Posted on 12/04/2007 1:36:45 PM PST by Red Badger
German car maker Daimler said Tuesday that next month's launch of its tiny Smart car in the United States will unleash such stiff demand the company will have trouble meeting it.
We will not be able to meet demand thus far" for 2008, Daimler chairman Dieter Zetsche said here at a news briefing.
More than 30,000 US customers have put down 99-dollar deposits to reserve one of the fuel-saving, two-seat Smart Fortwo, which will begin arriving in the massive US market in January, he said.
"Down payments are going far beyond the production capacity we have," the chairman said, without providing a sales forecast for the US market.
Many analysts question the ability of the super-small Smart, which measures a mere 2.5 meters (eight feet) in length, to succeed in the country of hulking gasoline-guzzling vehicles.
"Times have changed," Zetsche said, pointing to growing concerns of American consumers about global warming.
The Smart Fortwo will be marketed via 70 dealerships in the leading US cities, the company said.
In its most basic version, the micro car will sell for 11,590 dollars, excluding tax. The company said that a Smart equipped with all the options was expected to cost some 20,000 dollars, including tax.
"We are not looking for customers looking for the cheapest vehicle," Zetsche said.
Daimler clearly signaled it was aiming to emulate Apple's success with electronics gadgets in the US market.
"Like owning an Apple i-Mac, i-Pod or i-Phone, Smart documents the open-minded attitude of the 'thought leaders,' who choose innovative solutions as an existential part of their everyday lives," the company said in a press brochure.
Someone posted a safety report on a the Chinese Chery (sp?)
not too long ago. The car did horribly. I think it was pretty destroyed testing it at only 40 mph.
That should pull nicely behind my Winnebago Aspect. Think I’l get one!
Maybe fat people can sue like at disneyland or airplanes that they are to small for them.
The early LT1s only have one serious problem I’m aware of. About 80k to 100k miles the waterpump goes and it kills the opti spark distributor. They’re mounted on the same spindle.
92-96 are the same basic car as 84-91, so no big issues.
Yeah they will need a spatula and an sand blaster to get you out of that thing.
Hmmm...
I’m a motorcyclist, but I’ll have to comment on this
According to NTSB statistics
4810 Motorcycle deaths in 2006
0.34% of all mile driven on the road are motorcyclists
>10% all fatalities are motorcyclist
about 30:1 odds ratio for death per miles driven
on motorcycle vs passenger car
No way the Smart car is going to be worse than that
excess mortality statistic...
http://www.ntsb.gov/events/2007/motorcycle/motorcycle_safety_%20introduction.pdf
Thought you might like to know about this thread...
One of the reasons I’m considering having it as a second car. I can’t work on anything and I don’t want to be stranded by a breakdown trying to get to work. Do you know of any design flaws with the L98 engines?
“Do you know of any design flaws with the L98 engines?”
I’m not a mechanic. I’ve kind of learned on the fly. The L98 is a strong motor, but so is the LT1. They’ll easily go 200k if you take care of them.
The advice of people who know these cars is, buy the newest, nicest you can afford.
I bought mine for $7k a year ago, and dumped $3k into it getting it right. I’d be lucky to sell it for $8k now.
But it’s a car, and if you buy a 91, it’s a 16 year old car. It will have issues.
Freep mail me and I’ll give you a site to check out. A forum for corvette owners, lots of info.
In short:
- Buy the newest nicest, (every year Chevy improved them).
- Better to buy from a private seller who is first, second, or even third owner, just a way to track the car’s life.
- Have it inspected by a knowledgable Corvette person.
- Buy a car that was driven. You don’t want one that sat, or one that was beaten.
- In general cosmetics cost more to fix than mechanicals. Bad tires, or a broken antenna are trivial compared to a torn seat.
Maybe. But I’m terrified of those things.
Get a Miata. It is small, OK on gas, doesn’t go fast but you don’t have to slow for corners.
And you sit so low, you can check other folks exhaust systems while you drive...
actually it only moves to 60.
The risk of riding in one of these things is not worth it.
The MPG is not high enough, the price tag is too high, and other than low speed city driving, you are driving in what will be your coffin if you hit anything.
Yes. A friend of mine owned one and let me drive it.
bump for later speed bump reading.
I think we're getting different estimates. They used to be 80 diesel, but the newer models have slightly bigger engines, taking them down to 70.
The risk of riding in one of these things is not worth it.
It gets four stars (out of five) in safety from ADAC, the same as the larger Kia Rio and the Mazda 6 four-door sedan, and a whole lot better than the much larger Hyundai Accent. Scores worse than the mini though, which gets the highest rating.
Don't let size fool you.
Delivery services thrive on them.
It isn't exactly an Autobahn burner, but I felt comfortable driving it at speed on the Autobahn, about 80 mph. That's a bit slower than what I was used to, but it wasn't as irritating as I thought it would be.
Funny you say that. If you get in a front-end collision, the impact energy will actually travel around the driver's compartment and damage the rear end of the car. The tires are also designed as part of the energy absorption system. Yes, it's designed that well.
LOL!!! That would be a cool tie-in given the popularity of the Wii (Nintendo makes 1.8 million a month and still can't meet the demand).
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