Ford Focus, VW Beetle, Toyota Prius) some of the cars are the most obscure models available (Buick Terraza, Saturn Relay).

10. 2005-2007 Ford Freestyle
9. 2005-2007 Saturn Relay
8. 2005-2007 Toyota Prius
7. 2005-2007 Volvo V70
6. 2005-2007 Ford Focus
5. 2005-2007 Volkswagen (New) Beetle
4. 2005-2007 Buick Terraza
3. 2005-2007 Subaru Forrester
2. 2005-2007 Buick Rainier
1. 2005-2007 Mercedes-Benz E-Class

Source: Highway Safety and Highway Loss Data Institute

Breaking news has Congress creating a tentative agreement between the US Government and the “Big 3″ that allows $15 billion of available loans. An agreement reached between the White House and Congress posed that the money should come from $25 billion in loans previously approved to help the automakers retool for energy fuel efficient vehicles, rather than drawing the aid from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Fund for struggling financial institutions. Does this mean at some future time the US Government will be asked for yet another $25 billion for the retooling? The Senate and House of Representatives have confirmed they will be meeting on Tuesday to vote on the deal and finalize the appropriation of money. In addition, this is only part of the money that has been asked for. In March, after President Elect Obama takes office, a meeting to determine if additional money will be granted will take place.

However, on the other side of the world, as American automakers get $15 billion in federal loans, Kia has been setting the auto industry en-fuego on fire with it’s aggressive push into small and innovative cars that rival their Japanese counterparts. Looking at what the Japanese have been doing for the last 20 years, Kia (and Hyundai) have been slowly and silently creeping up behind Toyota and Honda with great looking cars and industry leading warranties. With the new Optima, Boreggo, Soul and Forte, Kia is slowly and surely clearing a pathway to the top of the entry level car market.

Cars have personality.  Some may be boring, others extreme and overbearing.
Some cars lack personality, and this is arguably the case with most new model vehicles.

Enter the new Z-car from Nissan, aesthetically pleasing and a heritage of performance and pure driving pleasure. The Z is an immovable object and an unstoppable force, at the same time.

Nissan has always kept some passion in the Z brand, and the new model
ignites something inside, demands attention.
This vehicle clearly states, before even being started, that it will not
be like any other “blast-from-the-past” remake of a classic.

Some will mock the design techniques, and ask for “this” or “that” until
the car looks the exact same as the previous model.
What would be the point?  When should there be designs for cars of the future?
So ensue arguments over such new designs.

The car is sharp, clean, and beautiful. First impressions? Now that’s a Z car.
I like this design, and would enjoy more forward thinking like this from all car manufacturing companies.
And I’ll bet if you sat behind the wheel for 5 minutes,
you’d forget about those “silly” headlights.

-J