Toyota Prius Review – What the Auto Press Says

Article Courtesy of:  US News

Herb Chambers 2012 Toyota Prius

The 2012 Toyota Prius ranks 6 out of 19 Affordable Midsize Cars.

This ranking is based on our analysis of 34 published reviews and test drives of the Toyota Prius, and our analysis of reliability and safety data.

The 2012 Toyota Prius isn’t the fastest or best-handling car, but auto journalists say its excellent fuel economy ratings will appeal to green car shoppers.

Reviewers say that if you’re looking for a fuel-efficient car, the 2012 Toyota Prius should be high on your list.

Its fuel economy ratings are some of the best in the industry, excluding all-electric cars.

For 2012, Toyota introduced the all-new Prius Plug-in.

Like the Chevrolet Volt, the Prius Plug-in lets owners charge the battery by plugging it into a standard wall outlet.

Reviewers like that the Prius Plug-in’s battery can be recharged in three hours or less, depending on the wall outlet’s voltage.

The 2012 Prius is well-liked by test drivers for its quiet cabin, spacious trunk, high-tech electronics and comfortable ride.

The Prius gets knocked for its soft suspension, squishy brakes, numb steering and lackluster acceleration.

The automotive press says that if fuel economy is your top priority, the Prius is a top contender and worth a test drive.

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Fusion offers three gasoline engines and two hybrid powerplants.

Does having a powerful engine mean you have to sacrifice economy? The answer is no, if you’re driving a Ford Fusion. The 2.5L Duratec® I-4 engine generates 175 horsepower and 172 lb.-ft of torque, while delivering impressive city and highway mpg.* And imagine getting 41 miles per gallon and being able to travel more than 700 miles on a single tank of gas in city traffic.** That’s the kind of mileage you can expect to get in a Fusion Hybrid.

• *2011 EPA-estimated 23 city/33 highway/26 combined MPG. I-4 automatic.
  **EPA-estimated 41 city/36 hwy/39 combined mpg, 17.5-gallon tank. Actual mileage will vary.

Herb Chambers Ford Fusion Hybrid

An electric motor powered by an innovative nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH) battery.

And the 2.5L Atkinson-cycle I-4 gas engine.

The combined energy of these two sources supplies the power for the Fusion Hybrid.

A full hybrid, Fusion can start off from a complete stop and travel at light to normal acceleration up to 47 miles per hour on electric power alone, with no fuel used.

The I-4 gas engine kicks in extra power when needed, such as in passing or merging situations, and provides the main source of power above 47 mph.

Both the gas engine and the electric motor combine to deliver a maximum 191 net horsepower.

Herb Chambers Ford Fusion Hybrid

2 Convenient Ford Dealerships to Serve You:

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Lexus Hybrid Drive Overview

Herb Chambers 2012 Lexus CT Hybrid

Herb Chambers Lexus

CT Hybrid Performance

From the power of Lexus Hybrid Drive to the efficiency of regenerative braking, take a tour through the inner workings of a Lexus Hybrid.

Double-Wishbone Rear Suspension

A unique suspension design pairing an independent MacPherson strut front system with a fully independent double-wishbone rear suspension provides enhanced handling and exceptional ride comfort.

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Drive Mode Select

With four modes to choose from, CT drivers can transform their ride into a more efficient or exhilarating one with the simple turn of the switch [1].

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Yamaha® Lateral Performance Dampers

The lateral performance dampers on the CT were developed by Yamaha to provide additional rigidity to the chassis while also minimizing vibrations. The result: enhanced handling, a more linear steering feel and a ride that’s as comfortable as it is invigorating.

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Efficiency

In addition to a combined 42 mpg rating [2], the most of any luxury vehicle [3], the CT also earned SmartWay Elite status, designating it as one of the cleanest vehicles in America.

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Electronically Controlled Braking (ECB) with Regenerative Braking System

Pairing ingenuity with efficiency, regenerative braking converts braking energy into electricity to recharge the batteries, while the enhanced Electronically Controlled Braking (ECB) System is lighter, smaller and uses up to 29% less power than our previous regenerative braking system.

Herb Chambers 2012 Lexus CT Hybrid

Lexus CT Hybrid Interior

Interior Color Selector

The CT 200h is available in six interior color combinations.

Click here to choose yours.

HDD Navigation System

The available Global Positioning Satellite (GPS)-linked voice-activated HDD Navigation System [1] can help guide you to almost any destination in the contiguous United States.

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Bluetooth® Technology

Compatible Bluetooth mobile devices [2] can be paired with your Lexus, enabling hands-free phone and audio functionality. To confirm your device’s compatibility or view pairing instructions, please use the Lexus Mobile Link.

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Convenience

The CT doesn’t just make life more exciting, it makes it more convenient. Among the ways: a secondary storage compartment with built-in organizer, 60/40-split-folding rear seats and a standard Electronic Device Holder that can be adjusted to accommodate music players, smartphones and navigation devices.

NuLuxe Seating

The CT is the first Lexus to offer NuLuxe, a unique seating material that’s as attractive as it is innovative.

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Dash Panels

Make your interior even more distinctive with an available dash panel offered by your dealer in genuine matte brown ash burl, striated graphite metallic and genuine bamboo.

SiriusXM Satellite Services

With standard SiriusXM Satellite Radiocapability [1] [3], you’ll enjoy more than 130 channels of commercial-free programming. And with available services like Sports and Stocks [1] [3] and Nav Traffic™ [1] [3] and NavWeather™ [1] [3], you can stay updated on your favorite sports team, stocks and current conditions.

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Advanced Audio System

With speaker diaphragms constructed with sustainable bamboo charcoal-based resin and an available amplifier that uses 50% less power, the CT features one of the most innovative automotive audio systems available.

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Bio-Sourced Materials

In addition to utilizing a variety of ecological and bio-sourced materials, the CT was ingeniously designed to ultimately be at least 90% recyclable [4].

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Remote Touch

Included with the available Navigation System [1], the award-winning [5] Remote Touch [6] device is both intuitive and ergonomic, enabling you to adjust systems like the audio, climate and navigation with ease.

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Lexus Enform® with Safety Connect®

At the press of a button, a live response center agent can provide you with navigation and emergency assistance, 24 hours a day, seven days a week—without requiring a cell phone [7] [8] [9].

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Racing-inspired Interior

From the placement and angles of interior components to the bolstered low-set sport seats, the CT offers drivers an interior tailored for performance.

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Herb Chambers 2012 Lexus CT Hybrid

 

Herb Chambers Lexus
25 Providence Highway
Route 1, ”The Automile”
Sharon, MA 02067
888-213-7572

 

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2012 Honda Civic Hybrid

Article Courtesy of:  HybridCars.com

Herb Chambers Honda Civic Hybrid

The new 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid, using a lithium ion battery for the first time, increased its average EPA fuel economy rating from 41 mpg to 44 mpg.

The new model is rated at 44 in both city and highway driving. HybridCars.com, using hypermiling techniques, achieved the upper limit of what any driver should ever expect for fuel efficiency—a score of 68.7 mpg on a 10-mile course of mostly country lanes and some highway driving, with four or five stoplights along the way.

The improvement in fuel economy solidifies the Civic Hybrid’s second-place position for fuel economy among cars that don’t plug into the grid. The 44-mpg average moves the Civic slightly closer to the Prius’s 50-mpg level, and edges out the 42-mpg Lexus CT 200h. Honda makes the claim that the Civic Hybrid becomes the most fuel-efficient sedan—meaning it’s not a hatchback—on U.S. roads.

The all-new, ninth-generation 2012 Honda Civic arrives at dealers nationwide starting today. The MSRP for the Civic Hybrid begins at $24,050, and tops out at $26,750 for the package with leather, XM radio and leather.

Like other new Civic models—there are now five different versions, including the HF high fuel-efficiency non-hybrid model—the 2012 Civic Hybrid gains new features and sleeker styling.

Bigger Engine Means More Electric Power

In addition to the shift to lithium ion batteries, the 2012 Honda Civic uses a larger 1.5-liter 4-cylinder engine. “We changed the displacement from 1.3 to 1.5 liters,” said Yuuji Fujiki, chief engineer for Honda’a IMA hybrid system, in an exclusive interview with HybridCars.com. “But the fuel consumption rate is the same as current model.”

Fujiki explained that the larger displacement allows the engine to run at lower RPMs, which in turn allows for more frequent use of the electric motor and produces a quieter ride.

The Civic Hybrid’s lithium ion batteries are 30 percent smaller than the previous nickel-metal-hydride batteries—thereby granting more cargo space than the previous model.

Fujiki expained how every aspect of the hybrid system’s design was tweaked for optimal efficiency—such as the motor that increases output from 15 kW to 20 kW, uses more coils and widely spaced magnets, and employs plastic spacers to better manage temperature.

In addition to more frequent use of idle-stop, the engine valves are sometime deactivated to cut off fuel, even when the engine is turning. Honda refers to this as EV mode, although Fujiki admitted that it’s not a true all-electric condition. “It’s not electrical only,” he said. “The fuel system is stopped, but there is a mechanical drag.” Fujiki said that, at maximum output, this “no-fuel” mode could last up to 79 seconds.

All About Balance

The focus of Honda engineers was on total vehicle efficiency—evidenced by a remarkable 44-mpg average using a single-motor system that’s less expensive and complex than the Toyota two-motor approach. “We had to strike a balance between engine friction, motor output, and how to use the battery,” said Fujiki. “That balance is going to determine the overall efficiency.”

Herb Chambers Honda Civic Hybrid

Our interview with Fujiki helped us win the MPG challenge, which was established by Honda for journalists attending the media preview for the 2012 Civic earlier this month in Washington, DC. His advice—to accelerate in a steady manner to about 45 miles per hour and stay at this speed for as much of the 10-mile course as possible—was the key to achieving the winning 68.7 mpg score. Fujiki also advised not to use the neutral gear when coasting.

“Don’t use neutral, because when idling, fuel is injected,” he said. “Keep it in Drive, so the engine can judge that you’re decelerating, and get into fuel-cut mode and so you can take advantage of regenerative braking.”

Six-Percent Hybrid Take-Rate

The new Civic HF sedan, positioned between the Civic LX and Civic EX, is rated for 41 miles per gallon on the highway and 29 in the city. It is equipped with a 5-speed automatic transmission, exclusive 15-inch lightweight alloy wheels and aerodynamic enhancements under the body, and a rear spoiler. It does not use any hybrid drivetrain technology or idle-stop features. Driving in exactly in the same manner in the HF as we did in the Civic Hybrid, we achieved 46 mpg on the 10-mile course. The MSRP for the 5-Speed Automatic HF model begins at $19,455.

All Civic models, except for the Si, now feature an “econ” button allowing drivers to maximize efficiency on demand.

Herb Chambers Honda Civic Hybrid

Consumers will recognize the Civic’s raked windshield, wide stance and other styling features that do not dramatically depart from the current model.

The hybrid has a unique grille design with blue accents. Special five-spoke alloy wheels, a decklid spoiler and LED brake lights further differentiate the Civic Hybrid from other Civic models. The interior of the Civic Hybrid uses exclusive seat fabric and unique door panel covers. The hybrid offers a range of standard and available audio and navigation technologies.

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New Herb Chambers dealership will be his 50th

By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff

The Herb Chambers Companies are gearing up for the grand opening of their 50th dealership — Herb Chambers Hyundai of Westborough.

The grand opening celebration is set for Thursday.

Herb Chambers Hyundai of Westborough

Herb Chambers Hyundai of Westborough features 12 service bays and a two-lane drive-in service department where each customer will be greeted by a valet.

Amenities will include a café, a client lounge, and a business center with free Wi-Fi access as well as a “high-tech car wash,” the company said.

Herb Chambers Hyundai of Westborough State of the Art Service

Herb Chambers purchased his first car dealership in 1985 and has grown his company into the largest automobile dealership group in New England.

The company operates dealerships throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Chris Reidy can be reached at reidy@globe.com.

Hours and Directions

Herb Chambers Hyundai of Westborough

75 Otis Street at Route 9

Westborough, MA 01518

Sales: (877) 204-8442

Service: (508) 870-3100

Parts: (508) 870-3100

All-New 2011 Porsche Cayenne Hybrid Thrills Boston Porsche Enthusiasts

Herb Chambers Porsche of Boston, a prominent Boston Porsche dealer, is proud to showcase the 2011 Porsche Cayenne, a luxurious SUV that delightfully leads the next-generation Cayenne lineup as Porsche’s first production hybrid.

Since its arrival at Herb Chambers Porsche of Boston, the 2011 Cayenne Hybrid has amused Boston Porsche shoppers with its elegant exterior appearance. Its sporting character is evident from all angles, and its Porsche shape and design highlights are more distinct than ever before. The new headlights resemble those on other Porsche, with the high-beam lamps positioned closer to the centerline of the car and the low-beams toward the outer edge. Resemblance continues at the rear with quarter panels flowing to the back and accentuating the 2011 Cayenne Hybrid’s broad shoulders.

Inside, the Porsche Cayenne Hybrid displays a high center console that rises up at an incline to meet the dashboard center stack with high-quality fittings and a touch-screen infotainment interface to provide a cockpit-like environment up front.  Rear-seat comfort is much improved, as well, thanks to the extended wheelbase. The bench seat now slides fore-and-aft by 6.3 inches, and the backrest can be adjusted to three different angles, or up to 6 degrees.

Cayenne Hybrid’s occupants will enjoy the myriad of technological features this luxurious SUV offers. The new Cayenne comes with the latest generation of audio and communication systems found in the new Panamera, with Bose Surround Sound System and the Burmester High-End Surround Sound System. The standard Porsche Communication Management (PCM) provides Bluetooth telephone connectivity and the universal audio interface to connect an external audio source such as an iPod or a USB stick.

The 2011 Porsche Cayenne Hybrid for sale in Boston is powered by a highly sophisticated parallel full hybrid system. With a combined output of 380 horsepower from the supercharged V6 combustion engine and an electric motor, the Cayenne S Hybrid combines the performance of a V8 with the economy of a V6. Power is transmitted through the new eight-speed Tiptronic S automatic transmission.

Through continuous interaction between the 3.0-liter supercharged V6 and electric motor, the Cayenne Hybrid focuses on maximum efficiency. Depending on driving conditions, either drive unit can operate independently or together. The 47-horsepower (34 kW) electric motor is the ideal match for the 333-horsepower engine, which generates high torque at low engine speeds, with peak torque at 428 lb-ft at just 1,000 rpm.

Boston Porsche drivers can experience superior driving dynamics. The Cayenne Hybrid chassis is now 145 lbs lighter thanks in part to the use of aluminum, making its driving abilities significantly better. This SUV comes with steel suspension as standard equipment, but for the first time it can be combined with Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), providing active, infinite damper control on the front and rear axle.

Feel free to learn more about the impressive 2011 Porsche Cayenne Hybrid now for sale at our renowned Boston Porsche dealership, Herb Chambers Porsche of Boston.

About Herb Chambers Porsche of Boston

At Herb Chambers Porsche of Boston, our prestigious Boston Porsche dealership, we are committed to offer you the most exciting buying experience.

We have one of the largest selections of new and preowned Porsche on the eastern seaboard.  Our technical staff is unsurpassed in both knowledge and experience.

Feel free to call us at (888) 206-0261 for further details.

Contact:

Herb Chambers Porsche of Boston
1172 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02134
Phone: (888) 206-0261
http://www.herbchambers.com/ou/porsche-boston

TOP PLACES TO WORK | Herb Chambers

A personal note from Herb Chambers

Dear Valued customer,

Last, year at this time, I wrote to you about an important workplace distinction of which, I was very proud.

The Herb Chambers Companies were recognized as being amongst The Boston Globe’s Top 100 Places to Work for 2009. I am so proud to tell you, we have just been notified by the Boston Globe, that we have earned this distinction again for 2010.

This year we are ranked eighth in the Large Employer category. We were selected from more than 1,000 employers who participated in the survey. In fact, we are the only automotive dealer ever to have received this award and now we’ve earned it twice.

What I love so much about this is that it was the enthusiastic recognition of our employees’ that made this possible when they nominated our company as a Top 100 workplace.

There is no higher privilege in business than to have your employees emphatically state, “What a great place to work”! … And then, want to tell the whole world…amazing!

Thank you.

Herb Chambers

######################

The soul of a leader

Three top executives who all inspire loyalty among employees reveal their personal goals, leadership methods — and deepest fears

November 7, 2010

To be one of the Globe’s Top Places to Work, an organization’s employees must believe the people at the top know what they’re doing and care about providing a rewarding work experience. Anthony Consigli of Consigli Construction Co., Kathleen “Kit’’ Tunney of Associates for Human Services, and Herb Chambers of Herb Chambers Cos. all run organizations that ranked high in our survey for employee faith that the organization is in good hands. Top Places editor Michael Warshaw asked them what good leaders do.

• Globe: Anthony, what does it mean to you that your name is on the company?

Consigli: It might make the accountability that much greater. But I don’t think that it is the end all, be all. The reason the name is important is because I have three generations preceding me. If I screw up, I feel like I let somebody down.

• Globe: Herb, what about your name on your company?

Chambers: Well, I think it is different for me because I was the guy that started the company. I think that the pressure on you, Anthony, is five times greater than it is on me.

The company I have today is not what I envisioned 20, 25 years ago. At the time I sold my first company, I was 38 years old. I said, ‘What am I going to do now?’ and I went down to buy a car, and instead of buying the car, I bought the dealership.

Tunney: That is a great story.

Chambers: I realized how bad that particular dealership was. It just looked like the guy wanted to get out of it. I bought it right on the spot.

In the automobile business, you don’t necessarily have to be great. You have to be good. If you are good, you are great. Because most people say they hate car dealers.

We don’t build cars. They roll in, and we have to find a home for them. Our people are so important because the product is unimportant. If you like Honda, you’re going to buy a Honda whether you buy it from me or somebody else. The question becomes: Can we fulfill the need of delivering that car to the customer better than somebody else can?

I hold a training meeting once a month, and we have 300 or 400 people there for breakfast, our whole sales organization. Salespeople have got to be kind of cheered up all the time, because they have a tendency to fall down. Technicians are a kind of a different breed. They have a different level of motivation than salespeople do.

• Globe: Do you speak to each group differently?

Chambers: I do. When I am in the dealerships, I talk to the guys and ask, ‘How is everything with the shop? Anything we can do for you?’

All of our shops are now air conditioned. That came out of one of the comments I got from one of the guys.

• Globe: Kit, you came up differently, from being a staffer.

Tunney: I fell in love with the work that we do — with the staff that I was working with. And over time, wanted to make some changes there, took some courses to get a little bit of credentials in management. And happened to be at the right place at the right time.

• Globe: How did the experience of being a staff member affect your leadership?

Tunney: Having been there and done that makes me more approachable. I try to involve them in problem solving and decision making, because that was important to me when I felt like I didn’t have that voice.

I go out to a group home and say to the staff, ‘How’s it going?’ and I stop to listen to the answer. But I also provide formal opportunities for them to participate in focus groups and surveys to tell me how good of a job we are doing.

• Globe: Tell us something that surprised you that came out of that.

Tunney: Lack of natural light. We had staff in cubbies with no windows. When I decided to build our building, and we interviewed staff to ask them what they wanted, what I heard was: light. Now our building has windows right across the top. It is all one level. And there are suites set off at angles, so it doesn’t look like a motel.

• Globe: Anthony, what are you looking for when you tour your construction sites?

Consigli: I am looking for them to talk to me like I am a normal person, vs. a company president. I think there are some incredibly smart people out there that are building these buildings. They are equally important to this deal as I am. I don’t think they understand that sometimes.

• Globe: Kit, how important is the staff dedication to your mission?

Tunney: It is essential. You train, train, train. I don’t have a breakfast every month for 400 people, but it is the same thing. You’ve got to find out what their needs are, and you have to meet those needs. If I have a staff that didn’t do a good job because I didn’t provide the opportunity to gain the skills that they need, then I am the one at fault.

For instance, if you have an individual that lives in a group home, in a wheelchair, and then is maybe visually impaired, you need to provide training for that particular staff. How do you present a meal to someone that is visually impaired? How do you get them to a table if they are in a wheelchair? So you really have to be very thorough putting together orientation for staff. And follow up, follow up, follow up.

Chambers: In the automobile business, I am embarrassed to say how simple it is. The manufacturer provides you with information on all of the technicians, all the salespeople, the individual dealerships, how they all perform. We know where the problems are.

• Globe: Herb, you bought that dealership, it seems, almost on impulse.

Tunney: That is confidence, and I admire that.

Chambers: I don’t think I am smarter than anybody else. On the same token, I don’t think I am a lot dumber than anybody else. Believe me, I live on fear. I am always worried about everything all the time.

• Globe: Fear of what?

Chambers: Fear of failing in anything. I don’t want to fail.

• Globe: Kit, do you have fear?

Tunney: We’re federally and state funded. I am always wondering whether or not our contracts are going to get cut. And they do. Then I need to figure out, ‘How am I going to do more with less?’ I am always afraid it’s going to get cut so much that I am going to have to look at laying off staff.

• Globe: Anthony, is fear a motivator?

Consigli: Fear and regret. I stay up all night thinking about the things that could go wrong. Construction is a dangerous business. People die, and I am fearful of that. Quality problems, reputation — all those things.

I would say regret is equal. I hate thinking that I am going to regret decisions I made or didn’t make 10 years out, 30 years out.

• Globe: How do you avoid it?

Consigli: Thinking a lot about it. The greatest regret would be tanking a company that has been around for 105 years. I think that fear and hard work hold off that danger of making a decision that you’ll regret.

Do you screw up? Yeah. Everybody screws up. But you man up, you admit it, and you move on. If there are three things that I aspire to, they are humility, empathy, and accountability — just doing what you said you were going to do. I think that if I can do that more often than not, generally speaking, things will go well.

Tunney: If people have a healthy work ethic, they want to come to work and they want to be respected for what they do. And they want to do their best and they want to be rewarded for that. They want to have decent pay checks. And that is what we try to do.

Consigli: If we are the people behind our organizations who are responsible for that, we need to be doing the proper planning and working hard to make sure we’re putting things in place for that to happen for people.

Chambers: Everybody likes to believe they have good integrity. They all like to believe that they work hard. Who is going to set the pace of the organization? The pace of the organization is the speed of the leader, right? They look at you and say, ‘He really puts his heart and soul into everything that he does, or she does.’ So what are you doing to do? You’re going to put your heart and soul into it.

Consigli: The day that I stop doing that is the day I have to get out and let someone else take over. I have seen so many organizations where that doesn’t happen. If I get hit by a bus tomorrow, I want the organization to keep going just like nothing happened. That’s success.

© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company

The US Debut of the Smart ForTwo at Herb Chambers Companies Somerville !

The tiny Smart car, fighting sluggish US sales, is getting a jolt under the seats.

That is where the lithium-ion battery pack sits in the new electric version of the two-seater, located where its 8.7-gallon gas tank used to be.

The Smart ForTwo Electric Drive made its local debut yesterday at the Herb Chambers dealership in Somerville. Taking a cue from BMW, which leased its prototype electric Mini Cooper last year to 500 American drivers, Smart is bringing 250 test models of its electric car to the United States. They will be available through special lease programs, but most will be sold to corporate fleets.

Smart plans to build 1,500 before official production begins in 2012. The four-year lease is expected to cost $31,500, about $10,000 more than the most expensive gasoline-powered Smart, according to Derek Kaufman, one of the brand’s vice presidents.

“What we’re really trying to promote here is the electrification of transportation,’’ he said.

The Smart car, made by Daimler AG, was introduced in Europe in 1998, and brought to the US market two years ago, when gas prices hovered around $4. Nearly 25,000 of the tiny two-seaters were sold that year.

Now that fuel prices have ebbed, Smart has struggled to market a microcar with scant luggage space and average fuel economy. Smart’s US sales through June are down 61 percent over last year, with only 577 sold last month. Herb Chambers, who owns two Smart dealerships, says that in a “good month,’’ he sells up to 20 of the cars.

“If fuel were $4 a gallon, there wouldn’t be a car sitting here,’’ Chambers said in his Somerville showroom.

Other than green wheels, decals, and two circular gauges atop the dashboard to show battery life and available power, there’s no apparent difference from the regular Smart. Power cables stow inside the tailgate, and the motor and other electrical components hide under the cargo floor.

Despite adding roughly 300 pounds worth of batteries engineered by California-based Tesla Motors, the 8-foot, 10-inch ForTwo barely weighs a ton. Maximum speed tops out at 60 miles per hour and its range is 84 miles. A complete charge from a standard outlet takes about eight hours.

Later this year, a wave of electric cars is expected to go on sale.

Buyers of electric cars can qualify for up to $7,500 in federal tax credits.

Clifford Atiyeh can be reached at catiyeh@globe.com.

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