diablo1

Repost from exactly one month ago:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=218076

rominl

iTrader: (4)

HAHHAA that's funny. i wonder when american auto makers are going to wake up

Stage3

iTrader: (3)

I guess some people still dont get it that American autos are laughed at in the rest of the world. That's why Ford Austrialia is almost a COMPLETELY seperate company than Ford USA. They have almost no say as to what goes on over there as do a lot of the American auto companies. They dug their own graves if you ask me.

GS69

Smart Cars are Coming to the US
DaimlerChrysler expected to announce plans Tuesday to bring fuel-efficient sub-compact to U.S. market.

Tuesday, June 27, 2006; Posted: 1:46 p.m. EDT (17:46 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- DaimlerChrysler is set to bring the fuel-efficient subcompact Smart car brand to the United States in 2007, according to a published report.

The Detroit News, citing a source familiar with company plans, reported the decision will be announced Tuesday. But a spokeswoman for the Smart brand declined to comment on the report.

"We have not made any decision on a U.S. launch," said Bettina Singhartinger. "You can expect something this week. Until then we do not comment on speculation."

DaimlerChrysler has never made money on the Smart brand, which has been sold in Europe since 1998. The brand is part of DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes-Benz unit.

The two-seater egg-shaped cars get 46.3 miles per gallon in the city to 70.6 mpg on the highway, according to some estimates, although Singhartinger points out that if the brand is brought to the United States, it will be the next generation of the vehicle which is due to be rolled out in Europe in early 2007.

With U.S. gasoline prices near $3 a gallon, and lagging sales of the large SUV's and pickups that DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler unit depends upon, it would appear to be the right time to bring Smart cars to the U.S. market.

But the U.S. market is also becoming flooded with fuel-efficient sub-compact cars right now, with the Toyota Yaris, the Honda Fit and the Nissan Versa all debuting in U.S. showrooms this year. Those models also have the advantage of having their U.S. dealer network in place. It's not clear if the Smart car would be sold in U.S. Mercedes dealerships, in Chrysler and Dodge dealers or a new dealer network.

One reason for the profit problems for the Smart brand is a low selling price at that part of the market. The three Japanese sub-compacts coming to the market sell for between $11,850 and $14,000.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

How much are Smart cars supposed to start anyways? Although smaller, they do have a bit more bells and whistles than the Yaris, Fit, and Versa, such as Navigation and a convertible option...

ATL-SC

who cares what they say hummer should run this ad with a caption like "smart proof"(i know kind of ironic) or "soccer moms- safe from french people"
feel free to add your own titles to this pic

XeroK00L

Foreign car makers usually dumb down their entry-level models when they bring them over to the US. In Japan all of the above three subcompacts (not quite subcompact in Japan actually) can be equipped with many bells and whistles including nav. So it isn't clear if Smart will still get options like nav if/when it's brought over to the US.