'Orphan' Smart cars pile up as buyers back out

[Terry Stibal]

I agree with the sparse customer presence at the Smart dealer. The two times that we have visited, we were the only folks in the joint. Same for the Mercedes dealership co-located, however. For some, times are very tough.

A manual box make make sense for some, but I'd be willing to wager that (where there is a choice, as in "cars on the lot with both") most will opt for an automatic transmission. (Of course, the Smart eliminates the worst thing about a manual, that clutch pedal.) Certainly, most cars sold here in the US of A are equipped with automatic transmissions. Two hundred forty million plus can't be all that wrong.

As for automatic transmissions being troublesome, I've owned a total of eight Toyotas that have always been driven for 200,000 plus miles (I used to live seventy miles from the office back in the day). One was a standard (bought for my wife back when she was still "young" (aged 42)); all the rest were automatic (and with overdrives to boot). Other than routine maintenance, none of the vehicles had any transmission problems.

Of course, this may have been a function of the Toyota brand. (In all of those vehicles, the greatest problems encountered was with (hard to believe as it may be) the heater/air conditioning blower motors. (And, in each of the three cases, the motors were a real bear to replace.)) I have had considerable transmission troubles with two Ford vehicles (one of mine, and one belonging to my ex-wife).

The greatest enthusiasts for automatic transmissions every produced were the World War GIs who served on late war tank destroyers and the M5 light tank, the first quantity vehicles produced with the Hydramatic box pioneered by Buick division of General Motors. (Other nations (even the Japanese) had produced pilot versions of automatic transmissions prior to that time, but none were in quantity production.) Post war, ex-TD and light tank folks were some of the earliest customers for the post-war automobiles so equipped.

[homeslice]

Thanks for that tidbit of info on the automatic tranny's.

It was because you had Toyota's and did the maintenance. Most everyone I know never has the transmission fluid changed. They didn't know they needed to, nor do they ever get the oil changed in the rear differential.

My friend's Dodge truck tranny went out at about 80,000 miles and cost him $4,000.

I really prefer a manual transmission because of the reliability and low cost of ownership in 300,000+ miles.

The smart people have made this the best of both worlds by using the Getrag transmission. I really like the way they have done this, even though the shifting is annoying. Now that I know the science behind it, I appreciate what they have done.

[Mike T]

A friend's 1994 Toyota Camry lunched its autobox at 80,000 km. The whole car died at 240,000 km (140K miles).

[John_H]

Are you from the French part of Canada? I don't know of any cars that have lunched autoboxes.

Autobox? Lunched?

Do you mean the automatic transmission failed in a very dramatic way?

[wiltjk]

We picked up our orphan Cabrio exactly one week ago. During our 2 1/2 hour orientation, two prospective buyers patiently awaited. While the economy hits everywhere hard, I find three things you can count-on from journalists no matter what the economy state is:

(1) If it isn't doom/gloom, controversial, or shocking in some way, they will make it so
(2) Journalism facts and research are not equal to that of the science disciplines; somewhat like how accounting math is different from calculus - not necessarily incorrect, rather, driven from a different motivation
(3) Journalists don't seem to like smarts, can't drive smarts effectively, and love to create a level of animosity toward them

Based on the posts I read by owners, I sense a higher level of awareness from safety to economy to ecology. If the internet ever threatened a genre, I suggest journalism rates high as a candidate as I will take the word of informed owners over that of "auto-expert" journalists who's primary interest appears to be to increase readership.

[homeslice]

Originally Posted by wiltjk

We picked up our orphan Cabrio exactly one week ago. During our 2 1/2 hour orientation, two prospective buyers patiently awaited. While the economy hits everywhere hard, I find three things you can count-on from journalists no matter what the economy state is:

(1) If it isn't doom/gloom, controversial, or shocking in some way, they will make it so
(2) Journalism facts and research are not equal to that of the science disciplines; somewhat like how accounting math is different from calculus - not necessarily incorrect, rather, driven from a different motivation
(3) Journalists don't seem to like smarts, can't drive smarts effectively, and love to create a level of animosity toward them

Based on the posts I read by owners, I sense a higher level of awareness from safety to economy to ecology. If the internet ever threatened a genre, I suggest journalism rates high as a candidate as I will take the word of informed owners over that of "auto-expert" journalists who's primary interest appears to be to increase readership.

I agree with all that. All the media wants to show is gloom and doom. It's very sad.

I am hopefully 8 to 10 months from buying a smart.

[fpage77]

Originally Posted by Mike T

A friend's 1994 Toyota Camry lunched its autobox at 80,000 km. The whole car died at 240,000 km (140K miles).

'ed ?

[homeslice]

Originally Posted by Mike T

A friend's 1994 Toyota Camry lunched its autobox at 80,000 km. The whole car died at 240,000 km (140K miles).

I'm willing to bet $5,000 dollars that he was not using Amsoil transmission fluid.

Ask him how he got the service and ask him why he did not use Amsoil ATF from the time the vehicle was brand new. I've never heard of a single person ever blowing a tranny when using this stuff.

[fpage77]

Originally Posted by homeslice

I've never heard of a single person ever blowing a tranny when using this stuff.

[homeslice]

Originally Posted by fpage77

That's what I'm sayin'!

And the person who owned that car thought they were "saving money" by using something else. And now what? Where's all those savings now with having to spend a couple grand on a Toyota transmission or $20,000+ on a new car?

I'll go with Option A, use Amsoil from day 1 and skip all of the repair nonsense. Not only can I not afford break-downs, who the hell has the time to deal with it?