The fact is MB has yet to make a profit on the Smart. Probably great for
CAFE, however. How 'smart' is one to spend 17K to buy a midget two seat
car when one can buy a four seat Civic, Focus or Corolla for that kind of
money. Better yet one of the others on the market in the 14K range, simply
to save a relative few hundred dollars annually on fuel?
Reminds one of the wisdom of those buying hybrids. The premium one must
pay
to buy a hybrid, over its conventionally power twin, will by ALL of ones
fuel for the conventionally powered car for the four years that the
average
new car buyer keeps their car. ;)
"Mike Marlow" <mmarlowREMOVE@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:796a5$47ac6c26$a22700f5$31408@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> "pj" <pj4380@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
> news:47ABEDB8.5040300@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>>
>> Typically car buyers purchase what they can afford. First question
>> usually asked by a car salesperson is, "how much a month are you going
to
>> pay?"
>>
>
> Which has nothing to do with the discussion to this point. People
already
> have the option to buy a lot of available cars that are 1/2 the price of
> what they currently drive, get higher gas mileage, yet they continue to
> buy Accords, Camry's, trucks, SUV, and whatever. There is simply more
to
> the equation than buying the smallest, most sardine can-like vehicle on
> the road purely in the name of fuel economy.
>
>
>> We will ratchet down buyer expectations as the cost increases. In
>> addition to energy savings, benefits will include lower unsprung
weight,
>> translating into less damage to roads and bridges. And, highway noise
>> levels will decrease.
>
> Sounds good on paper (to you at least), but what a crock. The
difference
> in wear to roads between the average mid sized sedan and one of these
> wonder cars is negligible. The noise levels won't be any different.
> Well - maybe they will be louder with these miracle cars, as the sounds
> of sheet metal and plastic grenading and the sobs of the dying souls,
> overwhelms the sounds of the typical mid-sized sedans driving by.
>
>
>>
>> Yea verily-- the m***** will go with the flow.
>> If you want a muscle car, those will be available too, they will be
>> labeled, "ex****t only" and you'll pay a hefty premium to bring them
back
>> into the country.
>
> Too bad the flow won't be these cheap throw away caskets on wheels.
They
> may be fine for city use, and maybe even for the 3 mile jaunt to the
> grocery store (as long as you don't buy anything more than a gallon on
> milk), but for the normal driving needs of the average American, these
> things are not the solution.
>
>
>>
>> Regrettably, Mercedes was the first to put a toe in the water with the
>> Smartcar. Shame we didn't have the guts to do it.
>>
>
> Regrettably?? It's not a novel concept. There have been urban cars
> forever. Besides the marketing hype that Mercedes threw at this thing,
> there's nothing unique in this car. Manufacturers all over the world
have
> built this type of concept for decades.
>
> --
>
> -Mike-
> mmarlowREMOVE@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
|
