Smart car doesn't look too clever

Thisislondon.co.uk ^ | 2/16/05 | add925

[add925]

IT'S Smart but it's certainly not clever, and it has cost Daimler-Chrysler more than e2bn (£1.4bn) since its launch. Now the question is: how much longer will the carmaker continue to underwrite the underperforming Smart car?

Heralded as the future of urban personal transport when it was launched in 1998, the car was environmentally friendly, ergonomically appealing and space efficient.

But DaimlerChrysler's unique minicar has been revealed in the German media as a costly failure with 2004 losses of about e600m, making the overall dent in its creator's pocket up to e2bn.

[Charles Martel]

Where I work, some Lefty woman drives a similar car. She has her own parking spot next to an outlet. Yep, she plugs it in and charges it up all day.

Unplug it and fill the outlet with a non-conducting epoxy, or epoxy two of those plastic child-proofing outlet cover/insert thingies in place. Then observe to see if she moves to a different space near an outlet. Repeat as necessary. :-)

[annalex]

I owned one of these. The color was cream.

[Liz]

Here ya go.....

Chairman Dean and his entourage arrive at the DNC.

[monday]

"think of all the money and space you will save never having a date"

Yep, and since anyone who drives one of these will never find anyone to marry them, they save all kinds of money on not having to raise kids and put them through college!

[katana]

Ford has a compact model in Europe and elsewhere which I honestly think some younger Americans would buy, the Ka. It sells in the UK for the equivalent of around $ 12,000 and is one helluva lot better looking than this Mercedes go kart.

[Dashing Dasher]

Compare and contrast - if you will....

[monday]

"The more I look at the roadster the more I think they have something here. Looks like a Honda civic but if you scroll through all the body options the kids would love it."

They should have released the roadster first. It probably would have sold. Releasing the fortwo first was a marketing disaster. Only nerds and idiots would want such an ugly car.

[elephantlips]

Small? "...as he turned the handle to get into the car, he rearranged the seating." (Forgive ancient joke)

[add925]

Interesting pic....looks to be Germany...the "Chef" in the background is all over the place.

Think he advertises in front of delicatessens.

[monday]

"But the curb weight is only 1,700 pounds. The Lotus Elise is a world-class sports car at that weight with only 50% more horsepower."

Rather have a 80 hp 350 lb motorcycle.

[Teacher317]

Here's my smaller, easy-to-park, fuel efficient, modest storage space vehicle...

... but mine has far better acceleration, far better deceleration, and the potential for a (far more attractive!) passenger.

[CaptRon]

I see these all the time (Daimler has an office near mine). Frankly, I'd be scared to drive one. The appear to be much taller than they are wide.

[ctdonath2]

Relatively expensive, yes. They are built for a particular market: young/yuppie types who live in extremely densely populated areas. Sure it costs the same as a nice normal car - but you simply can't fit a normal car into the parking spaces this thing is designed for. It was created for European cities, not American freeways.

[Teacher317]

beat me by 11 seconds!!!

but mine is about 530 lbs.

[annalex]

The car itself is a 60's Zaporozhets made in the USSR, in what now is Ukraine. I have no idea where the picture was taken.

The thing would sit four, despite the fact that I could reach things lying on top of the rear seat back rest from the driver's seat.

[Altamira]

I've seen them here, but only once, in New Orleans in 2001. They may be appropriate for city streets, but I don't think I'd want to trust my life to one on the freeway.

I've seen a lot of these in Europe, though...they're so small that they can park perpendicular to the curb and only stick out into the street as much as a regular car would if parked parallel.

[Uncle Fud]

A loaded one is gonna sell for >$20,000.

Holy cow, that's much worse than I had suspected up-thread. I'd buy one but only if it's closer to a Segway than to a Camry in price.

The amount of amortization they are trying to cover on each unit must be fearsome.

[NHResident]

I don't see it as being a big success here.

It's already a proven flop in Europe - that was the point of the original article.
Using the UK pricing for a basic model the price ranges from $13K to $22K - a bit pricey for a limited use vehicle.
I find it hard to believe it can meet the minimal crash-test and protection standards in the US.

[MississippiMan]

Yeah, I realize it's built for a certain market, CT. I also think it's much tougher for an auto to be successful without the U.S. market; not impossible, of course, but certainly tougher. And I think they're gonna hit major resistance over here at the current price point. I think the historically common-sense perspective of the American people and how they value things will come into play bigtime. I believe when people look at it and see how little is there, and how cheap it must be to manufacture the thing, there's gonna be a disconnect. It's why software makers send retailers big, substantive looking boxes in which to sell a CD.

MM