You all must know this problem (our problem not PAG's) would be as easy as pie for PAG to solve if they cared to.
In the dealers contracts with PAG they have a clause (thanks for posting it BTW) telling them that if there are poor satisfaction surveys from buyers the dealers get hit with penalties.
All PAG would need to do is threaten the dealers with smaller allocations and these damn "fees" would evaporate so fast you'd never know they ever existed.
PERIOD.
WAKE UP guys- PAG and the dealers are thick as thieves on this issue. Don't you think this subject MIGHT have come up at the dealer meetings? What was PAGs answer? I think we can guess from the existence of the fees!
...
Also, the smart fortwo is actually the GREENEST car available now. Keep this in mind: The 'greenness' of a vehicle CANNOT be judged on the useable life of the vehicle alone. What happens to 45-50 MPG hybrids after their lives on the road are through? How much of the hybrid system is recyclable? Is the vehicle 95% recyclable like the fortwo?
I intended "greenness" from the EPA's standpoint which does not include re-cyclability. And re-cycling in not really in most smart reservers minds as a reason to buy or or back out.
And you say the MPG is not spectacular? It's got the best MPG of any gas-powered car sold in the US today (and that's using 2008 EPA standards!).
Yah, but they could have done better with an engine more like the 450s instead of one that will take the car to an electronically limited 90 MPH.
Not to mention that 91 octane gas burns cleaner, is better for the environment, and improves fuel economy and performance. ...
Ninty-one octane does not burn cleaner; is not better for the environment; does not, in itself, improve fuel economy and performance. It does make an engine designed for it run at peak efficiently. Burned in a lower compression engine not requiring it is just wasting money.
The bottom like is that the majority of people reserving a smart will happily choose to go through with the sale, but there will be another bunch who won't. I have always thought a 25%-35% attrition rate among the general population and maybe 5%-10% within this group.
... To me the only unique thing the Smart has is size. Otherwise it seems like a fairly conventional vehicle. ...
I will hang in for the sale, but I'm with you on the size thing. There is no characteristic about the smart that is a show stopper for me, and most others are an equal or plus. But, size is the winner. I live in a city townhouse with one outside, off-street parking slot and one 20' x 10' single garage bay. A bit over half of the garage is dedicated to non-automotive use, leaving just under 10' available for a vehicle. Only the smart will do (not even a MINI), otherwise I'd be limited to two-wheeled transport, rain or shine.
I received the call that my car has been prepped and is ready for pickup this afternoon. I called and said the day was too crazy and I would have to wait until tomorrow. The dealer is closed tomorrow so that means Sunday. What it means to me is that I have a little more time to make my final decision on whether to go through with it or not. I am leaning toward canceling the sale. The car was really a new toy for me and with the recession and this weeks market dive I am not so sure I want to liquidate cash on hand to that degree. Decisions, decisions...
Everybody is wailing about the need for premium fuel and how it's an added expense - most stations here in California charge 20 cents more for premium over the regular. That amounts to $1.60 more to fill the tank, if it's completely empty. I think a typical fillup will cost MAYBE an extra dollar - hardly going to break the bank I think...
Everybody is wailing about the need for premium fuel and how it's an added expense - most stations here in California charge 20 cents more for premium over the regular. That amounts to $1.60 more to fill the tank, if it's completely empty. I think a typical fillup will cost MAYBE an extra dollar - hardly going to break the bank I think...
You are correct, but it is the perception that has some howling before doing the simple math.
To me the only unique thing the Smart has is size. Otherwise it seems like a fairly conventional vehicle. I think that Smart has a window of opportunity to sell cars right now, but when the plug-in hybrids hit the market I wonder what the motivation would be to buy a Smart. Maybe the cuteness factor and cost. No matter what it will probably always be the smallest car available and a Smart plug-in hybrid would be really interesting. The potential problem would be that the technology would add cost and people would skip it and get a bigger more practical car. Overall I am not a big fan of cars and much prefer bicycles and motorcycles. Our only car is a Buick Rendezvous which has been a useful versatile vehicle, but it handles and accelerates like a kitchen appliance and gets poor gas mileage and I hate to park the thing. So I really look forward to the day when we have something small and zippy and low polluting to drive around the city. In the meantime I will follow the owners' experiences with the Smart over the next year and see how it pans out. Oh yeah, I am a little jealous! Have fun with the car!
Don't understand the buzz for plug ins. Have power plants cleaned up there act while I wasn't looking.
karl
Don't understand the buzz for plug ins. Have power plants cleaned up there act while I wasn't looking.
karl
Good point, but most of our power here in Seattle is hydro. Overall there are less emissions than gas burning cars even using power plant produced electricity, but I am sure that could be debated. Also I wonder how an economic gas burning car would compare with plug-in power from just coal burning power plant produced electricity. I think a lot of people just equate a plug-in or electric car with zero emissions but as you pointed out it isn't so. The power comes from somewhere!
Many dealerships are PAG, my local smart center is. I am sure there is a way to figure out how many are. But since Penske owns many MB dealers and it turn many smart dealers are connected. All this bickering wont do a damn thing, especially when Penske is the one in charge of the dealer. Now I of course am assuming that the dealers with the exorbitant fees are PAG dealers. I know I could be very wrong. But lets remember that PAG's main buisness is dealership ownership.
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