Smart finally coming to the USA

  • Thread starter Thread starter jimihemmy
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That was the video I was attempting to find, the one in German! Thanx for not letting me have a complex overnight!
 
Well, even if the drive is boring...and the car is tiny...and your manhood is threatened by driving it--I say it would still be a great little car. I wouldn't even bother with performance mods, just put in a kick ass stereo bought with the $100's I'd save in gas bills, and probably insurance. I would own one, it would be a great daily driver that would in the end save you TONS of money in gas.
 
Well, what percentage would you give Smart (out of 100% of course) that they do well within three years? And can you imagine seeing these Smarts pick up around major cities (like my underrated Houston)? I recently seen a commercial about the return of the Volkswagen Rabbit. The commercial had all these new VW Rabbits crowding these city streets in different areas. Imagine Smarts swarming a street near you.

Now let me answer my own previous question. A key factor is if gas prices continue to get higher and if E80 is better made available for consumers in America and if Smart's able to take advantage of E80, I'll set the percentage at an average score. I'll give Smart 65% chance they'll succeed in America within three years or less.
 
I'll give them a healthy 75%--and this is based on gas prices eclipsing $4.00 per gallon by the end of next year.

Specs:
Powered by an 800cc, 3-cylinder turbo-diesel engine mounted under the rear package tray, it makes just over 50 horsepower and 74 lb.-ft. of torque. Power gets to the rear wheels by way of the choppy 6-speed transmission. Either way the shifts are slow and definitive but fun none-the-less. Our friends at M-B insist that it will easily get 60 miles per Imperial gallon of diesel fuel. That’s about 48 mpg US.
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Taken from: http://theautochannel.com/news/2005/05/31/109354.html

Eh, wait, I didn't see the diesel part...this has to be for the European model...the American model hopefully will use a normal petrol engine?
 
Actually, last I heard, the 800cc turbo gas version made around 85, and 100hp in Brabus form.

I do hope that plans for reviving the Roadster under a different brand name pushes through. Even more exciting are rumors that it'll actually get a manual gearbox.

RE: Stereo, good idea... but where would you put it? When I saw one of these up close, I thought it was a pretty good replacement for a scooter, but not really an alternative to a real car.

I give it a good chance for surviving if they pare down the price, precisely because it is a more practical and weather-proof alternative to a scooter.
 
Most of the arguements for it's size versus practicality puts these cars into greater use in cities such as New York, Chicago, Miami, and Los Angeles where crowded streets are the norm. A small car such as this that gets no less than 40 MPG and as much as 60 MPG on the highway would be a popular choise if travel is made, but isn't completely necessary as it is in smaller cities or more rural areas.

Chances of success? I'd peg it around 60%, as it is largely going to depend on where you are and what you plan to do if you are to buy a car such as this. For most folks, the idea of 40-60 MPG is interesting, but I think when they see how small the car is, I think they would rather take the loss of a few MPG and go for a car like the Honda Fit, Nissan Versa, etc.
 
I wouldnt care less if smart dropped of the face of the planet tomorrow.

The most id pay for a coke can on wheels is 10,000k USD.
 
Or go for a little less weather protection and buy a scooter. :lol: By the way, do you get BMW's C1 over there? A friend just got one last year, and boy, is it... errh... well... it's kinda cool. A seatbelt, roll-cage and a roof over your head...



Now stick two of those together, and you've got a BMW rival for the Smart Fortwo! :lol:

But then, I'd rather see BMW bring this baby back:

isettas.jpg


And it got 60mpg nearly fifty years ago... Since they're so into retro, and the Mini has been a huge success for them, they could work one something like it with a motorbike engine (which they make) and a lightweight chassis... market it as the Mini Isetta or something...
 
They would be a great little city car... if they were asking at least $5K less for it, that is. The base Smart model is the same price as a very well equipped Fit, Versa, Yaris, Accent or Aveo, and it goes up quite fast with each option. That's just insane.

There's no way you'll compensate for that in gas bills, unless you drive 200K miles every year, and our cities parking space isn't as cramped as it is in Japan yet, the size makes it more impractical than anything.

People will buy it because it's a cute little car, even if that doesn't make sense. Just look at the number of New Beetles on our roads.
 
YSSMAN
A nicely equipped ForTwo "passion" coupe should go for just over $18,000 USD when nicely equipped with things such as heated seats, special paint, etc.
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And for around $2500 extra I'd get a Civic Si instead. I can't see any practicality in the thing besides running across town to get few bags of groceries or other short errands. No storage space at all if you bring a friend.

I can imagine seeing somebody pull onto the interstate in one of these just to get ran over by a semi when they couldn't get up to speed fast enough. Maybe they should come with a bottle of NAWS? :lol:

On second thought, I bet that would make them sell over here to teens in the "tuner scene". :nervous:
 
Poverty
A1 doesnt exist, yet. :sly:
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My bad, I meant the A2.

You remember it don't you? Awesome mileage, so boring to drive it hurt, and it was even worse when you'd seen it first. Priced itself out of the economy market with it's high tech construction.
 
Well for me, the thing is that they could send cars like the VW Fox 1.4 TDI to the US that gets even better gas mileage than the smart, but given how our stupid laws pretty much illegalize diesel for the most part, fat chance thats going to happen.
 
The US Goverment will have to put some measures in place to clean up the diesel here...the diesel in Europe is about 300-400 times cleaner isn't it? Plus, cleaner diesel actually puts out a better powerband...at least I think it does.
 
Well, problem one is that we get pretty crappy diesel fuel to begin with. But that is changing, so thats the end of problem one. Secondly, emissions standards in the US is too tight for most European diesels, so you got that one mixed up.

...But diesel popularity is on the rise. Volkswagen saw an 80% rise in diesel sales last year, thus they are going to stockpile 2006 models to overcome the 2007 transition period. GM has vowed to bring three new diesel engines to the US by 2010, an I4 presumably for the Saturn Astra, a V6 for the new Zeta models, and a V8 presumably for either the Zetas or the trucks.
 
RE: Those turds are cult cars... (the Isetta, I mean) ...doesn't matter that they weren't particularly fast or good-handling. They were cute, nimble and efficient. People loved them.

Another one I wouldn't mind seeing resurrected:



Now that's a gonzo car.
 
Well, I was at the bus stop a few days ago and an original mini pulled up behind a Ford Focus at the stoplight. The windshield of the mini was barely the height of the trunk lid of the focus. Then a minute later, a Smart pulls up literally next to the mini at the red light.

All I could say to myself was wow, and I thought the Mini was small.
 
RE: Yup... Amazing how little space they were able to squeeze into a new car.
 
Crash852
Well, I was at the bus stop a few days ago and an original mini pulled up behind a Ford Focus at the stoplight. The windshield of the mini was barely the height of the trunk lid of the focus. Then a minute later, a Smart pulls up literally next to the mini at the red light.

All I could say to myself was wow, and I thought the Mini was small.
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Damn, I wish you had a cellphone camera then. I'd love to see the pic of the Mini and the Smart + the Focus next to each other.
 
It is pretty amazing when you see one in parking lot
it only takes about half of the space
Smart cars sell very well in my city
I can easily spot few of them every single day
most smart owners are rich I guess
they just get one as a second car to get around easier
 
Smarts are being sold in Canada? Couldn't you just fly up there, buy one, and drive it back to the USA? Or would the US Goverment have a freaking cow like they always do about everything?
 
TwinTurboJay
They're selling like crazy here in Canada, they will do very well in the US, esp in urban areas !
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o ya.....hes right, here in canada those cars are everywhere! not 1 day u can see one rolling on the streets
 
JCE3000GT
Smarts are being sold in Canada? Couldn't you just fly up there, buy one, and drive it back to the USA? Or would the US Goverment have a freaking cow like they always do about everything?
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Theoretically, yes given that they are allready being sold in California. But importing one from Canada requires you to adjust a few things (according to the NHSTA), and there are some other fees associated with bringing the car to the US as well.
 
YSSMAN
Theoretically, yes given that they are allready being sold in California. But importing one from Canada requires you to adjust a few things (according to the NHSTA), and there are some other fees associated with bringing the car to the US as well.
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Importing one (from Canada or anywhere else) would require refitting the vehicle to meet US Federal Emissions Standards. I believe there is currently only 1 company (Zap!) that sells the smart in the US and I have to assume they will need to apply to UAG to continue selling them since UAG now owns the rights to sell the car here.
 

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