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Penske & Nissan agree to sell new small car under smart brand

40K views 123 replies 44 participants last post by  Miss Mercedes 
#1 · (Edited)
I guess Penske's not ready to throw in the towel on smart just yet, but a Versa clone? It sounds like a redux of the forfour/Mitsu Colt. :( Of course, it might just be a bridge model until the new generation arrives. Honda did the same thing with Isuzu Rodeo/Honda Passport until the Pilot could be introduced.

Penske Auto, Nissan Sign Deal to Sell Smart-Brand Cars in U.S.

"Penske Automotive Group Inc., a large chain of car dealerships, said Wednesday it reached a nonbinding agreement with Nissan Motor Co. to sell a Nissan-made small car in the U.S. market under the Smart brand name.

Penske already sells the tiny two-passenger Smart ForTwo minicar made by Daimler AG, and is interested in a adding a second model to the Smart line in hopes of boosting sales, Jill Lajdziak, president of Penske subsidiary Smart USA Distributor LLC, said in an interview.

The new Smart model, due in showrooms in the fourth quarter of 2011, is a four-door hatchback that Nissan already sells in other regions of the world, Ms. Lajdziak said. Nissan itself already offers a car of that type, the Versa, in the U.S. market."
 
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#2 · (Edited)
So no Smart DNA, Just a re-badge


smart USA soundboard: talk
Caution Concerning Forward Looking Statements
Statements in this press release involve forward-looking statements, including forward-looking statements regarding smart USA Distributor LLC or Penske Automotive Group, Inc.’s ability to complete the transaction noted above. Actual results may vary materially because of risks and uncertainties, including completion of binding documentation, performance by certain vendors and suppliers, and other conditions many of which may be outside of our control. These forward-looking statements should be evaluated together with additional information about Penske Automotive’s business, markets, conditions and other uncertainties which could affect Penske Automotive’s future performance. These risks and uncertainties are addressed in Penske Automotive’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009, and its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). This press release speaks only as of its date, and Penske Automotive disclaims any duty to update the information herein.
Looks better than My versa, and it reads as if this re-badging will only be a US thing
 
#5 ·
So no Smart DNA, Just a re-badge

So the new lineup at our local smart store will be the smart ForTwo and the not-so-smart rebadged Nissan?

It would seem unlikely that the Nissan-made small car would have many of the safety attributes that come with the ForTwo?

Today our smart dealer has parts availability issues with a French made vehicle that shares some MB parts, now we are throwing a Japanese made Nissan into the equation - YIKES!

The good news - it gives the smart dealer yet another vehicle to sell, one that appears to offer seating for four. Is this the lifeline, the bridge that the brand needs in these tough times?
 
#7 · (Edited)
Gee, I don't know,... if I wanted a Nissan, I think I would buy it from Nissan. Probably would get a better warranty that way and I definately wouldn't have to drive 4 plus hours to get to a dealer.
However, if smart U.S.A. would market the entire line of smart products to the U.S. ( as in DIESEL ) and push smart to produce some of the prototypes they've shown, such as the CROSSTOWN, I would buy more smarts from Penske Automotive, A.K.A. smart U.S.A.
 
#18 · (Edited)
More today from Automotive News:

DETROIT -- Smart USA, battling plunging demand for its sole U.S. car, says it has reached a deal with Nissan Motor Co. to sell a five-door gasoline-powered small car in the United States next year. The subcompact will go on sale in the fourth quarter of 2011, Smart said in a statement today.

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101006/ANE/310069967/1193#ixzz11aosU19t

Ooh, and here on Autoextremist
http://www.autoextremist.com/on-the-table1/
 
#19 ·
Just my .02, but I'm betting this car (if it ever hits smart USA showrooms) is only a stopgap until the next generation smart arrives. The non-binding agreement says nothing about the number of cars or how long they'll be supplied to Penske. All the info we've seen so far points to the next generation smart/Renault (Nissan) arriving by 2014, including the 4 door version. If this Micra clone arrives by October 2011 that gives smart maybe three years to sell it before it's replaced by the next generation version. :)
 
#22 ·
Just my .02, but I'm betting this car (if it ever hits smart USA showrooms) is only a stopgap until the next generation smart arrives. :)
Agreed, this would appear to be a baby step towards the smart/Renault (Nissan) colaboration.

Definately got some apples to oranges comparisons going on. Hard to detect the tridion safety cell on the Micra but I am sure that will all be crystal clear with the Micra cutaway in the showroom - not!

Marketing of the Micra clone as a sibling of the smart ForTwo may be the challenge? But then isn't MARKETING where our smart USA group shine? :eek:
 
#23 ·
Looking closely at the car its based on, it looks like it has the Versa passenger room, but sacrifices the Cargo space behind the rear seat.

We Picked the Versa as our BIG car because of the ability to put a real adult in the rear while the diver was in a comfortable position.

This will in no way take away sales from the fortwo. After all there isn't a lot of sales to take away. It should bring new folks into the showroom and set them up for the future next gen smarts.
 
#25 ·
one overly-eager article says "re-badge" and everyone gets upset. read further and you see language like "new global platform" and "based on vehicle architecture from Nissan".
everyone knows Renault-Nissan-Daimler are cooperating on various projects, and that this represents "the first vehicle for the U.S. market under an expanded partnership between Smart parent Daimler AG, Renault SA and Nissan."
"shared global platform" does not mean re-badging. A forfive model, placeholder or not, in place for 2-3 years before the 2014 model previously announced is a win-win.

"The yet-to-be-named new Smart subcompact will be built on a new global platform in one of Nissan's manufacturing plants in North America, Smart USA spokesman Rick Bourgoise said."
 
#26 ·
one overly-eager article says "re-badge" and everyone gets upset. read further and you see language like "new global platform" and "based on vehicle architecture from Nissan".
everyone knows Renault-Nissan-Daimler are cooperating on various projects, and that this represents "the first vehicle for the U.S. market under an expanded partnership between Smart parent Daimler AG, Renault SA and Nissan."
"shared global platform" does not mean re-badging. A forfive model, placeholder or not, in place for 2-3 years before the 2014 model previously announced is a win-win.

"The yet-to-be-named new Smart subcompact will be built on a new global platform in one of Nissan's manufacturing plants in North America, Smart USA spokesman Rick Bourgoise said."

Exactly, my source says they are using the "platform" The rest will be engineered by smart.
 
#28 ·
Ill wait till i can actually put my hands on it to gripe....but I fear ill gripe anyway :(
I like the Smart, the whole point of it is its Fortwo i thought...
Making it ForFour, IE going to way of the mini, and making the small car larger...
I dunno, ill wait till i see the gas/specs blah blah....If it helps the brand, ill call it good regardless.
I too would like to have a service station atleast in my state :)
 
#31 ·
Ill wait till i can actually put my hands on it to gripe....but I fear ill gripe anyway :(
I like the Smart, the whole point of it is its Fortwo i thought...
Making it ForFour, IE going to way of the mini, and making the small car larger...
I dunno, ill wait till i see the gas/specs blah blah....If it helps the brand, ill call it good regardless.
I too would like to have a service station atleast in my state :)
Important point, This may get more folks into the smart showrooms, but they are still very limited. Still not going to move a lot of them because of limited distribution .
 
#29 ·
I guess Penske's not ready to throw in the towel on smart just yet, but a Versa clone? It sounds like a redux of the forfour/Mitsu Colt. :( Of course, it might just be a bridge model until the new generation arrives. Honda did the same thing with Isuzu Rodeo/Honda Passport until the Pilot could be introduced.
actually Honda and Isuzu had a deal for several years to produce vehicles for each other because each was lacking vehicles to compete in certain catagories. Honda didn't have an SUV and Isuzu didn't have a mini-van, so Honda agreed to produce the Honda Odyssey with the Isuzu Oasis name and Isuzu agreed to supply Honda with the Isuzu Rodeo under the Passport name. all was well with Isuzu but Honda was getting 'crap' from Isuzu. the Passport was killing Honda's "CSI" (customer service index) in owner surveys. many owners weren't even aware they had an Isuzu built vehicle and when they found out, they were FURIOUS! I know....I had to deal with them in the service drive nearly every day for 3 years. NOT FUN.
 
#30 ·
engineered by smart doesn't mean engineered by Penske (smartUSA). I doubt Penske has the authority to do his own engineering on this. the US market appears to be seen as having a particularly urgent need for a larger model, that doesn't mean daimler is hands off.
 
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#32 ·
Nissan Service is an oxymoron. From the former owner of the Nissan Cube aka. "bag of recalled crap" Glad I got rid of that bucket before all the new recalls came out. The latest recall I received should have just been a thank you from Nissan on the purchase of your brand new Pinto. Let me just say do not hit a Cube in the ass.

Dink
 
#38 ·
From the horse's mouth (Daimler)
>> smart USA plans to launch five-door model
Detroit/Stuttgart. smart USA intends to launch a five-door car on the US market within the next 15 months. This was announced by smart USA in Detroit today.

The B-segment five-door car is to be sold solely in the United States and is based on vehicle architecture from Nissan. This will allow the demand of US smart customers and dealers for a larger but smart-typical car to be fulfilled very soon.

“We are faced with continuing customer demand for a smart car with more seating capacity,” explained Roger Penske, Chairman of the Penske Automotive Group. “Sales and service of the five seater will be carried out exclusively by our approximately 75 smart dealerships in the United States. Together with Nissan, we will bring to market a fully equipped small car for our customers and dealers in the USA. It will fit in well with the smart brand.”

Further details of the product and its distribution will be announced at a later date.

smart USA, a company of the Penske Automotive Group, opened up the micro-car segment in the United States with the launch of the smart fortwo in 2008, and recently created great interest with the announcement of the smart fortwo electric drive.

Further information on smart USA is available on the Internet:
smart USA - open your mind to the car that challenges the status quo
Source: smart USA plans to launch five-door model | Daimler Global Media Site > Company > Business News
 
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