Yesterday, Dallas resident Patrick Zipper took delivery of the 20,000th Smart ForTwo sold in the United States, marking an early milestone for the small car manufacturer. Smart’s 20,000th sale comes just 10 months after the brand was introduced to U.S. consumers – and well ahead of the company’s U.S. distributors’ expectations.
Smart USA’s president was on hand at Smart Center Dallas, one of the nation’s top-selling dealerships, to help Zipper take delivery of his new car. He told the Dallas Morning News that he expects Smart to see a small uptick in sales next year even as gas prices have dropped substantially in the last handful of weeks.
“People are buying for more reasons than fuel consumption,” he said. “We are selling a lifestyle, a journey.”
10/31, 9:11 AM
posted by:
mulletmaster
What a crap heap, I rather buy a Yaris, better mileage and can seat twice as many people.
10/31, 9:17 AM
posted by:
PW
Sweet! It happens in my hometown, more notorious for the fictional Ewing Oil and headquarters of ExxonMobil than it is for smart cars.
10/31, 9:35 AM
posted by:
mulletmaster
A disillusioned lifestyle where small must be fuel efficient, however anyone who can count and run a calculator can find out the truth.
10/31, 9:58 AM
posted by:
nickkop
yeah smart needs direct injection, turbo, and/or turbodiesel technology offerings at the same price point to start to really compete in their segment.. these cars’ only real advantage where they can’t be beat by anything with a roof is their compact size… fuel econ is actually rather unimpressive for their ultra compact size.. a civic lx gets better city and hwy mileage !
10/31, 10:09 AM
posted by:
A4
i saw some @$$hole trying to park his bumble-bee yellow and black Smart between a 300C and an Expedition in a space no wider than my wingspan, right in front of a panera, clearly trying to show off. He ended up bumping the 300 and couldnt get the whole car into the space and just looked like the douchebag Smart driver that they all pretty much are. This car makes sense in Europe. Here people buy it cause they think they are cool – when they arent. Especially when they buy one that looks like a damn bumble bee.
10/31, 10:56 AM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
The Smart had a turbo-diesel when it was first introduced into Canada- ghastly powertrain- which is why they went to the gas engine.
10/31, 1:15 PM
posted by:
Borat
Smart is actually a proof of nearsightedness of our (shall we say former) auto executives. One of the smallest cars on Earth is selling in the land on Expeditions and Excursions. Penske makes a mint and loughs all the way to the bank. Ford & GM which sell tons of small cars in Europe (and sell much better then Smart; Smart is NOT selling well in Europe) could make some $$$, but …. Well we will be financing their stupidity.
10/31, 3:04 PM
posted by:
tzu13
“No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.” -H.L. Mencken
10/31, 5:19 PM
posted by:
jayjc08
You guys, everyone…. 20,000 is not a huge number. It’s surprising to hear they sold 20,000, and it’s good news. The SMART car doesn’t give anything that other cars don’t give. It’s just a statement. A lot of Cornell professors seem to have bought them, I’ve seen quite a few around.
Ford Edge is moving 6 times that amount. And I would bet someone that 50% of those sales plus were in New York state.
10/31, 10:12 PM
posted by:
tyler_is_aero_tt
I’m starting to see at least one or two of these a day.
11/01, 3:34 PM
posted by:
beatusmongous
JayC, you may be right, but the Ford Edge has advertisements on TV, radio and the internet. I have yet to see any TV ads for a Smart, or hear any radio ads. I’ve found a couple of links, but mostly they are filled with comments by naysayers. So to think that in 10 months they’ve sold 20,000 without much money being put into advertising, there is something to be said about that.
11/01, 7:29 PM
posted by:
JoshyLofty
I live in Dallas… & dallas is such a brand-driven city on everything from makeup, shoes, real estate, to cars. The Smart here is more of a fashion accessory (& is widely known as that) than it is to save gas. It happens to be dependable, made by benz, gets generally good MPG, and is cute as a bucket of bunnies… which is why its status is so high for it. Yes its a tiny car to have in a mythological large car area but its supposedly a risk people are willing to take here.
11/02, 9:44 PM
posted by:
wingbatwu
A4: so you see one douchebag Smart driver, and that makes all Smart drivers douchebags?
While we’re generalizing, I could tell you about quite a few douchebag SUV drivers I’ve seen… and don’t get me started about smokers, dentists, republicans, democrats, etc., etc.