This article details the incredible pricing that the United States will see when the new smart car is launched in the spring of 2008.

Penske started out by explaining to us the general lay of the land for this deal. Whereas the rest of Smart’s established non-North American markets get the full new fortwo coupe lineup in April 2007, followed by the cabriolet versions six months later, North America gets three versions starting in the first quarter of 2008. These are: the basic fortwo coupe “pure” edition with steel wheels starting at around $11,000; the top-of-the-line fortwo coupe “passion” edition starting at around $13,000; and the fortwo cabriolet passion edition starting at around $15,000.

Speaking further with reporters in Stuttgart, Penske spoke about the plans for the initial launch in the USA:

The North American Smart fortwos may be delivering only in March or April of 2008, but Penske and DaimlerChrysler are organizing an advance 21-week road show to bring the fortwos into the hottest-prospect markets in the US starting as soon as February 2007. Four squads with a tractor trailer each will scour the right markets in the US during 21 weeks with three test cars in tow, as well as a display of the fortwo’s sturdy Tridion body structure. The aim is to get 66,000 prospects on advance Smart test drives. Citing Canada’s 2005 sales volume of current Smart fortwos of 4,000 units, Penske told us, “If you take that number, the US is ten times that by proportion. We’re not planning on 40,000 cars sold each year, but we’re figuring between 15,000 to 20,000 annual sales.”