I bought the Fortwo since I like small cars and it was - at the time -the only micro car that one can drive on roads. Having good MPG was a bonus. Even with gas prices going down, I still would have bought a Fortwo. There are others who would still have bought a small car. Not every one wants a big car. If there gas prices go back up and I think they eventually will, there will be a need for a car that is good on gas and used as a commuter vehicle for those who go to work by themselves or with one other person. I hope the Smart is here for a very long time.
Gas prices will go back up, there is a limited supply of oil. Electrics and bio-fueled vehicles will be the fore front and if smart can get a diesel and an EV to meet what America wants, it will do just fine. High mileage commuter vehicles seem to be getting very popular!
I read that Toyota will not be selling the iQ in the US.
Not right away, but from what I have read it will be branded as a Scion here in the states. IIRC it will be here late 2009 as a 2010. Im sure they will have to go through all the crash test and what not before they can be sold here.
I predict at a minimal it will last 3-5 years. But I feel it will last especially if SMART devolops another model like SMART that can hold 4 or a sports car verson SMART.
They had a four door and sports car version in Europe that were both discontinued due to greater competition in those markets. Especially the 4 door where there are plenty of compact/subcompact 4 door cars on the world market.
I know only one absolute. Roger Penske doesn't attach his name and reputation to anything that he hasn't determined beforehand that he can make long term money on, and be successful with. Good enough for me.
The smart, and other micro cars which are on the way fill a niche market. They are not for everyone. But, if you look at most of the vehicles on your daily commute, you'll notice a lot of vehicles with the sole occupant being the driver. I'm one of them. I have no need for a back seat. In fact, I rarely have a need for a passenger seat.
I LIKE small cars. On more than on occasion, I've mentioned to friends of mine that if I were a rich man, I'd still have a small car ... likely a more expensive one, but still small. Not only that, but it has the highest mpg and lowest emissions of any non-hybrid on the market, so far. I have to admit, I sometimes enjoy the attention it gets too.
As has been noted earlier in this thread, it already DID adapt to the US market, it was made slightly larger and safety features were beefed up. But, why on Earth would we want it to be more like the other compact cars which are readily available?? I mean, if that's what we wanted, we would have bought one of them instead.
A couple of things in smart's favor: history repeats itself, and the smart has appeal that transcends MPG.
My point: prior to the 70's oil embargos by Exxon, et al, the small car was mostly for cash-strapped people who didn't drive alot (note the "mostly" - the VW bug was, until relatively recently, the largest selling car model in history - and it made it on a combination of good engineering, quirk-appeal, and price)
Now we have another artificially-created oil crisis (not discounting the real problems that internal combustion contributes to), and the smart is the first/best (some subjectivity here) to step up with a real solution, or at least the best first-start. Consider - 3rd highest MPG rating in America, and the only two to beat it are over-priced hybrids with an earth-unfriendly, expensive battery in them.
My guess - yes, the smart will continue to change to market demand - they all do (look at any long-run model name, compare to what it was in the 50's, 60's or 70's when it first hit the street, and look at it now/last run).
We can hope that smart will expand the offerings here - bring over their other models (I, for one, would be one for the first in line for a forfour) and other engine options. And they will continue to evolve. PLUS they have a deeply-entrenched world-wide market to help keep it floating.
So yes, I think it will be here for the fore-seeable future - probably longer than one or more of the "Big Three"
PS: All Mini's are real Mini's, the real ones as you call them were just the original's. They were cool, but so are the new generation. Nobody would buy a car built like the original nowadays. Crank windows? No GPS? No A/C? No power seats? No airbags? I don't think so. Everything adapts over time - it doesn't necessarily get larger...and in many cases - gets better.
Isn't that like saying all the VW New Beetles are real Beetles but the real Beetle as that poster calls them.. are the ORIGINAL Beetles?
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