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Motor Authority reports that the US will be expecting the micro-hybrid drivetrain in 2 years time.

As if the tiny city-car weren’t already a miracle of space-saving efficiency, Smart USA, Daimler’s distributor of the Smart in the United States, says it will have a hybrid version available within two years. They even plan to follow it with a plug-in all-electric version. It wouldn’t be the first time the Smart went electric, but it would be the first official conversion.

The reviews from the professional car rags are starting to pour in.
First is Edmund's First drive:

Some tidbits:

Here's our report: The Smart's chief selling point is its small size, and the Smart's biggest drawback is its small size.

We tested both aspects of the Smart Fortwo's personality. First, we drove it on the narrow, crowded streets of San Francisco. And second, we squeezed 503 pounds of driver and passenger — just 4 pounds under the car's maximum payload — into this 2008 Smart Fortwo Passion. And we lived through it.

"Smart says more than 30,000 consumers have put down a refundable $99 deposit to reserve a Smart car. Those deposits do not guarantee sales, but the company is hoping to move at least 30,000 units in the first year"
"Toyota’s Yaris, the most popular subcompact on the market, which has managed sales of 73,874 units so far this year"

"Close competitors like the Kia Rio and Scion xA sold 28,388 units and 32,603 units in 2006, respectively, while the significantly larger Scion xB sold 61,306 units and the popular Mini Cooper sold 39,171 units."


Source: MSNBC