will there be increased production

[ssppxyz]

Originally Posted by p1nball

With the money markets, banks and all those greedy corps. the tipping point has finally come!! The Asian car marker will seize the moment!! They build new models to compete with the Smart, and flood the market!! All those greedy dealers that upfit and overcharge for their orphans, will be looking at them in their lots. Toyota will ship their IQ in mass, and most likely build them here. Then the Smart dealers and big wigs won't look so SMART!!! They never learn, in the end they MIGHT kill their cash cow!!!
MY .02+.02 =.04
p1nball

This will change things quite a bit...

[RedDogInCan]

Originally Posted by wildkyle90

just thought id throw this out there. but what does everyone think of using the smart as their main mode of transportation. i dont have the need to carry more than just my girlfriend so it seems to make sense for me.

And don't forget, you can always get a rental for the odd occasions you need a larger car.

[RedDogInCan]

Originally Posted by ssppxyz

This will change things quite a bit...

Now that oil has dropped below $100/barrel, the impetus for buying small fuel efficient cars will decline. Expect to see a significant number of reservations cancelled in the next 6 months and a flood of orphans.

[SuperGeek]

Originally Posted by ssppxyz

This will change things quite a bit...

Yes, it will demonstrate which car is more popular... which will be the Toyota and Honda, for sure. The 80% of the population that just want a cheap four-seater that's small and gets good mileage will go for those. The remaining 20% will be more hardcore fans, and the supply and demand curves will come closer to meeting.

Daimler Benz isn't out to make a quick buck in a year, so they shouldn't throw all their eggs into the Smart USA basket. If it turns out to be a fad car, their investment would be lost and it would be a bad business decision. The trouble with car sales is that your basic new car model has to be sold in the USA a million times before it's profitable. If demand takes a sharp downturn, they'd have a million unsold cars. It seems to me that Daimler Benz has a pretty long-term vision for the profitability of the company.

Plus, there's something to be said for demand exceeding supply... even if they keep only 20,000 per year production and keep the models relatively the same each year, "everyone" will want one simply because they can't have one.

[F150SC]

INCREASED ALLOCATION of up to 40,000 units is what Penske says he needs. Remember they thought they could only sell 15,000 in 2008, it now looks close to 28000 units. The only way for a car company to succeed is to supply demand, or you will be forever a cult car like a Saab. The dollar is gaining strenght, European demand will decline, and Mercedes needs the mileage credits. With the RECESSION now, true Smart fortwo loyalist will get their cars sooner than later

[Smartdavis]

Originally Posted by p1nball

With the money markets, banks and all those greedy corps. the tipping point has finally come!! The Asian car marker will seize the moment!! They build new models to compete with the Smart, and flood the market!! All those greedy dealers that upfit and overcharge for their orphans, will be looking at them in their lots. Toyota will ship their IQ in mass, and most likely build them here. Then the Smart dealers and big wigs won't look so SMART!!! They never learn, in the end they MIGHT kill their cash cow!!!
MY .02+.02 =.04
p1nball

What makes you think that Smart won't adapt and build something to compete with the Asian car manufacturers? They did build a four seater in Europe and I'm sure they have other things on the drawing board. Mercedes is a big operation.

[Karl Roth]

Still the only micro car available in America.
karl

[Smartdavis]

That's true. But, they've also got a large (and growing) dedicated dealer network in place so it wouldn't be hard to add another model. I have to believe they would love to bring back some version of the Smart for four and expand the market. They know they are missing a big market by not having a back seat. Every car manufacturer goes down this road (bigger and bigger).

[Karl Roth]

Originally Posted by Smartdavis

That's true. But, they've also got a large (and growing) dedicated dealer network in place so it wouldn't be hard to add another model. I have to believe they would love to bring back some version of the Smart for four and expand the market. They know they are missing a big market by not having a back seat. Every car manufacturer goes down this road (bigger and bigger).

when are they going to start building that?
karl

[mike-in-sa]

They did go down that road. It turned out to be a dead end. The only profitable model turned out to be the fortwo.