Zetsche Speaks to Chamber of Commerce in Wash. D.C.

[SmartBob]

At a traditional luncheon with prominent speakers hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, Daimler Chairman Dr. Dieter Zetsche today presented the smart fortwo to representatives of U.S. businesses and government as an environmentally friendly solution for future mobility. Starting in January, the compact model, which has already been very successful in Europe with about 850,000 units sold, will also be available in the U.S.
In his presentation to the high-profile audience in Washington, Dr. Zetsche expressed his conviction that the smart fortwo will be a resounding success in the U.S. as well. The reason is that the smallest model produced by Mercedes-Benz Cars is a standout - not only because of its unique compact design and intelligent, safety-oriented construction, but also thanks to its low fuel consumption and exemplary environmental friendliness. "Europeans are enthusiastic about the smart and we are beginning to see Americans share this enthusiasm," said Dr. Zetsche. "More than 50,000 Americans have already tested the smart in our U.S. road show, and over 30,000 of them have by now reserved a vehicle.�
Zetsche added that he could well imagine a large-scale project in cooperation with a partner city in the U.S. to test the electrically powered smart fortwo, similar to the project that is currently running in London. Interested guests were able to experience the "zero-emission" smart fortwo at first hand during today's event and form their own impressions through test drives.
The distribution partner for the sale of smart models in the U.S. will be the Penske Automotive Group.

[SmartBob]

*Bump* 49 views and no comments?

[lhoboy]

Originally Posted by SmartBob

*Bump* 49 views and no comments?

What's to say? The man's out on the street flogging his product.

[gimhoff]

The Washington Times published an article on the Smart Car that coincided with Dieter Zetsche's visit to DC: http://www.washingtontimes.com/artic...NESS/112050053

I didn't post a link earlier because it doesn't have any new information on the car, but the article ended with an interesting quote from Zetsche: "As for himself, he said, 'The only vehicle I privately own is a Smart.'"

[SmartBob]

I post every article I see because it's one more brick in a wall of success.

[MicroNut]

Well Bob, here's another brick.

This is Dr Z being interviewed about his impending trip up to the hill on Tuesday:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5vDx4ABpmI

[mdfortwoguy]

Sorry to bump this up to the top, but I thought that this would be worthy of it.

These cars that were shown in DC were placed on the last road show in DC this year, in place of the EU spec models that were there before.

The car is noticeably different in US spec. It seemed quieter, smoother, and the taller 5th gear in the transmission means it is keeping out of 5th at around town speeds for the most part. Once or twice, it did try to hit 5th gear when in auto mode around town (I went on 3 drives), which resulted in shuddering - but then it realized that it needed to shift down, and did so before I intervened. The manual mode is as slick as ever, and the new shift knob falls readily to hand and feels solid through its detents (one of my concerns, because as I understand it, it is just a hall effect switch, nothing more).

The new cluster is the same that we have seen, with the long horizontal fuel gauge and no engine temperature gauge (why, I do not know... I'd like more than a light, but that's what the scangauge is for).

Overall... this is going to be a long and painful wait, but very worth it, once the beast gets here.