Comments on: Mercedes dealers oppose Smart in America

By: Kyle

Kyle — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 16:00:23 +0000

I agree with the first post
mercedes in the us is trying to be über elite, and it’s quite annoying. Mini and bmw are working together nicely. Mercedes needs to get a better image for itself in the united states and except it.

By: Dave

Dave — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 18:28:07 +0000

There is WAY more to the MB dealer objection than just the car. Daimler Chrysler essentially sold the distribution rights to a major dealer group without any discussion with the dealer body. If you are a dealer in a market that has a dealership owned by UAG, you stand zero chance of obtaining the franchise rights for your area. I would be a little upset if a Smart store opened up across the street from my MB store, and there was nothing I could do about it!!

By: Chris RUssell

Chris RUssell — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 15:38:11 +0000

I was just wondering if that is a 1971-74 buick riviera behind the smart car in the picture

By: Lucas

Lucas — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 09:16:07 +0000

I LOVE this car does it come with a cool color matching body bag and toe tag set in the glove box. Forget being hit by a car or truck you’ll be on a slab just from nailing a tree rat. I always wanted a adult sized Power Wheel AWESOME! lol

By: Craig

Craig — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 08:02:52 +0000

Wonderful. Before any of us get to choose for OURSELVES, the dealer lobby weighs in to assure top management that no one wants to buy these vehicles.

By: Fatstrat

Fatstrat — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 06:24:30 +0000

To even infer that this car approaches the safety of any normal automobile is felonious at best. Most of us saw the crash test with the S-Class. What a joke. So what if there was no cabin intrusion, that thing fricken bounced around like a golf ball hitting concrete. Secondary and subsequent impacts with other traffic ande roadside objects will kill the occupants for sure.
I don’t think the comparison of Mini/BMW is a good one. While the mini is still a very small car it does not approach the smurf like proportions of this thing. BMW dealers here in the states had to build dedicated areas and in many cases seperate showrooms for the Mini thus minimizing the comingling of BMW and the ‘lowly’ Mini buyer.

By: Blog From the Loft » Blog Archive » MB dealers don’t want to sell Smart Cars

Tue, 18 Jul 2006 04:05:49 +0000

[...] source: leftlanenews. [...]

By: The Stig

The Stig — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 02:47:09 +0000

I guess they don’t think it’s particularly smart.

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 22:04:09 +0000

The Smart ForFour is discontinued, but it was not really a Smart anyway, but a re-badged Mitsubishi. The Roadster has been sold to another company. As far as Smart and Mercedes working together, it works fine here in Canada. I have a Smart, and the Mercedes dealer has a separate showroom for the Smart customers. I also have a MINI, and that has worked well for BMW, as their dealers also have separate MINI showrooms. As British_Rover says, I expect many MINI buyers will move up to a BMW if they feel the need for a larger car. My BMW dealer is first class, and I would not hgesitate to buy a BMW from him.

By: Alex

Alex — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 21:28:27 +0000

Why can’t automakers make something fuel efficient and good looking? Why the SMART roadster/coupe was sold to a random Chinese manufacturer- we will never know.

By: Jonathan Fingas

Jonathan Fingas — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 20:38:30 +0000

VDub:

Because there already is an A-Class. It’s just not sold in North America.

By: VDub

VDub — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 19:51:22 +0000

why dont they just rebadge the smart as a MB A-class?

By: Jae

Jae — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 18:38:46 +0000

So afraid of one getting hit by a:
Hummer,
Excursion,
Escalade,
Yukon
Any boat vehicle made in last 5 years.

The car has no crumple zone. The energy of an impact is going into the saftey cel 100%. Nimbleness won’t save you when your rear ended.

Personally, if I were about to spend 100K+ on a S-class I don’t want to be on the same lot with someone buying a 15K or less car. Your buying prestige with a Merc. It would suck to have the dealership remove the veil of prestige from the car. Once you do that all you have left is just a car.

By: Jonathan Fingas

Jonathan Fingas — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 18:25:32 +0000

Could we have a little less fear-mongering here, please?

THE SMART IS SAFE. The safety cell keeps the cabin intact better than most larger compact cars do. At least in Canada, it also has front and side-impact airbags standard. And let’s not forget that it excels at the most important aspect of surviving a crash: not getting into one in the first place. It’s small and relatively nimble (ESP is also standard in Canada).

By: joeb

joeb — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 18:07:33 +0000

and the merger with Chrysler didn’t hurt Mercedes-Benz’s image??

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 16:14:48 +0000

Smart versus a ferrari 430
Check out the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vExpEl0_5-Y

By: Adam Singer

Adam Singer — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 15:23:42 +0000

Here’s the vid of the Smart with the Suzuki GSXR engine in it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtDTG18MxIs

Bloody awesome!!!

By: Thing2

Thing2 — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 14:59:16 +0000

I think only bringing the Smart ForTwo is the big mistake here. Like I said in an earlier comment, people usually need space for four in a practical car (so the ForFour is a better option), and the Roadster which also sits two is much more of a desirable car and gets amazing mileage and is very fun to drive. Because it only sits two, its less practical but the convertible edge to it makes it a fun little sporty car. Even crazy old Jeremy Clarkson, champion of the big beefy sports cars such as Aston Martin loved the Smart Roadster.

*Disclaimer: I am an Aston and all around supercar fan, so those of you about to call me some wacko tree hugging, car unenthusiast, relax.

By: Madcapp

Madcapp — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 14:56:26 +0000

I said it before and I’ll say it again. I’ll take the old boattail Riviera behing the Smart instead.

By: British_Rover

British_Rover — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 14:39:33 +0000

MINI sales did not hurt BMW at all. In fact I thinkt hey helped BMW. MINI owners were able to enjoy the perks of BMW ownership and service at a cheaper price. Some of those MINI owners will buy a BMW of some type later on.

By: Jonathan Fingas

Jonathan Fingas — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 14:37:01 +0000

Having test-driven a Smart fortwo at a Mercedes dealership here in Ottawa (Canada), I don’t think those dealers have too much to worry about.

The American dealers make it sound like Smart buyers will stumble drunk and half-naked into the dealerships, and will scare off all the people buying their E-Classes in their finest evening wear.

The Smart section of a Canadian Mercedes dealership is tasteful and doesn’t take away from the luxury quality of the dealership. The only awkwardness will probably be on the part of younger Smart buyers, who won’t feel like they fit in amidst a sea of middle-aged accountants and managers.

By: duece

duece — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 14:33:50 +0000

that is one badass video #1 and it probably still gets 50mpg!

By: snohprexd

snohprexd — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 14:33:46 +0000

why would they sell these in mercedes dealerships? mercedes and chrysler are sharing to much(chasis, engine design, suspension) as it is and that will hurt mercedes more than anything, not a totaly different brand that shares nothing

By: Bush

Bush — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 14:29:00 +0000

“Callahan told Auto News dealers are worried Smart will hurt the Mercedes-Benz image.” Mercedes needs to concentrate on their own image when it comes to reliaility.

By: Fatstrat

Fatstrat — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 14:27:19 +0000

any self respecting motorist would drive a Vespa instead.

By: Wickedated

Wickedated — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 14:25:45 +0000

They have exclusive Smart dealers in Europe, why not do boutique stores like Vespa’s? Problem solved.

By: Renton

Renton — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 14:25:22 +0000

Dr. Z, tell those whiney girlie man dealers to shut the fark up. Mercedes dealers are some of the most pompous a-holes I have ever dealt with.

I like the Smart. Especially with a Suzuki GSX-R 1000 motor stuffed in the back of it.

Google that one, the video is awesome.