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Signing up for the smartusainsider.com it already knew my password and my profile name. It is quite clear that the smartusainsider website was created from the 451s.com website. The user database has been merged.
Just as I expected, the newsletter did not give me anything I didn't already know. One sentence blurb about "understanding how anxious we are and are working to give more specific information on the status of our order". And then an article on insurance and financing, more like an infomercial than a newsletter. I know they have more orders than expected, my main issue is how they are working their deliveries by area, not order of reservation as originally promised. How long does it take to put a spin on that explanation?
(sigh) alas, more frustration and no where to vent...
Thanks for your time,
Pops
Pops900, as has been exhaustively discussed and explained on this forum, smart must provide all of their dealers with a minimum regular supply of cars to sell, in order for the dealerships to be able to remain in business profitably. Had they attempted to fulfil orders solely according to reservation order, many dealerships would not have been viable, and the entire process of introducing the smart to America would have been greatly damaged. Because cars must be supplied to dealers in areas with relatively low demand, and/or a high concentration of dealerships, regardless of greater unmet demand in other regions, people will receive their cars more quickly in some areas than in others. There is no “cheating” or special favouring involved.
I am one of those who received a car relatively quickly, due to my location at Long Island, New York. In exchange for this one happy reward, I have had to endure residence in one of the most costly, most highly taxed and regulated, most over-populated, and most over-developed parts of the country. Be careful of what you wish for!
I do think it a great shame that smart are apparently unable to add a third shift at the smartville factory in Hambach, because French labour laws (which are extraordinarily oppressive) would make it difficult or impossible to remove the extra shift should demand for smart cars decline in future. This is an example of a law that is not only immoral but which also, perversely, harms the very people it was intended to help. Instead of positions for workers in a third shift, albeit not necessarily permanent in the long term, there is nothing at all. People seeking employment, not to mention the economy of France and the local region, are harmed, with no positive result on the other side of the balance.
POPS900- I agree with you completely. I also think there is more to the delivery problems some are experiencing than trying to be 'fair' to the dealers. Long Island and some areas of Florida delivery rates seem to be faster than any where else.
Without trying to cause a fight, US demand for smarts would keep a 3rd shift running for a long time if Mercedes chose to make the investment for our market. Go to other countries and you can buy off the lot, in the US you can buy any Mercedes you want off the lot, a lot of dealers even have the McLaren Mercedes in stock and they are $500k.
Don't get me started on the moral issue about permanent jobs or that Long Island is so expensive - so is LA, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, etc. etc. etc. Having lived in 10 cities from coast to coast in 40 years, I find all Americans face much of the same problems now days.
Thank guys for the comments. I was not trying to make it look like anyone was 'cheating'. I just think it has to be obvious to the powers that be within Smart that the response by the US is much greater than expected so what is the game plan now? Knowing they could only produce so many units in a given time, maybe they should not have allowed so many dealerships to start which may have helped control demand.
I have gotten over my original excitement and anticipation of having a Smartie by this July or August (reserved January 14th). The air is out of the balloon now so I have decided to forget about it as much as possible until I get a configuration email. Then start the waiting game all over again...
I live in the Dallas area and it really slow going here. One dealership in the whole area!! I got on the orphan list at my dealership but it looked like there was about 400 in front of me. I did look at the new toyota IQ but the don't think it will be in our market till 2010. I still might be able to get it first!
CBJ4 - I hear what you say. Chicagoland's 2 dealers cover the 13 million local population plus Iowa, and northern Indiana. I am amazed that they put multiple dealers in so Florida and some other areas.
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