I went by the Smart Center in San Jose (Stevens Creek Rd) today, and still no sign of any construction. I stopped in the adjacent Land Rover dealership, and the salesman there told me that the Smart Center wouldn't be ready until February, at least. He also said that they weren't going to sell cars there- they would be sold "down the road" (pointing towards Santana Row). He didn't say where down the road. On the other hand, he said that they would do maintenance at the Smart/Land Rover facility. That sounds kind of strange to me.
I'm not clear what seems strange. I used to appraise commerical property in the south bay. Rents along Stevens Creek near Santana Row are healthy. It isn't unusual for dealers in that area to have separate service facilities. Unless you know of a particular spot where a dealer is to be built, I wouldn't be surprised if there is an interim location with good visibility, perhaps around the corner on Winchester where ingress/egress may be a tad easier.
I'm not saying there isn't a delay but we've seen that before; the new kid on the block takes a bigger hit, particularly if the only product is late. But don't underestimate how quickly a showroom can materialize. Some nice temporary signage could pop up. The sure don't need a big showroom (the cars, after all, are small); they just need new paint and clean bathrooms and linoleum floors. Getting building plans approved in San Jose is a process that could take well over a year, even with the needed (and unfortunately customary) cozy-ing up to someone on the Board of Supervisors for expedited approval. ;^) A cool, hip showroom may be a ways off.
Now that I've lowered expectations, it will be interesting to see what they come up with.
Sounds like they are doing everything right in my eyes. I think Smart USA is doing a great job and I can't help but believe its a incredibly hard job for everyone at PAG and Smart.
Not sure I would say they are doing everything right. The communication has been poor. Keeping us a little more in the loop even if dates are not certain could go a long way.
On the other hand this is a start up business essentially from scratch with a product built overseas and imported so I am sure there are all kinds of difficulties with bringing everything together that neither we nor PAG could have anticipated.
There is no reason to believe they don't want to move quickly to sales and delivery. My only complaint is the lack of any info and the fact they have made no significant changes to the web site in several months. They don't even list and link to their own press releases.
I cant' speak for the other NA dealers, or how many are planning to open doors for the initial January launch, but we're still go for week 1 - cars or no cars! Our customers, like everyone out here in this community, are chomping at the bit, and believe me - NOBODY wants to pull the trigger and get this thing rolling more than your dealers do! ;)
I did here yesterday that the mother ship has pushed things out a bit, something like a week to 10 days was the guestimate.
As someone has already stated; New product, new process, new distribution network... I truly don't think that its unreasonable or out of scope that there may be some stretched deadlines/timelines on anyone's front here. This is a HUGE undertaking that, to date, has actually been a very smooth progression.
Also please remember that writing a new chapter in automotive history takes a certain amount of time, and while Mr. Penske may be the car-guy version of Moses - he's still not God. Hang in there everyone, "smart salvation" is coming to a town near YOU - very soon!!
Maybe he's thinking he can upsell a walk-in to a Mercedes. HA! I can hear the pitch now:
"For just another $40k you can get twice the car";)
I had actually heard that pitch during the summer when I went into our local MB dealer to inquire if they knew anything about a Smart dealership in L'ville!
I went by the Smart Center in San Jose (Stevens Creek Rd) today, and still no sign of any construction. I stopped in the adjacent Land Rover dealership, and the salesman there told me that the Smart Center wouldn't be ready until February, at least.
The word I got from the Rover place last week was that there was some kind of permitting issue with the Smart lot - right now it's just a parking lot - I wonder if it has to be rezoned to put a building on it?
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He also said that they weren't going to sell cars there- they would be sold "down the road" (pointing towards Santana Row). He didn't say where down the road.
The gentleman I talked to said that until the new place is ready the cars will be processed through the Jaguar place down by Saratoga Ave... He also said they had a display set up over at Santana Row, back near the theaters. He said they had a Tridion shell on display as well as a couple of cars, but I haven't had time to wander over there and take a look...
The word I got from the Rover place last week was that there was some kind of permitting issue with the Smart lot - right now it's just a parking lot - I wonder if it has to be rezoned to put a building on it?
The gentleman I talked to said that until the new place is ready the cars will be processed through the Jaguar place down by Saratoga Ave... He also said they had a display set up over at Santana Row, back near the theaters. He said they had a Tridion shell on display as well as a couple of cars, but I haven't had time to wander over there and take a look...
All that isn't what the PAG protocol requires: you have to be fully ready to go with a PAG-passed facility, or you JUST DON'T GO. No tents, no space in a corner of a Honda dealership, no nuthin.' Don't rely on some know-nothing sales-bubba; even their bosses at the designated dealers are in the dark.
The word I got from the Rover place last week was that there was some kind of permitting issue with the Smart lot - right now it's just a parking lot - I wonder if it has to be rezoned to put a building on it?
The gentleman I talked to said that until the new place is ready the cars will be processed through the Jaguar place down by Saratoga Ave... He also said they had a display set up over at Santana Row, back near the theaters. He said they had a Tridion shell on display as well as a couple of cars, but I haven't had time to wander over there and take a look...
Hard to believe it's a zoning issue. Considering what's already on Stevens Creek Boulevard, it would only be a zoning issue if it wasn't a car dealer.
I agree with fish. I don't think they can run the cars through another dealer down the street. I'm guessing they'll use the San Francisco Mercedes smart dealer who will be ready in January.
I cant' speak for the other NA dealers, or how many are planning to open doors for the initial January launch, but we're still go for week 1 - cars or no cars! Our customers, like everyone out here in this community, are chomping at the bit, and believe me - NOBODY wants to pull the trigger and get this thing rolling more than your dealers do! ;)...
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