The Smart is go

The Wall Street Journal thinks that DaimlerChrysler is going to announce this week that Smarts will be available for sale in the US in 2007.

It will be sold in major metropolitan centers on the East and West coasts where sales of small, imported cars are strongest.

No word on whether the diesel version, which is sold in Canada, will be available here. I want a subcompact diesel.

Update #1:

DaimlerChrysler, which shelved an earlier plan to bring its Smart minicar brand to the United States, plans to announce Wednesday that it will introduce the tiny two-seat vehicle to the American market early in 2008

[...]

DaimlerChrysler plans to aim the Smart at drivers in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and other cities.

[...]

The DaimlerChrysler executive, however, did not disclose the car's fuel efficiency. On its Web site in Britain, a Smart coupe is listed as getting 46 miles a gallon in the city and 69 miles a gallon on the highway.

DaimlerChrysler offers a diesel engine in Europe, but it will offer only a gasoline engine in the United States. (NY Times)