smart 450s alive and well in Dallas

[jwight]

http://www.fwbusinesspress.com/display.php?id=7215


Anybody been by Lionhead Motors?

[911k]

Lionhead Motors is just down the street from where I work in Dallas.

I went by there right after they opened last year in September and talked to the guy. Typical car salesman BS such as "Penske will never get the 451s into the US- that's just a dream", "the Mitsubishi engines are junk- you need to buy one of mine with a real Mercedes engine", blah, blah, blah.

When I asked about warranty coverage, he told me Zim's Autotechnik in Bedford would handle all of the warranty claims. The owner, Al Zim, has been a friend of mine for thirty years. When I asked him about this, he said he has never talked to the guy, let alone signed on to do their warranty claims.

The guy at Lionhead told me he brought 2000 cars in over the last couple of years and has sold around 1400 of them at $25k plus. I seriously doubt he is selling 10 cars a month as the article states, but I guess it's possible.

I think the truth of the matter is that he is running scared and has 600 cars left over that will be very difficult to get rid of unless he takes a loss on each one. I can't imagine there is a market for "last year's model" at a hefty premium over the new 451s with no dealer support.

[SAFE4NOW]

Ditto on what Mike said above. We have even had our fair share of 450's come in , after being told that we would be able to to warranty and repair their cars!

I really hate not being able to help a client, but the truth is, we cannot.

S

[spdickey]

Lionhead Motors under fire for its Smart car sales | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Business News

Originally Posted by Dallas Morning News

Lionhead Motors under fire for its Smart car sales

10:00 PM CDT on Friday, May 30, 2008

By TERRY BOX / The Dallas Morning News
tbox@dallasnews.com Daimler AG, the German parent company of Smart USA, has warned Lionhead Motors of Dallas that it is not authorized to continue selling the highly popular mini-cars.
Lionhead apparently bought its inventory of Smart cars from European distributors, so the cars aren't under warranty because they are not U.S.-market vehicles.
Dozens of the cars may have been sold at prices twice the U.S. model's $11,590 base price.
Company partners Michael Riccubuono and Kyle Ford could not be reached for comment. Mr. Riccubuono didn't return a message left on his cellphone, and the doors of the Lionhead showroom at 2703 W. Mockingbird Lane were locked Friday. No cars were parked on the property, and white paper covered the showroom windows.
In addition, Lionhead Motors – which has said that it began selling imported Smart cars last fall – may not have a license from the state to sell cars. The company filed for a used car license on March 21, but the application is still pending, state officials said.
"They should not be selling cars without a license," said Bill Harbeson, managing attorney for enforcement at the Texas Department of Transportation motor vehicles division. "That's a violation of law."
Late last year, Daimler and Mercedes-Benz granted a franchise for Smart cars to Park Place Dealerships, which opened Smart Center Dallas in January.
Since then, the car has become one of Park Place Dealerships' hottest-selling vehicles, said Ken Schnitzer, chairman of the group.
"We have one year's worth of orders now," he said.
Smart, which has been sold in Europe for the last decade, is a two-seat, 1,800-pound car that has unconventional styling, 33-mpg fuel economy in city driving and an urban-chic image.
Lionhead's appeal was that the Smart cars on its lot were immediately available – as opposed to waiting for months to buy one from a franchised dealer.
The European versions are about the same size as the U.S. versions but have Mercedes rather than Mitsubishi engines and different safety equipment.
The Lionhead Smart cars were apparently licensed as legal "gray-market" vehicles.
Park Place asked Daimler about Lionhead's status after a few Lionhead customers brought their cars to Smart Center Dallas for warranty work.
The dealership told the Lionhead customers that their cars had no warranties and that they would need to take them back to Lionhead, Mr. Schnitzer said.
"We are not authorized to work on these [imported] cars, and I'm not sure how quickly we could even get parts for them," he said.
Daimler is investigating the situation, said Julia Engelhardt, a spokeswoman in New York.
Lawyers for the German corporation sent Lionhead a letter this week, she said.
"I don't know what was said because I don't have a copy of the letter," she said. "But I can tell you that they are not an authorized dealer."
Mr. Riccubuono and Mr. Ford told the Fort Worth Business Press in March that they offered 2005 and 2006 Smart cars for $24,000 to $31,000 and were selling 10 to 15 cars a month.
They said the cars were excess inventory from European dealers that they bought through a California importer.
Mr. Schnitzer said he is concerned that consumers would confuse Lionhead with Smart Center Dallas.
"I don't want them to reflect badly on us," he said.

[jwight]

Thanks for posting this; confirms what appeared to be a shady setup at best.