By Nick Aziz
Monday, Jul 17th, 2006 @ 10:12 am

Mercedes-Benz dealers urged Daimler Chrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche not to bring the Smart car to the United States, according to Doug Callahan, chairman of the Mercedes dealer council. Callahan told Auto News dealers are worried Smart will hurt the Mercedes-Benz image. Late last month, DaimlerChrysler announced plans to bring the Smart brand to the U.S. in 2008, despite the dealer concerns. Callahan hopes Mercedes will make sale of the ForTwo optional. It’s unclear what sort of agreement DaimlerChrysler will make with weary dealers.