Latest monthly and total US sales numbers (check post #1)

[Mike T]

If they have to change the car any more to sell OK in the USA, I would rather that they leave that market and sell it only where the car is appreciated for what it is. There is no lack of competition in Europe for the smart and it has successfullly carved out a permanent niche in that market. Canada accepted the 450 with open arms "as is" and is more like Europe than the USA in that sense.

[cowancom]

I love our smart.
I love our new Fiesta more.

[PassionforPassionCT]

This is becoming frustrating. The continued lack of effort by smartUSA to actually do some serious marketing is absurd. I still have people coming up to me 2 years + on ownership asking what it is and how its powered etc.
Penske must still be making some money on the deal otherwise he would have bailed already. As much as I admire Penske for doing what Daimler would not do, it may be time for him to hand over control.

[WhiteNBlack08]

Good lord I get tired of reading this all the time.... IF only smart would do this... if only smart would change that....


Get over it people! If you want the same old turd-on-wheels that everybody else drives, go buy a Yaris, Fiesta, Cobalt, etc.! Part of the draw for smart is the quirks, the unique aspects of the car. If I had wanted the same old boring crap everyody else was driving, I wouldn't have bought a smart!

At Nationals, smart made it very clear how they are proceeding in the market. They have NO PLANS to do mass marketing. They are .1% of the market, how do you expect them to launch a big ad campaign and compete with Toyota, GM, Ford, or any of the others? The fact is the cash flow isn't there to support it, and they have a lot of data to back up the fact that it doesn't work anyway. All the griping, whining, and complaining on here isn't going to change how they market the car. They see it as a 2nd or 3rd car, a luxury purchase, like a boat, or jet ski, or other item that isn't "necessary", people buy them for fun. I'm not really in their target group, my smart is my primary transportation. I rely on it eveyday to get me to work and back. But that's the beauty of the smart, it can be many things to many people. Is it perfect? NO. Is it for everyone? NO. But it fits what I need, and it's a lot of fun to drive. That's what's important to me.

[Mike T]

Originally Posted by cowancom

I love our smart.
I love our new Fiesta more.

I love eating at starred Michelin restaurants in France.

But I love eating a Big Mac more!

[forestacademy]

Bumpity, do we have the July #'s yet?

[PassionforPassionCT]

560 for July a 60% decrease from last year
Daimler AG Reports a 5.5 Percent Increase for Mercedes-Benz and smart Vehicles in... -- NEW YORK, Aug. 3 /PRNewswire/ --

Thanks, posted in #1!

[forestacademy]

[QUOTE=PassionforPassionCT;358066]560 for July a 60% decrease from last year [QUOTE]
Perhaps, but its almost flat from last months numbers

[PassionforPassionCT]

Originally Posted by forestacademy

Perhaps, but its almost flat from last months numbers

To put a positive spin on things... There also could have been a bump for July and Aug of last year because of C4C... though not as much as other brands, it is there.
Toyota and Honda both down because of the skewing of last years numbers.

Slow and steady as she goes I suppose....

[kelmac]

Well the slowest month on record was Jan, 2010 -- that's when my Smart was delivered. Had it seven months now and I have a whopping 2,530 miles on it. My wife uses her Elantra to go to work and I use my Frontier to head to the golf course and my part time job; for everything else we use the "Smartie".

Still brings a smile to my face!!

Enjoy!
Kel