Penske bails out of Smart distribution deal, Daimler takes over

What evidence of who-knows-what must the execs of Smart have about the execs at Daimler? Smart is a ridiculous brand. It's tried to make headway in the US for a while now. Time to cut the losses and throw out the bath water.

Nothing will ever make Smart be anything beyond a fringe vehicle in the US.

I think the main problem with Smart is they have only one thing going for them and that thing is of no interest to North Americans because the constraints on room don't exist like they do in Europe. We all park at work or Walmart or our garages, we're not squeezing the car into tiny parking spaces on a tiny street.

 

Good assessment. The Smart is a good at what it is but what it is has little appeal in North America. You can get 4 passenger cars with the same or better fuel economy and better performance for about the same price and those 4 passenger cars are enough smaller than the average North American vehicle that the size difference between them and a Smart doesn't matter here.

 

Well, some think the Smart fortwo has enough potential in the American not to go unchallenged. Toyota is releasing the iQ as a Scion, and the Aveo replacement for Chevy is smaller.

 

I suspect they are releasing these with very little concern about challenges from Smart, though.

 

basically same article from CNN

Penske drives Smart cars back into Mercedes' hands - Feb. 18, 2011

I didn't realize they'd cancelled the plans to go bigger. The company is very possibly moribund in the US.

I found this hilarious:

Is he really so out of touch? The gas runup in 2008 was, to this economic neophyte, overwhelmingly speculative and obviously so. And the economy was already crashing. HARD.

 

You're right, thanks for the link

 

While I'm hatin' I'll keep it going. I saw in consumer reports today the 2008 0-60 fore-two had a record breaking 14+ 0-60. My guess is that's around the time it takes a short school bus to hit 60, maybe it would edge it by a car length or something. Also it was rated pretty badly on reliability scale.

 

And I am sure that this (mere 64km/h collision) doesn't help much:

 

Thing got owned. Basic physics a small car will always get owned against a larger in a crash no matter what! Merc owner in that crash has a headache. Smart owner won't be as smart anymore with a fractured skull and brain damage, broken spine, etc.