In many of American cities, it is just more viable to take public transport with gridlock traffic consuming the cities. But even if you don’t live in the city, public transportation may be a great choice, not only to help the environment but to also save yourself a considerable amount of money. Not only would we not have to pay for the the car itself, the gas that powers our cars to get us from home to work and back again, but you may also avoid tolls and car maintenance bills. We can also avoid the monthly car insurance bill as well and when the average cost of a car insurance premium in 2009 was $1,800, that breaks down to be $150 a month. That is $150 we can save or even use to buy something more important.

Apparently sourcing inspiration from a generic beige socket plate, the tuning experts from Deutschland have introduced to us the Brabus Ultimate High Voltage Concept. Underpinned by the comically compact smart fortwo and co-developed by the master electricians over at Tesla, the Brabus Ultimate High Voltage is the biggest performance upgrade on a city vehicle we’ve seen since that kid from the bike messenger shop down the street started wolfing down Power Bars.

Boasting a design scheme rivaled in its dearth of creativity only by the Velcro Stride Rite’s your Grandpa wears and featuring a similarly uninspiring 82-horsepower 206 lb-ft lithium ion battery pack, Brabus brags the Ultimate High Voltage is capable of sprinting from 0-35 mph in 3.7 seconds, and 0-62 mph in 9.8. To prevent any oblivious pedestrians from being mowed down by all that silent white-knuckle speed, Brabus outfitted the Ultimate High Voltage with an artificial sound generator designed to mimic the exhaust note of a snarling V8.

Starting in November of this year, Daimler will be producing prototypes of the smart fortwo electric drive. Select pilot cities will include Berlin, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Pisa, Rome and an unnamed selection of locations in the US. Large-scale production will start in 2012. Powered by a 30 kW motor producing 120 Nm of torque, an overnight charge will provide a maximum range of 72 miles. 0-60 times are slightly faster than reading Atlas Shrugged. Hit the jump for the pics and the press.

Scion unveiled the iQ concept today at the New York Auto Show, which really wasn’t that surprising. Ever since its European debut, we’ve been expecting the iQ’s arrival as a competitor in the super-ultra-compact market against the Smart ForTwo. However, what was surprising was the modifications Scion had done to the Concept model–including extra-wide fender flares and fat 18” wheels.

Just like the production car, the iQ concept features an asymmetrical 3 + 1 seating arrangement, with the front passenger’s seat positioned just far enough in front of the rear passenger’s so as to allow actual human beings to sit inside comfortably. But Scion (being an undisputed driver’s car, of course) makes no compromises from the driver’s seat, so the left rear seat is suitable only for amputees, and possibly a buddhist and an indian, provided they are meditating or sitting, respectively.

The Concept also showed a handy new safety feature–a rear window airbag–for those in the back sitting (or praying) whose heads are butted up against the window wondering, “Are we there yet?”

There were also special lights and a crunk 10” pop up LCD display embedded in the dash.

While we doubt very seriously the best features of the Concept car will make it to production, we’d be even more surprised if Scion’s little toe-dip into the U.S. market here didn’t result in a production model for North America.

Check the Press Release after the jump for the complete run-down.

Mercedes Benz SLS AMG

Even though the Mercedes SLS has only unofficially been sighted in various places Sasquatch-style, it is not surprising that the German automaker is also planning an all-electric version of the upcoming supercar. Not surprising because it has been a mere two months since Mercedes plucked up a 10 percent stake in American electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors.

Renault Megane Trophy Concept

Is a stateside Renault built for Saturn a complete pipe-dream? Following up on a report from Bloomberg over future Saturn production, the new/future owners of the former GM brand are addressing rumors of possible replacement models coming from Renault or Nissan. At the same time Roger Penske has thankfully taken Smart cars out of the mix for Saturn dealers…sort of.

File this under: “It Was Bound To Happen Eventually.”

According to recent reports, panicked consumers who hastily flocked to smart car dealerships in an attempt to escape crushing fuel prices are beginning to come to their senses. With gas hovering back around the manageable $2 mark, there’s no longer any socially acceptable reason to be seen driving a smart car. As aesthetically appealing and crush-proof as a can of tuna fish, sales of the $12,000, 8′ x 8″ smart car spiked last summer when gas prices rose to nearly $5 a gallon. Now, however, many consumers have realized that a combined fuel-consumption average of 36 mpg is not an acceptable excuse for driving perhaps one of the gayest vehicles ever to be engineered in modern history. Thanks to smart’s progressive system that relies almost entirely on individual online ordering as well as the company’s policy to refund 100% of the $99 initial down payment, many customers have simply abandoned their smart plans and left dealers with a significant overstock.

Great news for smart owners: now when you’re mocked mercilessly by fellow motorists, you will have up to three additional passengers with whom to share your shame.

Judging the market ripe for a comeback, Mercedes-Benz has announced they will once again introduce a 4-door smart car to the market, this one hopefully more successful than the last. Expected to bear the “smart ForTwo + 2″ badge, the new ute is expected to debut in 2012 as a direct competitor for the likes of the Audi A1 and the BMW Isetta. Unlike the failed smart ForFour, however, the ForTwo + 2 will attempt to maintain as much of the traditional ForTwo’s styling as possible to avoid crossing over into treacherous Mitsubishi Colt terrain. The specifics are still sketchy, but sources expect the ForTwo + 2 to share the same RWD layout as the ForTwo, differing only in terms of wheelbase length. Providing for increased legroom without altering the basic frame of the car, the ForTwo + 2’s rear doors will be rear-hinged and extremely small, presumably in an attempt to be as little ForFour-reminiscent as possible.

Debuting just one short week ahead of its scheduled reveal at the Geneva Motor Show next week, the smart ForTwo Edition Limited Three broke cover today to a smattering round of yawns. Aside from a muted “spring” green finish and “Edition Limited Three” badging, the smart ForTwo Edition Limited Three differs very little from the standard smart ForTwo, yet it still considered a “special” edition. Equipped with the smart-standard microhybrid engine, smart claims the Edition Limited Three’s start-stop hybrid configuration reduces emissions a full 20% when “city” driving, or 8% overall. Available in both coupe and cabrio variants, the smart ForTwo Edition Limited Three will hit European dealer lots immediately following the Geneva Motor Show with a starting price of €15,500 EUR ($19,800 USD).

Essentially defeating the cost-efficient guise behind which the smart ForTwo hides, designer Afzal Kahn and his luxury automotive tuning house, Project Kahn, have created the Project Kahn upgrade package for the smart ForTwo. Exterior components of Kahn’s smart ForTwo are mercifully absent of any chrome accessories, and feature instead a rather tastefully understated piano black fascia trim, Pentagon privacy glass, Project Kahn-exclusive alloy wheels, and matching “Project Kahn” embossed valve caps. Preserving an air of elite mystery, Kahn offers only a vague explanation of the internal and technical modifications, describing the respective upgrades as merely “Project Kahn Interior Package” and “Project Kahn Lowering Suspension.”

Truth be told, the noticeable absence of a spec sheet doesn’t exactly break our hearts inasmuch we seriously doubt anything short of a nuclear-powered ramjet engine could boost the smart ForTwo’s performance output to any respectable number. We are, however, simply blown away by the opulent accessories included in the Project Kahn smart ForTwo package. More specifically, we’re lusting after the official Project Kahn smart ForTwo customized Kahn Lightweight Golfing Umbrella with Carbon Fibre Shaft. Nothing says you’ve “arrived” quite like a carbon fiber golf umbrella and matching key ring.

Gallery after the jump