The U.S. only gets the 451's?

[Big Panda]

....if so, i wonder if smart has considered making 'variations' of a couple models, namely the Pure and Passion?

for instance, how about making them with an optional rear glass. make one glass similar to the current one, only more 'upright' in the back and the other glass more 'horizontal' in that it would follow the lines of the tridion, making it look more like a 'coupe' or 'fastback'. make any sense?

i think a Passion with the 'fastback' rear glass would look awesome and shouldn't affect the function of anything. it would be for appearance sake only. as for the more 'upright' glass, this could slightly increase the cargo capacity for those who may need more room to 'haul'.

any thoughts?

[SmartCard]

I believe the whole world gets the 451s (with minor market variations), so a new model would need to open a dedicated production line at the factory, and that might not happen

on the other hand, considering the smart's limited amount of sheet metal, perhaps minor variations like you suggest would not be a big deal and could be produced side by side with other "models". But the bottom line is these things cost money, and we've all heard that smart hasn't been profiting (yet) from making cars.

[Big Panda]

Originally Posted by SmartCard

I believe the whole world gets the 451s (with minor market variations), so a new model would need to open a dedicated production line at the factory, and that might not happen

on the other hand, considering the smart's limited amount of sheet metal, perhaps minor variations like you suggest would not be a big deal and could be produced side by side with other "models". But the bottom line is these things cost money, and we've all heard that smart hasn't been profiting (yet) from making cars.

YEP, the entire hemosphere as we know it gets the 451's (well, after waiting 18 MONTHS OR MORE!!!! unless you're in CHINA )....i was merely suggesting an alternative. just another choice you could make when configuring. no additional cost.....just pick 'fastback' or 'hatchback' model.
maybe even have the option of 'both versions' like the Jeep Wranglers, where you can choose both a hard top and soft top for an additional charge.

as for 'smart hasn't been profiting (yet) from making cars', can't buy into that. since they've been making cars for over 10 years and they CONTINUE to not only make them, but to make MORE of them, can't believe they're NOT MAKING MONEY!

Penske won't get involved with ANYTHING unless there's money to be made, so i'm sure there's plenty to go around. it's the dealers that are getting the trickling of profits. might even be why it's so difficult to get dealers onboard. it's tough enough to start up a new dealership, but with one that has NO customer base and the cars are backordered for 18+ months? add to that the rumor of cars being allocated to all the dealers in 2009.......well, i'm sure i can find better ways to invest MY $$.

sorry, probably for another thread.....just got carried away. my bad

[mike-in-sa]

This is the year smart is due to turn the corner and start making a little money. They have lost money from the start and it is to Diamler's credit that they have stuck with the little car. The cut their losses by dumping the roadster and forfour and have put all their eggs in one basket with the redesign of the 451. Only 15% of the parts are the same as the 450. The early years had many engineering problems to work thru and only now is there a sign of a profit.

[jwight]

From the International Herald Tribune:

Mercedes-Benz Cars, which includes its marquee brand of autos along with the two-seat Smart fortwo, reported pretax profit of nearly €1.2 billion (US$1.8 billion) in the quarter, up 45 percent from €792 million a year ago.

Automaker Daimler says 1st-quarter net profit slips to €1.3 billion - International Herald Tribune

[mike-in-sa]

In June of 2007 Motortrend reported that smarts 3 year loss topped 3.9 billion euros
($5.2 billion) which cut MB profits last year by 1.6 billion euros.

[pjneedster]

2 questions for y'all that understand the car business.

1) A neighbor followed my Smart into my driveway last night and what was throwing him was the nameplate. He's from Mexico & familiar with the car, but they are all branded as MB. Likewise his brother lives in Spain & says same thing. My understanding is that MB makes a broad spectrum of cars but in the US they only sell selected high-end models. True? Why?

2) They gotta be making money somehow someway over the longer run. 10 yr loss? Gotta be hidden in the book-keeping somehow, maybe Smart is a designated loss center. Penske & PAG wouldn't get into anything that didn't have solid financial benefits. Why would a car business take such a hit for so long?

What I've learned about the car business since I got my Smart is how varied the public is in how they think/buy/run cars.

[JPaul]

yes, it's old news! Nonetheless, FYI:
"In 2007 as a whole, the smart fortwo also slightly topped the prior year’s sales figure. And the better news is that we were in the black, as promised."

From: Speech by Dr. Dieter Zetsche, the Chairman of the Board of Management at the Annual Meeting of Daimler AG
Berlin
April 9, 2008

[Karl Roth]

Originally Posted by pjneedster

2 questions for y'all that understand the car business.

1) A neighbor followed my Smart into my driveway last night and what was throwing him was the nameplate. He's from Mexico & familiar with the car, but they are all branded as MB. Likewise his brother lives in Spain & says same thing. My understanding is that MB makes a broad spectrum of cars but in the US they only sell selected high-end models. True? Why?

2) They gotta be making money somehow someway over the longer run. 10 yr loss? Gotta be hidden in the book-keeping somehow, maybe Smart is a designated loss center. Penske & PAG wouldn't get into anything that didn't have solid financial benefits. Why would a car business take such a hit for so long?

What I've learned about the car business since I got my Smart is how varied the public is in how they think/buy/run cars.

The Manufacturer and the Importer are seperate companies
karl

[Red_fortwo]

Originally Posted by JPaul

yes, it's old news! Nonetheless, FYI:
"In 2007 as a whole, the smart fortwo also slightly topped the prior year’s sales figure. And the better news is that we were in the black, as promised."

From: Speech by Dr. Dieter Zetsche, the Chairman of the Board of Management at the Annual Meeting of Daimler AG
Berlin
April 9, 2008

Good to know. I think that the roadster and the forfour really sapped the company's financial resources for the number of units that they moved. I'm hoping that the exchange rate isn't forcing them to be in the US market at a loss. I know that the short warranty helps their bottom line and I nevered worried much about it because I usually did something to my cars to void the warranty by 24k anyway (like bolt on go-faster parts).

As much production as our market has increased for them, I don't know how long MB would support smart if it still failed to turn a profit. Clearly they didn't put up with Chrysler dragging down their bottom line for too many years....