Hollywood comedian John Lovitz was on hand in Detroit to help launch the Smart For-Us pick-up concept at the 2012 North American International Auto Show today.

Smart might have struggled with sales here in the USA with their fortwo model, but globally this eco-minded brand sold over 100,000 units in 2011.

To capture the American market, Smart is hoping that their new For-Us concept, which is billed as an urban-truck will resonate better in our market. This pick-up however is not designed to carry construction workers and their gear to work. No, the For-Us is aimed towards young couples with an active life-style. So if you are looking for a vehicle to carry your mountain-bikes up to your favorite trail, this would do, just as long as that trail is not too far away.

The For-Us is an electric vehicle and uses the same 55kW motor and 17.6kWh lithium-ion battery pack first seen on the all-electric Smart fortwo. Range is thus pegged at 86-miles on a full-charge. Performance numbers are a similar story, its brisk, but not fast. acceleration from 0-37 mph takes about 5-seconds.

Will this vehicle just be a concept? Very likely, but it shows that Smart is trying to expand its customer base and market share.

GALLERY: Smart forus Concept

The struggles of the electric car are well documented, and it appears that the struggle is not going away anytime soon.

According to the latest news, the Federal Government will pull its funding to ease the cost of buying an electric vehicle charger. Up until now, the Fed’s have been discounting these units as an incentive to get the public to buy an electric vehicle. In 2010, the deductions covered 50% of the cost, and in 2011 it was reduced to 30%. Now it seems that from 2012, no deduction will be offered to those buying these charging units.

If you use electric vehicles for commercial use, the savings were good for up to $30,000; but that will no longer be the case either.

Genevieve Cullen, the vice-president of the Electric Drive Transportation Association said that: “The timing of this couldn’t be more unfortunate”. Cullen and her supporters have been urging congress to extend the tax deduction, but it doesn’t appear to be working at this moment. However, if you buy an electric car now, you will still get the $7,500 tax credit offered by the government. So if you are thinking of buying an electric car, buy it before the government pulls its support from that program.

In 2011, the electric car and plug-in hybrids accounted for less than 2% of new car sales in the States.

[Source: Left Lane News]

AMP Electric vehicles has just announced that it will unveil an electrified version of the Jeep Grand Cherokee at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The company  has already put together a Mercedes-Benz M-Class EV and the addition of the Jeep Grand Cherokee is seen as a logical step, since both vehicles share components and structure, meaning that for the Jeep, minimal changes are required for EV conversion.

Although not a great deal of information has so far been released regarding the Grand Cherokee EV, AMP says that the vehicle is being aimed at larger fleet customers rather than low volume clients. According to Jim Taylor, AMP’s chief executive, the idea is that fleets could “buy a new gas-powered step van for $30,000, or spend the same amount of money to convert an existing vehicle to electric power.”

Fitted with a 37 kWh battery pack, the electric Grand Cherokee is said to have a range of 100 miles, based on information released from AMP. Final pricing and distributors are expected to be announced during the vehicle’s unveiling in Detroit.

AMP believes that the Grand Cherokee’s reputation and capability will appeal to the generally conservative nature of fleet customers and the company is currently in talks with organizations such as Fedex and UPS, in an effort to secure them as customers.

AMP’s previous trial with the Chevy Equinox ended because GM didn’t offer any manufacturer support, however at this juncture it would appear that the Jeep deal shows signs of being far more successful. “We got no love out of GM,” said Taylor recently. “Chrysler answered the phone when we called for the first date.”

See AutoGuide’s full Detroit Auto show coverage here.

Never heard of the American car company Coda? We won’t blame you. This electric car upstart is trying to make a name for itself, but has so far run into production delays plus other birthing problems new car companies face.

However, the editor’s at Forbes believe in Coda and that it will soon be among the most successful new companies in America. Forbes has thus included Coda in their annual “100 Most Promising Companies” list.

Coda is also the only car company in this exclusive list, which mostly is comprised of software companies, and has placed a burger joint (Smashburger) at the top.

Forbes says that the reason Coda is on its list is because of  “compelling business models, strong management teams, notable customers, strategic partners and precious investment capital.” Even in tough times, Coda has managed to raise money, hire more people and start production, which is a huge accomplishment in these tough economic times.

Coda’s CEO Phil Murtaugh said he is “honored and excited for this recognition.”

If all goes to plan, Coda will start delivering their electric sedan in a few months time. Price start at $39,900 plus a destination charge of $895. However, due to its green credentials, you’ll get a $7500 credit from the Government. The Coda requires six-hours (from 220V) to charge fully and has a range of 150-miles.

[Source: Autoblog]

BMW is turning to Brilliance Jinbei Automobile, an already-established Chinese partner, to work their way around new legislation aimed at promoting Chinese cars.

Ian Robertson, director of sales and marketing for BMW told Automotive News Europe said the new brand, which will exist solely to sell electric vehicles in China, will only use limited BMW technology. That decision is in contrast to the i3 and i8 cars BMW plans to release in other markets, including the North America and Europe.

This isn’t the first time BMW and Brilliance have worked together to market a vehicle in China. Last April we reported a story on a 5-series plug-in hybrid meant for Chinese markets that the companies worked together on.

[Source: AutoNewsEurope]

In the 1960′s there was the muscle-car wars, and in the 1980′s it was all about who can sell the most minivans. Now its time for the green-car wars, to see who can sell the most plug-in hybrid or fully electric cars.

The two biggest rivals at the moment are the Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Volt. While the Leaf is a fully electric vehicle, the Volt in a plug-in hybrid, so when the battery dies, you can still keep moving, provided you have some gasoline in its tank.

These two vehicles have been going head to head all year, and in America, it is the Leaf that is winning by quite a margin. Nissan has moved 8,720 Leafs thus far, while Chevy had moved just 6,142 Volts in the U.S.

North of the border, there is a different story developing. The Volt is actually outselling the Leaf. Chevy has moved 243 Volts thus far, while only 111 Leafs have found homes in Canada.

Part of the reason the Leaf is having a harder time selling in Canada is because there are only 27 Leaf Certified Dealers in the country, and even they will only sell a car to someone who lives within 42-miles from one of those dealers. The Volt on the other hand is sold through all Chevrolet dealers.

Chevrolet has been dealing with a lot of negative publicity regarding the Volt in recent weeks due to its battery issue, which could result in a fire. This little sales victory in Canada might give the bow-tie boys something to cheer about.

[Source: Auto North]

While the Chevrolet Volt has struggled a bit to get traction in the marketplace, Nissan‘s all-electric Leaf is well on pace to sell 10,000 units in the United States, meeting its initial sales targets.

60 percent of all Leafs sold are in California (no surprise there), but we’ll get a better regional breakdown sometime later this week. Globally, the Leaf will have sold about 20,000 units in a year. Check out our review here and you’ll see why the car’s been so successful – it’s a blast to drive (for the right kind of driver, that is).

An article in Automotive News suggests that the Cadillac ELR, which will share major driveline components with the Chevrolet Volt, will actually be rear-wheel drive.

The report states that the ELR has been dubbed a 2+2, meaning two small seats in the rear, similar to a Porsche 911. The Volt uses a t-shaped battery pack that is adapted for a front-drive layout, but a 2+2 configuration would allow for the battery pack to be mounted in such a way as to clear a driveshaft sending power to the rear wheels.

Rick Kranz, the author of the piece, suggests that rear seat room would be compromised, but the 2+2 layout of the coupe – plus the use of the rear-drive platform shared with the Cadillac ATS – would allow for Cadillac to justify a price premium over the Chevrolet Volt, something that new sheetmetal and an advanced infotainment system would not be able to achieve. If this report turns out to be accurate, then the ELR could be a game changer, as the first front-engine rear-drive electric car on the market.

[Source: Automotive News]

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released an official statement in regards to the post-crash fire risk of the Chevrolet Volt. As a result of a fire that occurred at the NHTSA’s facilities, they will be opening a formal safety defect investigation in order to determine the fire risk of Volts after a major accident.

It’s worth noting that the Volt isn’t entirely the target of the investigation, but rather the potential of a fire in any electric vehicle following a crash. After the initial fire caused from a side-impact test, NHTSA conducted a trio of tests on the Volt’s battery pack, each involving damaging the battery and rotating the vehicle to simulate an accident and rollover. In the second test, the battery pack caught fire a week later, while the third test the pack began to smoke and spark almost immediately.

NHTSA did also announce that they are not aware of any roadway crashes that have resulted in battery-related fires in the Chevy Volt or any electric vehicle for that matter. They also wanted to assure that Chevy Volt owners whose vehicles have been in a serious crash do not have a reason for concern.

In the meantime though, the agency is working with all vehicle manufacturers to ensure there are safety protocols in place for post-crash incidents involving electric vehicles. These protocols include an attempt to discharge a propulsion battery, not storing the vehicle after a major accident in a garage or near other vehicles, and emergency responders to check if a vehicle is electric-powered after an accident.

GALLERY: Chevrolet Volt

The BMW 5-Series ActiveHybrid will make its debut at this December’s Tokyo Auto Show, featuring BMW’s familiar twin-turbo I6 engine and an electric motor that will produce a total output of 340 horsepower. Backed by an 8-speed automatic, the car will be able to operate in pure electric mode up to 37 mph.

The ActiveHybrid’s 55 horsepower electric motor will be powered by a trunk mounted lithium-ion battery pack, and also allow the driver to coast with the gasoline engine shut off. A boost function will also enable rapid acceleration, though BMW did not elaborate on its exact nature. An energy management system is said to work in concert with the car’s GPS unit to adjust for road conditions.

BMW also markets hybrid versions of the 7-series and X6. A 3-Series Hybrid will bow in 2012, while the i3 and i8 electric cars will debut in 2013 and 2014 respectively.