smart at NAIAS 08 (Detroit Auto Show)

[jwight]

Spent 30 minutes or so at the smart usa stand today; very crowded considering it was one of the preview days not open to the general public. Lots of folks in the auto industry were checking out the two smarts on display (the usual blue/silver coupe and a cabrio) plus a cutaway Tridion cell. No smart bigwigs to be found, just a few younger reps who seemed to know the cars fairly well but had no info on delivery, customer cars, etc. All questions were answered with "you'll need to ask your dealer." No dealer sales brochures on hand, just a small trifold handout which did cover basic details about the smart. The usual smart apparel items behind glass cases, not for sale of course. No wheels or other items from the accessories brochure. No display of various colored panels.

All-in-all not very inspiring, although they did make an appearance at the show - better than nothing. Hopefully someone will check out the public days this weekend and see what the crowd at the smart stand is like. A few pics at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1176427...7603742666387/

John

[bmx43]

Originally Posted by jwight

Spent 30 minutes or so at the smart usa stand today; very crowded considering it was one of the preview days not open to the general public. Lots of folks in the auto industry were checking out the two smarts on display (the usual blue/silver coupe and a cabrio) plus a cutaway Tridion cell. No smart bigwigs to be found, just a few younger reps who seemed to know the cars fairly well but had no info on delivery, customer cars, etc. All questions were answered with "you'll need to ask your dealer." No dealer sales brochures on hand, just a small trifold handout which did cover basic details about the smart. The usual smart apparel items behind glass cases, not for sale of course. No wheels or other items from the accessories brochure. No display of various colored panels.

All-in-all not very inspiring, although they did make an appearance at the show - better than nothing. Hopefully someone will check out the public days this weekend and see what the crowd at the smart stand is like. A few pics at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1176427...7603742666387/

John

it's kind of a catch 22. they probably signed up for this show last year not knowing how successful the launch would be. the reality is that from all reports, the car is completely sold out for all of 2008. that's tough for anybody to hear who is standing there checking out the car, not knowing what is really going and thinking then can just go down and pick one up like just about any other car. so, instead, they give the programmed answer: ask your dealer.