Is the 'Smart' car going to be sold in limited amounts?

[Gosdin]

Hello everyone,

I'm an old(er) hippy, and I’ve been concerned about the 'greenhouse effect' for a few years. I discovered the Daimler 'Smart' car via the Internet, and now I'm as excited about the 'Smart' car as I was about the Lamborghini Diablo in the 1990's.

Does Daimler plan on only making a limited amount of these cars per year like McLaren did with the $1,000,000 McLaren F1? I hope this isn't an intentional sales scheme on Daimler’s behalf. If Daimler is playing this game during these days of major atmospheric, weather changing problems when humans pump millions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every day, logic dictates that the 'Smart' car should be a very 'common' highway vehicle. My `94 Honda Accord isn't as great on gas as the 'Smart' car, but I'll keep driving it before I'll act as if the Smart car is something as rare, and exotic as a Ferrari Enzo!

I would think that today, eight months into the 'Smart' car's release in the United States, that they'd be for sale at car lots everywhere! I know Honda would have done it! If anyone knows how Daimler plans to deal with this 3-cylinder 'Smart' car, please fill me in. I've never seen a single 'Smart' on the road! I just think they should be as ordinarily seen as a Honda Civic, or a Mini Cooper.

Steve

[Dave Van]

30,000 a year max...for now....

[NCC1701]

You have a lot of interest in supercars. But, I realize you just mentioned them to illustrate smart's limited production. I'm wondering what you've heard for gas mileage. smart claims 33 city/41 highway. Some claim substantially better than that. Most of my miles are city and I find 33 is right on the mark for me.

You've certainly got a lot of company in wishing they were easier to acquire. As an owner, I hope they never become common as dirt. But, you can be sure other manufacturers will be producing their own micro cars in the next several years and they'll likely be more common, and easier to get your hands on.

You can put your $99 deposit down at smart USA - open your mind to the car that challenges the status quo, and then get your name on the orphan list at your nearest dealer. Some people adopt orphans in a few months this way.

[cjam33]

The only reason these cars are so hard to get is because the cars are manufactured in France. France has a 4 day work week and only two shifts at the plant. They dont want to bring on another shift as when production comes back to normal they would have to let go that shift. Therefore they can only produce so much. 30,000 or so max a year. They never anticipated the demand for this car and with some used car dealers having employees buying the cars and transferring them to their sales floor we will be hard pressed to see any in our hands. They then are auctioning them off for 5000 above cost and ruining it for those that genuinely want them. Typical of the scum sucking used car dealers.

[mike-in-sa]

Back in January I was fortunate enough to spend the day at the smart factory in Hambach. What I learned is that there is a vast difference in what Americans seem to project upon the smart and what the smart is. The smart is a specialty vehicle, an inexpensive but specialty car none the less. The smart has lost a ton of money for Diamler in the last 10 years. The 451 is a result of the plan to put smart on a profitable track. Indeed, this year is in the black. Management is not keen on increasing production or expanding markets too fast lest they they fall back into the red. An extra shift means hiring more people (in France that means a job for life), not going to happen much less building a new factory. They will grow at a slow but sustainable pace to assure profitability for the future. My tour of the factory was impressive. No robots, all the parts arrive from vendors just in time, all hand made. QC was in the center of the factory with a scoreboard to show which sections had cars with problems so every one could see. I might be going back to Europe and you can bet I will make my way back to Hambach.

[Gosdin]

Originally Posted by mike-in-sa

Back in January I was fortunate enough to spend the day at the smart factory in Hambach. What I learned is that there is a vast difference in what Americans seem to project upon the smart and what the smart is. The smart is a specialty vehicle, an inexpensive but specialty car none the less. The smart has lost a ton of money for Diamler in the last 10 years. The 451 is a result of the plan to put smart on a profitable track. Indeed, this year is in the black. Management is not keen on increasing production or expanding markets too fast lest they they fall back into the red. An extra shift means hiring more people (in France that means a job for life), not going to happen much less building a new factory. They will grow at a slow but sustainable pace to assure profitability for the future. My tour of the factory was impressive. No robots, all the parts arrive from vendors just in time, all hand made. QC was in the center of the factory with a scoreboard to show which sections had cars with problems so every one could see. I might be going back to Europe and you can bet I will make my way back to Hambach.

From what I've learned about the automotive industries, Daimler had better get their heads in gear pretty quick. Now that all these automotive companies see how this 3-cylinder car is in such high demand, there will be several companies competeing with Daimler very soon. Maybe I'll wait until an automobile manufacturing company like Honda develops their own gas saving three cylinder car. It looks like this is an automotive direction that many companies are going to follow in the near future.

[JPaul]

Originally Posted by mike-in-sa

[...]
An extra shift means hiring more people (in France that means a job for life), not going to happen much less building a new factory. They will grow at a slow but sustainable pace to assure profitability for the future. My tour of the factory was impressive. No robots, all the parts arrive from vendors just in time, all hand made. [...]

Thanks for posting this, Mike. You put down in a witness' words what I tried to convey months ago from "my" Source.
We won't see either substantial increase of production already at full speed, nor relocating the manufacturing because the suppliers are at the plant and just-in-time.

But that doesn't mean that the whole process can't be reproduced elsewhere. Imagine it in China, but for a different smart, not necessarily meeting the current multi-market requirements of our 451.

[Gosdin]

Originally Posted by NCC1701

You have a lot of interest in supercars. But, I realize you just mentioned them to illustrate smart's limited production. I'm wondering what you've heard for gas mileage. smart claims 33 city/41 highway. Some claim substantially better than that. Most of my miles are city and I find 33 is right on the mark for me.

You've certainly got a lot of company in wishing they were easier to acquire. As an owner, I hope they never become common as dirt. But, you can be sure other manufacturers will be producing their own micro cars in the next several years and they'll likely be more common, and easier to get your hands on.

You can put your $99 deposit down at smart USA - open your mind to the car that challenges the status quo, and then get your name on the orphan list at your nearest dealer. Some people adopt orphans in a few months this way.

Thanks for the information. I'm still waiting for a large sum of money to wind up in my mailbox which gives me more time to think about the 'Smart' car. I think that many automotive industries are seeing this 3-cylinder car being in incredibly profitable demand, and in the next year or less, companies like Honda will have thier version of the 'Smart' mobile.

Yes, back in the 1990's when gasoline prices were reasonable, I was a supercar fan. I was particularly impressed with the McLaren F1. It's top speed is 238 MPH, but where are you going to drive that fast other than a rented race track? Things change, and gas prices will continue to go up.

What do you think about your 'Smart' car? Was it worth what you paid for it, and the time you had to spend waiting for it to be delivered? I had read somewhere online that they got 48 miles per gallon highway, and 38 MPG in the city. The mileage you posted is still incredible. I'll bet it's fun to drive too.

[74AMX304V8]

mike in sa, you sure you went to the smart factory? the intl. website says the car is 80% roboticlly built and shows video of it......maybe you were given the partial tour?

[mike-in-sa]

I got the 3-hour tour, eveything but the test track. ( I REALLY wanted to do the test track!) The only robot used was to "marry" the engine/trans cradle to the tridon cell. All the other parts were done by people with power tools or with arms to lift the heay things in place. Maybe your thinking of the tridon cell which is built and powdercoated off-site.
Gosdin- I love my smart, it's worth more than I paid for it and the wait just let me save money to pay for it. I'd want one even if gas was $1 a gallon. I will probably put a new reservation in next year.