[SmartCarDan]

Smart dealers have a decision to make
Stick with a shrunken, EV-only brand — or give up?
"Mercedes-Benz USA wants the verdict the owners of Smart's other 83 centers by the end of June."

http://www.autonews.com/article/20170619/RETAIL01/170619779/smart-sales-poised-to-shrink-in-ev-play


Other than Mister_smart_LA, how many other smart center dealership brand managers are active on this site?
Have you heard anything from your General Managers/ dealer owners regarding keeping or ditching the brand?

I thought they'd at least let us all launch the new EV model- sounds like many dealers will be closing before that..

 

[10470]

Did we need a new thread for a topic that already exists?

 

[gewitzt]

The "local" smart dealer (15 miles), the only one of three MB dealers in my region (and NOT the dealer to which I take my Benz), has already announced it will no longer carry the smart line. I'm not sure if they are going to remain service-only, but if not, once my "experiment" with the smart EV has run its course, I'll be looking for something else.

 

[Incochief]

Things are not looking good when the parent wants to know who is left. Sales are not worth the investment?

 

[phillysmart]

Little bit bigger replacement ??

Maybe this is why the gas smart is going away - there is something: bigger, more "normal" Benz-like, and with more market and profit potential. Word has it that MB dealers will soon be carrying the A-class -

https://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/futu...uture-gallery-0&gallery=UNIQUE-GALLERY-ID|0|0

-Barry-

 

[gewitzt]

Maybe this is why the gas smart is going away - there is something: bigger, more "normal" Benz-like, and with more market and profit potential. Word has it that MB dealers will soon be carrying the A-class

The indications seem to be that this is the case. Another article infers the same thing. I must say, the A-class certainly looks a whole lot more "grown up" than the ones I saw in Europe a few years ago!

 

[Incochief]

Don't be surprised if the A Class goes electric and Smarts start to be phased out. One Star brand to keep all the investors and dealers happy. And buyers too who want a Mercedes but don't make the connection owning a Smart. You heard it here first!

 

[gewitzt]

Don't be surprised if the A Class goes electric and Smarts start to be phased out. One Star brand to keep all the investors and dealers happy. And buyers too who want a Mercedes but don't make the connection owning a Smart. You heard it here first!

You put voice to the very thought I've had ever since I learned my local MB dealer was pulling out of the smart market. Just to make sure, I consulted an unimpeachable source: The Magic 8 Ball:

 

[kheran]

Don't be surprised if the A Class goes electric and Smarts start to be phased out. One Star brand to keep all the investors and dealers happy. And buyers too who want a Mercedes but don't make the connection owning a Smart. You heard it here first!

I don't think it's a matter of the smarts "starting to be phased out". It's really a question of when, especially now that the Mothership is demanding yes or no answers from their current smart dealer network as to whether or not they are going to continue to sell the ED .

 

[wrumbarger]

My local (Tyson's Corner) smart center WILL NOT be selling electric smarts (Virginia is not an "EV Friendly" state.

They will continue to service both gas and electric smarts.

IF you are in the DC metro area, then Germantown smart center is the ONLY place to buy a new smart.

 

[gewitzt]

IF you are in the DC metro area, then Germantown smart center is the ONLY place to buy a new smart.

Yes, and Germantown is "DC metro area" if you're in Maryland. For anyone going there from northern Virginia, you might as well pack a lunch...

 

[TomLeeM]

something else that is also small

The "local" smart dealer (15 miles), the only one of three MB dealers in my region (and NOT the dealer to which I take my Benz), has already announced it will no longer carry the smart line. I'm not sure if they are going to remain service-only, but if not, once my "experiment" with the smart EV has run its course, I'll be looking for something else.

I was thinking a used (get it after 2017) 2017 Smart since it is the last gas powered Fortwo but I could switch to another small car. One that I considered is the Fiat 500 and another is the Mini Cooper.
:nerd:

 

[10470]

I was thinking a used (get it after 2017) 2017 Smart since it is the last gas powered Fortwo but I could switch to another small car.

Similar logic probably prevailed in the early 1900s when the horse and buggy gave way to the automobile.

Buggy salesmen warned people to snatch up buggies before it was too late, and that those last buggies would become rare and valuable collectibles!

 

[smark]

Similar logic probably prevailed in the early 1900s when the horse and buggy gave way to the automobile.

Buggy salesmen warned people to snatch up buggies before it was too late, and that those last buggies would become rare and valuable collectibles!

You never been to a Amish community, driving a smart car.

 

[smark]

I got this email link, from smart America today. Really don't think the smart brand will be around, after the 2018 year. Only trying to sell a EV model.

Should All Smart Dealers Burn Down Their Lots This Summer?

 

[Blaine]

Should All Smart Dealers Burn Down Their Lots This Summer?

An excellent example of journalistic oxygen deprivation.

 

[DreamCarOwner]

All of us in the good old USA might end up doing what the Cubans did when the cold war started up. They began using any engine or any part that they could find to keep their vintage cars on the road. We might find Fortwo's with boat engines or Chevy windshield wipers. The plastic isn't gonna rust out. It may just end up brittle and cracked from UV damage. We may have to resort to Hemmings Motor News to find imported parts from other countries. It's a shame to see the brand die right before our very eyes. Some of us actually like our Fortwos. DCO

 

[Incochief]

I fear MB has already made a decision on the future of the Smart. Recall last year's rollout of the EQ line of cars to be built in Germany in Bremen? That included an SUV which they actually showed at Paris. Having all cars labeled MB and in one store is a big advantage. Dividing lines worked for Honda and Toyota because Acura and Lexus were more expensive. MB and the lower cost Smart two seater had a much rougher road, especially when gas prices sank.
I loved my munchkin and hoped to get another. Maybe not going to happen.

 

[Mister_smart_LA]

I got this email link, from smart America today. Really don't think the smart brand will be around, after the 2018 year. Only trying to sell a EV model.

Should All Smart Dealers Burn Down Their Lots This Summer?

Too bad the journalist didn't know from the inside why "only 54" electric smarts were sold between January and May. The answer to that is because they were SOLD OUT nationwide pretty much all year.

This is why even professional journalists should not be placed on pedestals, with their opinions unchecked and automatically assumed to be true.

 

[MB DNA]

This is why even professional journalists should not be placed on pedestals, with their opinions unchecked and automatically assumed to be true.

Matt Posky, Eastern Michigan University a Professional Journalist? Don't think he has yet to "earn" his pedestal?

Suffice to say that this is more Alt News provided by yet another journalistic wannabee, who owns a keyboard which gave him license to launch yet another clickbait platform . . .

By his own LinkedIn description - Specialties: Writing (news and column), Copywriting, Blogging, Social Media Management, Media Research and Analysis, PR Crisis Monitoring, Audio and Video Technology, Adobe CS5 (Premiere Pro, Photoshop, After Effects, Encore), Final Cut Pro, AVID, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint