While it may be a bit early to plunk down a deposit, expect to see Smart brings its new fortwo ED to the United States, possibly as soon as late 2009. With a hybrid-electric Mercedes also up his sleeve, Daimler's chief confirmed to PM that the electrified Smart car was headed across the pond—and that it's just a matter of time.

The ED, short for electric drive, is Smart's new battery car, which can deliver up to 150 miles on an overnight charge of its lithium-ion battery pack. It joins an expanding line-up of high-mileage powertrains offered by the Mercedes-Benz sibling division, an assortment that also includes diesel and the new Micro Hybrid Drive, or MHD system—all of which PM recently test drove here across the pond after the fortwo's decidedly slow start.

"Electrifying cars is one option for safer, sustainable mobility," declared Thomas Weber, technology chief for parent company Daimler AG.

Squeezing our 6-foot-3 frame behind the thick, sporty steering wheel of the 2009 Toyota iQ, we immediately notice just how spacious the cabin feels. Only when you're standing outside the Toyota iQ do you realize how short it is, less than 10 feet long from the tip of the front bumper to the end of the back bumper.

Due to be unveiled at the 2008 Paris Auto Show on October 2, the 2009 Toyota iQ is a kind of four-passenger Smart car. It's so innovative in its concept, packaging and design that it might just become the new yardstick for small cars.

When we drove this vision of the future here in Japan, we couldn't help but think that the massive influence of Toyota will tip the balance in favor of minimalist cars like the iQ and make them mainstream transportation instead of high-fashion indulgence. When it goes on sale in Japan in mid-October and then Europe a couple months later, the 2009 Toyota iQ could become Japan's answer to the Fiat 500, the Smart Fortwo and Volkswagen up!