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Future Vehicles SmartCar smart cars?
72 messages, Last post on Aug 07, 2008 at 8:30 AM
You are in the Future Vehicles Forum. Your Host is kirstie_h
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Replying to: jim1462 (Jun 27, 2006 11:58 am) |
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Replying to: deaner14 (Sep 29, 2005 11:44 am) The Smart substantially exceed its Canadian sales targets, by almost four times!  The 2007 Smart Fortwo will meet the U.S. Department of Transportation and Environmental Protection Agency requirements and be compliant for the world's largest car market, the United States. Within the next few weeks, DaimlerChrysler's supervisory board will establish when to present the Smart to the United States. They are debating whether to use their dealer network or a third party to distribute the Smart in the US. A successor to the Smart Fortwo will be on sale in Europe in less than 8 months and DaimlerChrysler will be selling the Smart car in the United States! The 2007 Fortwo will be extended by 7 inches and weight will increase slightly. We're told this was done for U.S. requirements and compliance reasons. The new Smart will be embracing the Brabus appearance. The Smart's headlights will be larger and more aerodynamic, tail lights will be restructured, improved horse power, enhanced gas mileage, superior safety features, additional color alternatives and added standard and optional equipment will be available. The Smarts windshield angle will be modified for new protection of pedestrians standards. Remember, all available Smart cars are gray market vehicles and are not protected under the manufacturer's warranty. link title |
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Replying to: snakeweasel (Jun 26, 2006 10:56 am) The Smart ForTwo was offered in very limited numbers by a handful of independent dealers scattered through out the country. Unlike an automobile intended for sale in the US, the available Smart cars are gray market vehicles and are not protected under the manufacturer's warranty. The currently available Smart cars were acquired directly from Europe and modified to U.S. standards, which was required by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency. Due to its limited availability, expense of conversion, shipping, and assorted duties, taxes, and other costs involved the Smart Car into the US, the US-modified Smart ForTwo was priced accordingly. The definition of “Gray Market Cars” is cars that have been imported into the U.S. but not through authorized dealers. They may not meet American safety and emission standards. These cars may have significantly lower values than cars imported through normal channels.  http://www.smartcarofamerica.com/ In Canada, the Smart Fortwo; has already outsold the other niche micro-mini, the Volkswagen Beetle and BMW Canada's Mini Cooper. The Smart was not marketed in Canada by any conventional automotive method. The massive media exposure generated by the public; gave much coverage and was helpful for smarts success there. Canada did not have enough vehicles to make a proper launch. Dealers had to tell prospective customers they would have an 8 month wait, even with a large deposit. Marketing a new car by this method is not beneficial. However in the case of the Smart it only fueled the fire. We believe the Fortwo will see enormous and steady growth in the USA and a following like the Mini Cooper. In its fifth year in the United States, the Mini Cooper is still setting annual records with 40,000 sales last year. http://smartcarofcanada.com/ |
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Thanks for the info. U.S. Market? Fingers crossed! M |
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| Roger Penske(UnitedAutoGroup)will set up 30 to 50 dealers to begin selling the second generation Smart in the U.S. in 1st Qt.2008. About 20,000 units initialy. | |
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Well it is official now: http://emercedesbenz.com/Jun06/28_Its_Official_The_Smart_Car_Is_Coming_To_The_US- .html M |
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| I am hearing scuttlebutt that the smart would have limited distribution. Somewhere I have heard between 30 and 50 dealers and on the news yesterday I hear that it would only be offered in a dozen metropolitan areas. Anyone hear anything on that? | |
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I love the idea of the Smart ForTwo coming to the USA, infact I'm already planning for purchasing one. I've done some "Build-Your-Own" experiments on some of the european Smart Websites and the pricing appears to vary a great deal depending upon which country you are in. Basically, I was able to configure a Smart ForTwo convertible Gas fueled car for 11835.00 euro's which translated today to be about 15134.00 in us dollars. I'd pay that for the car I configured! In the USA I think the success or failure will hinge on packaging and price, we here in the US of A won't pay much more than $15,000.00 for a car this small, no matter who designed or built it. IMO Daimler/Chrysler needs to be sure that a nicely equipped hard top (great stereo, cruise control, special roof, alloy wheels, front, side, and head airbags, ESP and AntiLock Brakes, durable high quality interior fog lights, and a good warranty 5/50 or more) Smart sells for no more than about 14500 and the convertible version of the same car needs to hit right around 15000. They need to keep the packaging simple and easy to understand and they need to make sure thay don't do silly combinations of equipment. for instance on the new Jetta you have to get all kinds of extra equipment in order to get the sunroof that's the kind of thing that infuriates a shopper especially if the packages don't make any sense. Finally, IMO, DCX needs to keep replacement parts and accessories priced low, not like typical prices charged for european brands in the US. Here's a picture of the 2007 Smart ForTwo (the model they will likely bring to the USA) 
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Replying to: stshepard (Jul 03, 2006 10:44 am)
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Replying to: snakeweasel (Jul 03, 2006 11:08 am)
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