Smart Cars Have A Year-Long US Waiting List?

Stuttgart - For most of its 10-year history, Daimler's (DAI) Smart car division has had a reputation for making small cars that lose big money. In 2005 and 2006, Stuttgart-based Daimler recorded more than $3 billion in restructuring costs for the division that produced the diminutive two-seater. Frustrated execs at one point vowed to sell the division or kill the quirky vehicle if they couldn't fix the chronic money loser.

Turns out the Smart may simply have been ahead of its time. Suddenly, Smart sales are soaring, even in the U.S., where the brand has been available since January. Smart USA has sold more than 14,000 cars in the U.S.--about double what Daimler expected--and there is a yearlong waiting list. Worldwide, Smart sales are up 57% this year, to 81,300 vehicles, and Daimler has added shifts at its factory in Hambach, France. Daimler doesn't disclose results for Smart separately, but analysts expect operating earnings of about $75 million on sales of $1.5 billion. The 5% margin compares to about 8% for Mercedes cars as a whole.

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Gas prices only provide a partial explanation for the Smart's surge. True, the Smart, with a three-cylinder engine and colorful plastic body panels, gets great mileage. At 41 mpg on the highway, the Smart is the most fuel-efficient nonhybrid gasoline car on American roads. A diesel version (not available in the U.S.) gets 71 mpg.

But Smart buyers aren't your average penny-pinchers. Many are affluent, design-conscious folks who have seen Smarts during trips to Europe and own at least one other car. To Daimler's surprise, only 5% of U.S. customers choose the $11,590 base model, instead ordering spiffier versions such as the $16,590 convertible. Though some drivers say the Smart feels like a mouse among elephants on the highway, Ron Moreau, a 74-year-old Williamsburg (Va.) resident, says his two Lexus models have hardly left the driveway since he bought a $16,800 Smart Passion in July. "You don't want to be picking your nose while you're driving the car, because everyone's looking," he says.

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Comments

[clumberfeet]

You build a better mouse trap and the world will beat a path to your door.

[Crowhaul]

I'm on the waiting list.... Yet, my only perturbation is buying new. At the moment, there are easily enough used cars around for anyone who still wants to drive. And the resource cost of new-car production is completed nullified by buying used...

[k6007]

'Adding shifts' huh? DetroitDummies are you taking notes??

[Wilbur]

WHAT? The "Smart Car" gets a whole 41 highway mpg? Heck, when I mildly "hyper-mile" drive my Toyota Corolla (automatic transmission) on the highway, I can get 42 mpg! Can't they make cars more fuel efficient than THAT??

Wilbur

[KillTheMessenger]

And when you drive a Prius like a sane person, you get 47mpg.

;-)

[EinChicago]

Yeah. Paying an extra $12,000 more for a Prius rather than his Corolla to get an extra 5 mpg (at a push, the Prius is much closer to 35MPG once you include highway driving) is obviously soooooo sane. After all, over a 5 year life span of 60,000 miles, that "insane" Corolla driver used 1450 gallons and that "sane" Prius driver used 1300 gallons. So, over a five year horizon, those 150 galons "saved" only cost the sane Prius driver a bargain $80 a gallon.

But hey, you could always run the numbers over a 10 year period, then those gas "savings" only cost the"sane" Prius owner a bargain $40 per gallon more than that nutty Corolla driver.


Sounds really "sane" to me.
*snicker*

[Wilbur]

If your reference about driving a Prius like a sane person was a dig at my mention of the fact that I got 42 highway mpg on my Corolla using mild "hyper-miling" driving methods, be advised that those methods are limited to a 1-2 psi over-inflation of air pressure in the tires, driving the speed limit, no "jack-rabbit" starts and coasting in neutral to stop signs/lights when doing so will not deter traffic that is behind me. I would NEVER do some of the riskier hyper-miling tactics, like driving six feet behind a semi so as to get sucked along down the road by it, etc. I'm not a "suicide jockey!"

Wilbur

[KillTheMessenger]

The Smart is a fashion statement. It's incredible fun to look at and to ride around in... as long as you are the only one in town. And that is all it is. It is too small for even average commuter needs outside of areas where one can get away with shopping on foot.

A Prius is certainly the better investment. Not sure what the lead time is on that... but from a resale value perspective I would be looking at it a lot harder than I would at a Smart car.

Of course, there is a market for singles who don't care about anything but first impressions and there is a market for toys for "boys who have everything else". If Daimler can make money on that, the more power to them.

Last, but not least, Russel Crowe and the Smart car make a wonderful comic duo. You have to give them that. And this blog explains really well what makes the little car "great":

http://localism.com/neighbor/bartleygroup

[k6007]

That's ridiculous, two SCs passed me on the freeway. They seem to manage traffic as well as any other car. Perhaps you should get driving lessons.

[KillTheMessenger]

Sorry pal. I have been driving a Smart car around Italy two years ago . We were on vacation and we wanted to have fun. And boy, was that car fun! One of the best vacations, ever.

But we barely managed to get our luggage in there. Half an inch more and we would have had to rent a larger vehicle at the airport.

Please read my post again. I am not criticizing the car as such. I am simply concluding from my own experience what the car is good for and what it isn't. It makes perfect sense of you live in one of Europe's major cities and parking space is at a premium. You can see the Italians parking them at an angle like motorcycles in streets that are as narrow as they were 2000 years ago when Romans were driving chariots!

But in the US needs are different. And I really doubt that anyone but Yuppies can afford one of these. And that's just not that many people.

[rockyersocksoff]

41 mpg DOES seem low for all the compromises in space.

[DesertLight]

Comes with a free plot and headstone too.

[CKieffer]

Well, in that case: Sign me up!!

[k6007]

I believe it gets a 4 star safety rating.

[Axekick]

Yes it does. I've got a 2001 Saturn SL I just drove on a 500 mile roundtrip kayaking trip last weekend where I averaged 46 miles per gallon. (Car packed down, two passengers and the air conditioner running the entire trip)

There have been more fuel efficient cars in the past but nobody took notice and they have all been discontinued.

[Paul]

You might wanna check your math.

No offense but 46 mpg sounds a little high...

[AmandaBC]

That's because big oil will never allow the 70+ mpg CDI model into the US market...

[DesertLight]

Comes with a free bumper sticker: "Smart Cars for People Who Are Stuck on Stoopid."

MOP

[KillTheMessenger]

You can look stupid stupid and you can look fashionably stupid. The latter will probably get you laid a lot more often than the former.

:-)

[MalloMel]

Good come back.

[PissedOffProf]

Well then put me on the SC waiting list before the novelty wears off the ladies... err... my wifey.

[DesertLight]

You won't find my name on that list to drive a motorized roller skate.

[KillTheMessenger]

Didn't I see your Hummer for sale rusting on that used car dealer's lot?

[DesertLight]

Wasn't mine. Cars don't rust in Southern AZ.

Next!

[marymansour]

Perfect car for the elderly who still drive. I will wait for the Asians to come out with one of these before I get on the list. I think India already has something along the lines of this car.

[woundedduck]

in LA is see so many rich who people who have huge houses, fly all over the world going to resorts and generally suck down about 10x's as much energy as a working peroson, but then go out and buy a prius, thinking they're "contributing" to conservation. hey, rich dude: the electricity you waste on 24/7, 365 AC in your mid-century McMansion could fuel a fleet of Priuses. Give me your prius, because if I drive one there is an actual net reduction in burned fuel. Damned rich people.

[KillTheMessenger]

I doubt that there are that many rich people driving around in a Prius on average. It used to be a fashion statement, but given the number of cars Toyota delivers, we have been running low on the rich to buy them for some time now. Never mind that all the people I know who got one are far from rich. They tend to be fairly smart, though.

[PissedOffProf]

"They tend to be fairly smart, though." I guess that I can assume that we haven't met yet? ;-)

[gahoggafugga]

i think they're just cute as all hell. i mean driving down rt. 28 in Va you can see a few of them, seems the orange and black color scheme is the most popular around here. i would like to see the crash tests on these little buggers. let's see how a smart car stands up to getting hit with a jeep or anything else for that matter. you get hit in one of these things and your screwed!!! . . .lol

[engineer68]

Crash testing was on TV a while back. The Smart did rather well head on into concrete and off-set as well. I believe that they have a well constructed safety cage. I would rather not find out myself. People I have talk to that drive them here in upstate NY don't seem to worry about their safety.

[Wilburrr]

My bicycle gets about 100 miles on a carrot and a banana.... but I'm 'old school'... to most riders today that would be one energy bar. :)

[JoelNH]

Don't forget to take into account the energy consumed heating water for your shower when you get to work all sweaty and stinky.

[Wilburrr]

hot shower? I live in Phoenix.... I only take those half the year -- and then the water is heated by solar.

"Using electricity to heat water is like using a chain saw to cut butter"

.... and besides... I don't sweat, I glow!

[AZdesertdog]

oh, please where is the "year-long waiting list"? certainly not here in Arizona. the local dealer here always has 15-20 (or more) available.

Smart had their silly online reservation program which only required a $99 deposit to build "your" car. no verification, no credit checks, nothing. a 12 year old could order one with dad's credit card and driver license number. and that's exactly what happened. when the cars actually started hitting the ground in February of this year, less than 40% of the folks who "ordered" them actually took delivery.

some things to consider: 1) the 3 cylinder Mitsubishi engine is only for the US market, 2) the warranty is only for 2 years/24,000 miles, and 3) all service (including oil changes) must be done at the local Smart (and usually also a Mercedes-Benz) dealer. the local dealer here has a labor rate of over $160 per hour.

with fuel prices dropping like a rock (over 60 cents per gallon here in the last two weeks), so will sales of silly cars like this one. not everyone lives in an urban area, and these cars are truly scary on the highway.

[MalloMel]

The drop in fuel prices is only temporary. After the election, they will go up again, and you can take that to the bank.

[MalloMel]

Actually, the same thing happened for the 2006 election, remember?

[EinChicago]

"The drop in fuel prices is only temporary. After the election, they will go up again, and you can take that to the bank."

Why? that's one claim that would bounce.

[abigail1]

I know it costs more, but why not just get a Prius which can seat 5? or a motorcycle which will get better gas mileage? two seater cars just seem dumb to me.

[AmandaBC]

I think a single person driving a 5-seat car looks a lot dumber, but then again it's probably 90% of the cars you see on America's roads...

[TCC]

I drive an old Diesel 2-seater Smart in the EU and consistently get 58-62 mpg in city driving. I have a year's worth of fuel records to back that up.