Have you ever considered the current costs in getting this thing up and running. I doubt that the "interest" touches the incurred expenses. Just a humble thought
i actually don't expect the relationship with MB to last too long here in the US. i buy a lot of cars (mostly Audi and BMW) and from my experience the MB reps are by far the snobbiest of the bunch. it's gonna be like the nerds (MB sales) vs the cool kids (Smart sales) all over again...and no, we can't all just get along...hahaha.
I am a service advisor for MB and will be a service advisor for Smart. I am not snobby!!!!! I do agree with you though, since most of the Smart centers will be located within a MB dealership some of the Smart buyers may feel a little intimidated at first but once they enter the dealership they will find that it is completely separate from Mercedes Benz and they will not have to deal with a MB rep. There is a whole team of Smart specialist with bouncy personalities waiting to assist Smart enthusiasts!!!! (Of course I am speaking for my dealership when I say bouncy personalities!)
I have to say Smart, take a lesson from Mini in terms of marketing your new US brand. I'm excited about the Smart but feel I've been "out of the loop" during this process, maybe a rep will read this and take some cues about how to make future buyers feel more involved.
Most of what I've heard has come through finding information myself, the newsletters come rather infrequently and don't contain any meaty information, heck they're not even very much "fun". Anyone who's like me that placed an order almost a year in advance thrives on being informed and while it's been known that release would be in Janaury, the fact that I didn't even know who my dealer was and the potential timeline of the car coming in should show you something needs fixing.
Smart, you have the potential to make a huge splash in the US with this uber cute urban machine. Give your buyers better tools to be involved with ordering and tracking the car that's fun and informative, create an owners circle, even give us access to a gallery you don't have to register over and over for. Oh yeah, make the Smart Tour more fun, driving around SoMa for 2 traffic filled blocks with a manual steering car doesn't leave the greatest impression.
I'm sure the dealers would thank you for providing an online tracking service so they don't have to deal with rabid buyers who have simple questions like, "is my car in the next shipment"? I know I would like that service since my guy is out until next week...
I think it would be awesome if smartUSA came up with a tracking system. Only problem is, sometimes the reps aren't even in the loop!
I am a service advisor for MB and will be a service advisor for Smart. I am not snobby!!!!! I do agree with you though, since most of the Smart centers will be located within a MB dealership some of the Smart buyers may feel a little intimidated at first but once they enter the dealership they will find that it is completely separate from Mercedes Benz and they will not have to deal with a MB rep. There is a whole team of Smart specialist with bouncy personalities waiting to assist Smart enthusiasts!!!! (Of course I am speaking for my dealership when I say bouncy personalities!)
haha awesome. thanks for the info. any chance you can move your department to Carlsbad and replace the one at Hoehn? hahaha. bouncy haha.
I am well aware of what property in downtown Chicago costs, my point is the location of the dealers was not too good in the area and we all know that there will never be any stand alone smart dealers. This brand is to attract traffic as much as anything else for the other dealer vehicle brands. There are a million residents in the 5 county NW Indiana area, and 150k of us commute to Chicago to work.
we all know that there will never be any stand alone smart dealers. This brand is to attract traffic as much as anything else for the other dealer vehicle brands.
Hate to burst your bubble, but there in fact are stand alone smart car dealers.
Hate to burst your bubble, but there in fact are stand alone smart car dealers.
One example is Denver. Owned by Kuni out of Seattle, its the only Kuni operation in Colorado. But the vast majority are attached either physically (Mercedes) or by ownership with a nearby dealer.
I am a service advisor for MB and will be a service advisor for Smart. I am not snobby!!!!! I do agree with you though, since most of the Smart centers will be located within a MB dealership some of the Smart buyers may feel a little intimidated at first but once they enter the dealership they will find that it is completely separate from Mercedes Benz and they will not have to deal with a MB rep. There is a whole team of Smart specialist with bouncy personalities waiting to assist Smart enthusiasts!!!! (Of course I am speaking for my dealership when I say bouncy personalities!)
One weird example though is Beverly Hills Mercedes. It doesn't have a car lot, just a parking structure. It a big marble building with a big marble arch our front. To get to the smart showroom you have to make your way past a couple of Maybachs (don't touch). The smart director has been with the MB dealer for 24 years, drives a 450 and sells cars to the stars.
One example is Denver. Owned by Kuni out of Seattle, its the only Kuni operation in Colorado. But the vast majority are attached either physically (Mercedes) or by ownership with a nearby dealer.
Actually, Kuni Lexus is a few miles down the road from smart center Denver (and at least three zip codes better). But you're right, in Denver the smart center is a stand alone operation.
I made the mistake of going into the Lexus store last week to ask where the smart center was. The sales manager (whose suit cost more than my car) looked at me like I had cooties. When I pressed him for info, he pointed me up the street and added that the smart center is "completely unrelated" to Kuni Lexus.
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