Kenwood/smartUSA partnership

[rfernatt]

Kenwood Announces Nationwide smart fortwo Entertainment Upgrade Program

[forestacademy]

Not on smat usa website as an option

Yet

[Padawan]

I can't seem to find any information about specs or pricing of the system on the smart website.

[jwight]

Here's one from May 19th saying the program would start June 1st. Not the case as Dave Schembri was talking about it as "upcoming" at the Midwest Rally.

Kenwood Supplies Smart Car - 2009-05-19 14:23:00 | TWICE

Just guessing here, but if these are the Kenwood nav units people have been installing all along they'll probably be cheaper from third party suppliers than through this program.

[Padawan]

Originally Posted by jwight

Just guessing here, but if these are the Kenwood nav units people have been installing all along they'll probably be cheaper from third party suppliers than through this program.

That's what I'm wondering about. Will these be smart-specific units not available through the aftermarket, or simply off-the-shelf Kenwood units? What sort of installation kit do/will they use to offer a factory look?

[jefferios]

I was told it will be a Kenwood System and a faceplate surrounding it to make it look more OEM for smart.

[Padawan]

So if one is able to purchase the faceplate separately from smart, we could pick up an off-the-shelf Kenwood system from a discount supplier and install it ourselves with a nice, factory appearance for a relatively low cost.

[John_H]

The separate faceplate purchase would be sweet.