Delivery System for the Smart Car

[PMOLL]

The time for the Smart Fortwo is right. All signs point to this being a huge success for Mercedes & Roger Penske. If there is such a thing as the right car at the right time, this is it!

But there is a major stumbling block.....The Delivery System. For most of you, your order / reservation was placed online ( like mine was ). As it happens, the first Smart Car Dealer in Wisconsin was built just three blocks away from my home. The best place to go for information on my order I thought. I was wrong.

You see, unless you have called and/or gone into your area dealership, they don't know you exist. They are not supplied a list of the people in their Delivery area who have reservations from Smart Car. You must announce yourself as a reservation holder, or make one with them.

The dealership is a wonderful modern facility, well thought out, and staffed with some truely friendly & helpful people. They are very helpful
with any questions regarding the Fortwo that most people would have.
But when it comes to the question..."How long do I have to wait?", they
are at a loss for an answer. Since my first visit to the dealer, Smart Car
has come out with a "Delivery Estimator" at their Web Site. I can only
use my information as an example.
*My reservation was made in Nov. 2007
*Delivery estimator says maybe July-Sept 2009
That's a year and a half away. This is hard to believe. I have talked with
several other reservation holders, and they are just as confused & upset as I am. The dealers are being kept in the dark, and we can't get any
accurate information on time. This is know way to start a relationship with
customers. What does Smart Car need to do?
* Give dealers a list of reservation holders in their areas.
* Keep it updated by date of the reservation.
* Allow dealers to assign delivery based on that list
( Ensure compliance with the date of the Reservation )
* Treat all market areas equally as to the allocation of the cars.
* Increase Production to meet orders in a realistic time frame.
* Rethink the "By Order Only" retail sales method.
* Delivery times should be no more than six months out, at most!
* Remember, your competition is watching. They won't make the
same mistakes. (And competition is coming)
Smart Car...You can make your customers really happy by getting them
their Fortwo in a more realistic time frame. The currant dribble of cars is
not making for good CSI.

Backround: I am retired from the Automotive Dealer Industry. I have
over 36 years of experience. Knowing what works and what does'nt, comes with that experience working in & managing various departments.

I welcome any & all reply's and questions!

PMOLL - Milwaukee,Wisconsin

[SPDYII]

I agree with everything you said. I think that the smart people are screwing up a great opportunity to really sell a lot of cars. Unfortunately for the smartcar customer it doesn't seem like the smart people think so. They seem to be fine with the way things are going and don't seem to won't to make any changes at all. The lack of good information is unbelievable and in this day and age, seems so easy to fix.

[stuberman]

I have to disagree with your conclusion completely. The problem is lack of supply and there is no quick fix in sight for that.

The problems in delivery information are really a symptom now that waits are projected at almost 2 years. Let's say that you get a completely accurate delivery date of 18 months from now (and eveyone can see everyone else's progress). How does that help you as a customer desperate for your car?

[bradgarbus]

Originally Posted by stuberman

I have to disagree with your conclusion completely. The problem is lack of supply and there is no quick fix in sight for that.

The problems in delivery information are really a symptom now that waits are projected at almost 2 years. Let's say that you get a completely accurate delivery date of 18 months from now (and eveyone can see everyone else's progress). How does that help you as a customer desperate for your car?

It doesn't help that the USA is only getting 1/3 of the production.

I have suggested the car to several people, but when the found out the wait they purchased something else. I am in a unique position where I will be able to afford the car just before the DDE date, so it works out perfect for me, but I can imagine the numbers of orphans will increase as the wait time increases, but then again, if you think about it, that works to their benefit, it gets cars on the lots that they can sell to those that don't want to wait...

Regardless I don't see the process changing much if any in the future. With the world economy they way it is right now and smart not making huge profits off these cars, enlarging or opening a new plant doesn't seem logical or profitable if I have read the reviews right about smart as a company.

On the bright side it keeps people interested because there still aren't that many out there, so people get excited then they seem them...

We will see in 3-5 years as this all starts to level out...

[dd1]

The delivery system per Smart in based on date and location. I had emailed them yesterday to ask that question, that was Smart's answer. So if your like me and have a large metro area like Dallas as your Dealer you have a 2+ year wait. I had ordered in August 2007 and have a DDE of July-September 2009. Bummer

[xcrew229x]

"It doesn't help that the USA is getting only 1/3 of production"........ wow. Do we think the rest of the world should just take a flying leap or what? The car is, or was, being sold in 38 countries. 1/3 sounds like the lions share to me. Patience, kids.

[bradgarbus]

Originally Posted by xcrew229x

"It doesn't help that the USA is getting only 1/3 of production"........ wow. Do we think the rest of the world should just take a flying leap or what? The car is, or was, being sold in 38 countries. 1/3 sounds like the lions share to me. Patience, kids.

This is true, I keep forgetting this isn't an American made car. This will be my first non-American car so it's a bit awkward for me...

[stuberman]

Originally Posted by bradgarbus

... but I can imagine the numbers of orphans will increase as the wait time increases, but then again, if you think about it, that works to their benefit, it gets cars on the lots that they can sell to those that don't want to wait...

The way I understand it if you cancel an order (or buy an orphan) before your reservation goes into the production queue (perhaps 60-90 days before delivery) then the car you ordered will not get built so it will not become an orphan.

I imagine that the number of orphans will stay somewhat constant or decline when people realize they can sell them at a profit. It seems with the long wait times the people that order the car will have to be very determined and wait it out. I can see smart building a manufacturing site in the U.S. but that will take some time to get into production and resolve supply.