Smart Car
 

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/27/au...rtner=homepage

Apparently Daimler is announcing that the Smart Car is coming to the U.S. While it's not a traditional hybrid, it's pretty green. What's everyone's take?

Re: Smart Car
 

I like the Smart ForTwo. Very cool. Just keep the price down.

Re: Smart Car
 

I fell in love with the Smart many years ago, before kids. However, what I would like to see is for Daimler to bring over the Mercedes A Class. Think Smart Car that the family can fit into....

Re: Smart Car
 

I'll chip in here....I have one in diesel form, a convertible, and it is great! We have a smart car forum at www.clubsmartcar.ca - new USA members are welcome!

I think the USA will only get the gasoline version until at least 2008, but I would not be surprised to see a gasoline hybrid come out too. There are several prototypes on the road already.

It will be the "next generation" smart car that comes to the USA, not the current one. It will be on sale starting April 2007.

A Class? Not available here, but Canada does get the B-Class, which is the A-Class with a bit more room (same platform). MBUSA feels the B-Class is too "downmarket" for them to sell. No such class warfare exists at MB Canada ;) so far as I know.

Re: Smart Car
 

Imagine the ruckus that would be created if Mercedes USA would allow a vehicle that fits a family of 5, gets 50mpg, and costs under 30,000. (Mercedes A Class, 160 diesel engine) Only an approximation, I know euro's don't convert exactly....

Re: Smart Car
 

My sister will be glad to know this, she saw a Smart somewhere and fell in love.

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That is just thecutest car! I'd buy one even if it isn't a hybrid.

Re: Smart Car
 

I just returned from a 375 kilometer bicycle ride across Missouri on the converted Katy railroad to trails system. I joined over 300 others for the five-day ride.
One special surprise was Derek from British Columbia who drove to the ride in his smartcar that he loves. His community has a couple of dozen and he has a special, strong A-frame bicycle rack on the back. Both of us were featured in the local Clinton, Missouri newspaper. On the way "down" from Canada his smartcar averaged 70 mpg and my Prius averaged 69 MPG coming from Colorado.
His biggest concern was servicing that must be done at a Mercedes dealer and they seem to "find" additional service work that they say 'needs to be done'. He is not sure.

He has a true story when his wife, a registered nurse, was late to work and decided to park in a small space and ninety degrees from the other vehicles. Since the smartcar at this angle takes less distance than other vehicles parked "normally", it seemed like a good idea. But she received a ticket. Derek took the ticket to the judge and court and the judge ruled in his favor saying there was no law against parking that way. Way to go--yea.:angel:

Re: Smart Car
 

Just Curious,

Is there a website similar to the fuel economy .gov that rates cars from all countries? I keep hearing about cleaner diesel cars in Europe and Argentina (bio-fuel) - I would like to see stats on cars from all counties.

Thanks,

Re: Smart Car
 

Greetings;
I saw the Smart Car in Germany years ago and was all over a parked one checking it out. Great little city cars, rarely seen on high speed lanes of the Autobahn though ;) I also had the honor/joy/experience of driving close to a 1000 miles on German roads in a Mercedes A Class - 3 adults (w/ substantial luggage ,1m2f) Little 5 spd that would putter about at 90-100 mph all day. It would go faster, but required a bit more input involving mild perspiration - kept it sub 3 digits to quiet passengers as well. If I remember correctly, we got close to 40 mpg over the course of the 2 weeks. Two full days of driving longer distances, the rest flitting about catching up on the Wurst, Kuchen, und Bier w/ friends and family over 3 generations. Don't get me started on the benefits:lightbulb of having well trained drivers in consistently logical traffic systems while running through 5 A class gears at every opportunity. There can be a lot of traffic in Germany, but people work together and take traffic circles at 40 mph as routine... AAAhhh
Anyway, caffeine fueled rambling mode off...

Re: Smart Car
 

My Dad was all set to buy a Smart and then the Mercedes dealer said it needed $400CAD worth of service every 8000km (5000mi) and $800 worth of service every 16,000km. It was the deal breaker!

Re: Smart Car
 

Well well I have heard this story before.....smart Canada/Mercedes-Benz Canada have revised their A and B Service pricing: A Services will cost $120 CAD including synthetic oil and filter, and B Services will cost $169 CAD including synthetic oil, filter and air filter, at ANY dealer in Canada as of two weeks ago.

For me, that is a reduction of about $15 on an A Service and a reduction of about $75 on a B Service. In other words, the estimates you got were a joke. Literally.

The smart determines what the actual service interval is going to be, and it is 10,500 km in my case. It depends upon how you drive the car. 8000 km is the default.

Re: Smart Car
 

The wait will a bit longer than I had hoped: 2008 is the "on sale" date, not 2007.


More information: http://www.daimlerchrysler.com/dccom...0-0-0-0-0.html

Re: Smart Car
 

Ummmm....wouldn't it be easier (and cheaper) to just slap a "Dodge" logo on it, rather than setting up a whole new network of dealers?

(I was going to say "Plymouth", but it appears that has gone the way of the dinosaur.)

Re: Smart Car
 

It won't be a new network; Penske will sell the smart at selected existing car dealers: Mercedes, Toyota, Dodge, etc, all under the smart brand.

Re: Smart Car
 

If D-C takes the SmartCar seriously, it will probably sell. This is *definately* a niche car, but you can be profitable with a niche car if you know what you're doing. GM would royally screw this up, of course. But D-C might have a shot.

I would think the that D-C would have to train their dealers HOW to sell this car. An 800 pound, 2-seat vehicle that's only 4' wide and 9' long certainly isn't for everyone. It probably isn't suitable as a primary vehicle either. But as a secondary car (ie commuter car), it's got the FE advantage and ludicrously easy to park.

Re: Smart Car
 

I saw one yesterday in CT with an Ontario license plate. They make my insight look big!

Re: Smart Car
 

Here's a link to VCA figures as refered to in the UK - most of the top figures are set by small european diesels.

http://www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk/index.asp

Re: Smart Car
 

Umm, I think we're crossing our terms. Daimler Chrysler have said it will be a new network:

I agree with you that these are likely to be existing dealerships, even if Smart insists on separate brick-and-mortar buildings, but they won't be sold through the Mercedes or Dodge networks. That means a whole new organization. If they just slapped a Dodge logo on it, they'd avoid that rigamarole.

Re: Smart Car
 

If my smart weighed 800 lbs, I'd be winning drag races against VW GTIs. The truth is they typically weigh 730-740 kg, or 1620-1640 lbs. Also, the car is 5' wide, excluding mirrors.

A good sales model for Penske to follow would be Three Point Motors in Victoria BC Canada.

There, Mercedes-Benz and smart are on the same lot, but smart has a separate and funkier showroom. Most CDN M-B dealers have the smarts off in a dark corner somewhere, in the Benz showroom. Amazing really, that some of the dealers manage to sell any cars.....and yet sales are up 14-20% over last year, in recent months.....

Re: Smart Car
 

Here in NYC, they'll figure out a way to make them cost $40,000. They'll be hip, exclusive cars, that you custom design from a desk in the corner of the MB showroom. I can see it now, 20in rims, brembo brakes, liquid metal paint..etc.:confused:

Re: Smart Car
 

I've had two BMW Isetta 300s (smaller than a Smart) that I used as my primary cars for years. I hope to be one of the first to own the new version Smart when they arrive in the USA, even though they're a little larger than what I was used to. Hehe.

BMW Isetta

There is no pleasure greater than pulling head-on into the curb to park between two parallel-parked cars.

Re: Smart Car
 

One of the Boulder Import Dealers has a couple of Smarts on the lot, and I seen one occasionally around town.

When I was in Germany last fall I saw lots of Smarts, and yes they do park them perpendicular to the road and can literally park three in the space of one typical German sedan. There may be parking meter issues if Smarties get creative.:D

Re: Smart Car
 

I first saw one of these in Germany several years ago- and now, after all this time, they're finally arriving in the US. When it comes to cars, the US certainly can't be termed cutting edge, can we? Just another reminder of that, if we needed one.

I think they're really cute- I even toyed a bit with the idea of getting one. But there's no way I would need two cars... I'm just being mentally self-indulgent. Sigh. Maybe I'll talk a friend into getting one and then see if they'll let me drive it a little. :) hee hee.

Re: Smart Car
 

The smart car definitely has its merits, and as a niche vehicle it will satisfy various people for different reasons. All you have to do is look up smart.com to see the benefits of a micro fuel-sipping vehicle. However, I suggest that it should not be considered too lightly for an impulsive or inexperienced buying decision. Don't get swept up by the hype; you might disregard those things you value most in a car that simply cannot be met by the diminutive smart.

I'll illustrate, by way of something different, how a fashionable thing can appear revolutionary and better than it is: Hatchbacks are gaining popularity and seem to be the thing to get. Why not? Lots of storage by volume and a big, wide opening that you can access. But have you taken stock of the benefits of a traditional sedan's trunk? Indeed, I suspect that a lot of new car shoppers have forgotten... It has a longer floor space, so you're not stacking items up. It has privacy and security because of its solid cover. It is insulated from the cabin, so you don't need to heat or cool the cargo volume. The rear windscreen is simplified, without added wipers that can fail, nor cost you a bundle to replace an entire assembly for merely a single broken sub-component. And finally, trunks are less likely to develop leaks.

Re: Smart Car
 

I'd go for the sedan, but from what the local dealer says, the smaller version is all that US will get as far as he knows. I just need enough rear space for my 110# mutt and tacklebox.

Re: Smart Car
 

My father got one of those Smart Cars. He gets almost as much MPG from his Smart Car as I get from my Camry Hybrid. I would have expected better. I had sports cars 30 years ago that got better mileage. Of course, he cannot use it for any long rides out-of-town, because my mother won't ride in that thing for more than a few minutes. The wheelbase is very short. The ride is stiff. I wouldn't want to ride in it very far, either. So, it might never get a chance to "warm up".

There is a story about developing the Smart Car: Some executives at Mercedes decided they wanted something they could market at about a $15,000 price point. They asked their engineering people what they could produce for that market. Knowing the usual prices of Mercedes cars, some engineer made a smart-alec remark that they could sell "about a third of a car". So, the managers said, "Ok, build us a third of a car."

Re: Smart Car
 

LMAO!

Bob Wilson

Re: Smart Car
 

Funny.. I drove across the country in a smart.

Re: Smart Car
 

My sister in Munich has had one for a few years and she loves it.

One thing to be aware of. I drive around Scottsdale and see them a lot. Twice I've seen different SUVs nearly change lanes right into the side of a smart car. The smart seems to fit well inside the blind spots of mid-sized or larger SUVs & trucks. The smart's weak horn doesn't help in those situations.

Re: Smart Car
 

I've had my smart for 13 months now, and have put 15K miles on it. It is a blast to drive... not just around town, but on long freeway trips, as well. i find it very comfortable and a pleasure to drive at all speeds and over distance. My ONLY disappointment with the smart is my gas mileage – 38 to 40 MPG. Otherwise, it is very, very satisfying and I'd easily recommend the car to others, bearing in mind the so-so gas mileage. For me, the positive aspects... and immense fun... far outweigh any negatives.

Re: Smart Car
 

Mine is great, it is a cdi and has a lifetime average over 76,000 miles of 59.7 MPG US, on wide tires and wheels. The soft top is often wide open, which is obviously not good for FE.

Re: Smart Car
 

I've seen more of these smart cars on the streets lately. Personally, I wouldn't feel comfortable riding in one long-term, just too small for me. At some point I just don't feel safe anymore. I guess for city driving it might be safer, but when you're sharing the road with the likes of Hummers, it makes safety a concern.

Re: Smart Car
 

It look smart. I like feature of Smart car.
Smart car name suited of that car.

Re: Smart Car
 

Smart cars are great to drive, there are number of peoples who buy this sort of cars. This cars are not gather more space on the road and you can drive it smoothly in traffic as well. This cars are looks more stylish and cool.