Can the Smart car move America?

BBC ^ | 04/27/04 | BBC

[Pikamax]

Can the Smart car move America?

By André Vornic BBC News, New York

The Smart car is a familiar sight in Europe as it squeezes through traffic to find parking spaces too small for anyone else. But how will the tiny car fare on the streets of the US where size really matters? Big, as far as most US car-makers is concerned, is definitely beautiful. Anyone trying to convince drivers to take to a Smart car in the States may well have their work cut out.

Which may be the reason why, even though the car is being promoted aggressively in the US - DaimlerChrysler sponsoring marathons in New York and Boston - the company has decided not to sell the car in the world's biggest car market until 2006.

SUVs: Big beasts of the roads With its compact looks and low petrol consumption, the Smart car has been embraced by many European motorists since its launch in 1998. And there is no doubt its blobby swagger would fit the glamour of Mercedez-Benz's flagship Manhattan showroom, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

But will US drivers take it seriously?

"There is an increasing emphasis on design in America," says Scott Keogh, general manager of Smart USA. "It's even spread to things that were considered plain objects before, from watches to knives and forks. We want to inject emotion and brand values into the entry-level vehicle, which is traditionally seen here as just a commodity."

Mini influence

"Definitely a metrosexual car," chuckles Dan Neil, a critic with the Los Angeles Times. Mr Neil's feel for motoring trends and witty columns have made him the first automotive journalist to receive a Pulitzer prize, earlier this year.

Rising petrol prices may have an impact "The success of BMW's Mini has lowered the threshold of what's seen as an acceptable size. There is a trend towards cute, adorable miniaturisation."

The Smart car, Mr Neil suggests, may be inadequate on Michigan's battered roads or in rough, highway-choked LA. But in the "smoother urban environments" of Boston, Chicago, or Miami Beach, it could clearly catch on.

Cultural obstacles remain, however. Even as a car for the urban sophisticate, the Smart would be sharing street space with the macho 4x4 sports utility vehicle (SUV), which occupies a large share of the US car market.

The Mini has lowered the threshold of what's seen as an acceptable size -there is a trend towards cute, adorable miniaturisation

Dan Neil The Smart car's style credentials would make it an ideal product to target at women drivers. But in the US, surveys suggest women also tend to choose large SUVs because they make them feel safe.

"Anything that size in this country is basically SUV road kill," sneers recent New Yorker Michelle Baran. Originally from southern California, Michelle has lived - and driven - in both Europe and the US. "Small equals murder here, and the Smart is a case of style over practicality."

Hybrid vehicles

But Jenny Silver, a lifelong Brooklyn resident, is an early convert: she and her husband are "dead against SUVs".

"I think it's ridiculous to have an SUV in New York. In the backwoods of Maine or other rural areas, maybe, but not here."

Jenny is making plans for the day the couple's current car, which has seen better days, finally expires. "We're now looking at the hybrid vehicles that Toyota and Honda make," she adds, "and we'd definitely be up for a Smart."

Mindful of an enduring SUV bias, DaimlerChrysler has re-interpreted the acronym to fit a new product: it will be entering the US market with what it calls a Smart Utility Vehicle.

Bigger cars take potholes in their stride Named Fourmore, and seating four people, the model is halfway between a European city car and an American SUV. Slick as the former and powerful as the latter?

It will be very small by SUV standards, insists Scott Keogh of Smart USA, and much lighter. "But," he adds, "with all the innovation and versatility you'd expect. The Fourmore is meant for those who want to stand out and be distinct."

Smart estimates that around 30,000 Americans will want to stand out and be distinct in the first year. Set against the 17 million or so cars sold annually in the US, that number may appear small.

But it's far from negligible for a newly-launched niche vehicle. Mr Keogh hopes it will give Smart the leverage to begin marketing its miniature models, including the two-seater city-coupe, which measures just 2.5 metres.

Aside from looks and size, European customers are drawn to the Smart car for its reduced environmental impact. Not only is the car almost entirely recylable, but it meets the EU's most stringent gas emissions standards, known as Euro 4. Its fuel consumption is also low, even by economy-car criteria. Yet that argument traditionally carries less weight in the US, where access to cheap and plentiful petrol is seen as a civic entitlement.

Now, however, with prices at the pump spiralling, Dan Neil of the LA Times forecasts a "sea-change" in attitudes. He believes over-reliance on imports is starting to bring home to drivers the true cost of oil. "The US consumer," says Mr Neil, "needs a hard shock to be nudged in the right direction."

[theFIRMbss]

[Slings and Arrows]

I want one, just because it makes me laugh.

[KarlInOhio]

I think you could cram two or three in an SUV's wheelwell before you have to stop and have them removed.

[Budge]

That's it?!

Looks like it might be an updated version of the old Isetta.

[nevergore]

There are several floating around the Atlanta area.....

Saw them in Europe and GB....I rather drive a motorcycle on Atlanta streets than that little death trap....

Well, at least it small enough to bury you in.....they don't even need to remove the body...just push it into the hole...

NeverGore :^)

[goldstategop]

The BMW Mini is really a luxury go cart. Its small on the outside but roomy on the inside. A cult following, its inspired by the Alex Issigonis' classic car which was all the rage in 60s England, that could be both small and yet be comfortable. My own VW New Beetle looks small but its roomy on the inside. Appearances can be deceiving so small cars can often have more room than the hulking behemoths they share the roads with!

[RightWhale]

Bicycle with heater. It does have a heater doesn't it?

[AmishDude]

I was in Budapest and these things are around a little. You can rent one (covered with ads and severely restricted to certain areas) for 1 Euro per day. That's part of the appeal.

The reasons why it won't do well in the US is that we aren't urbanized enough. Too many highways and you don't want to be in an accident with that thing. Also, we tend to have individual spaces for parking. Europe is a parking free-for-all, at least in the cities.

[mountaineer]

They're cute little critters. I wouldn't want to risk my life driving one in a metropolitan area, but it might be nice for my semi-rural setting.

[goldstategop]

If you like the Mini, you'll love this one. Don't laugh; in a crowded city you'll never swear again about how difficult it is to find a parking space. The Smart car has something to be said for its compact shape. And that's a virtue in getting around in narrow places.

[Mr Rogers]

8.2 feet long. 1500 pounds. 0-60 in 15.5 sec.

Somehow I can't see me making my 50 mile one way commute in that thing.

I like small cars - drive a Miata now, had a Celica before - but

YGBSM!

[spodefly]

I think it's cute. If I never had to drive anywhere other than to the grocery store (or to the beauty parlor to have my nails done ;) ... it would be fine.

[Mr Rogers]

Don't laugh; in a crowded city you'll never swear again about how difficult it is to find a parking space... And that's a virtue in getting around in narrow places.

Dude - time to move!

If you need small, get a Honda 600.

[theFIRMbss]

What kind of movies
will film-makers make after
growing up in those?!

[Arrowhead1952]

When it floods, do you just throw it on your shoulder and burp it?

[Constitution Day]

Finally, a car that can look even gayer than the Honda Element.
I think it would be decidedly on the losing end of any showdown with an SUV, too.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Porta-John with wheels.

[Lunatic Fringe]

There is a trend towards cute, adorable miniaturisation

Do European women agree?

[Constitution Day]

Hell, I've seen sportier-looking Porta-Johns.

[Bluntpoint]

Will it fit the entire family?

[motzman]

FMCDH

[ikka]

What kind of MPG does it get? My Toyota Echo 4-door gets 37-39MPG routinely.

[Notwithstanding]

I live in a rural area in Bavaria.

I see Smart cars everywhere. Gas is $4.50 a gallon - makes sense to go small.

Smart also has a new 4 door Smart car - just launched. Saw it once, too.

I notice that some "Smart" show rooms are like glass elvator towers. Glass rooms - stacked 10 sories high - each with a car in it. And an elevator that brings you up to the car or the car down to you.

Am I right in temembering that Swatch watch company originally was involved in the Smart car project?


But there is also another tiny car sold by Daimler here: the Mercedes A series. The "A" has four doors. I sat in one the other day and was surprised at how roomy they are. You also sit high up. And trunk is big. Its ugly, though.

[steve8714]

Modern-day Dafnia?

[antiRepublicrat]

Don't laugh too much. I have a couple friends with this and they love it. These are a guy and gal who daily drive Lotus sports cars, and they still love their Smarts.

They are roomy and comfortable, and the six-speed semi-automatic transmission lets the tiny motor give it quite a bit of zip around town, and they do well on the Autobahn in comparison to other small cars. And you wouldn't believe it by looking, but they are safer than cars twice their size. Mercedes packed an amazing amount of technology into that little thing, including electronic stability control and other things found only in large luxury cars. It may look like a toy, but it isn't.

And there's not only that smart, but roadster and cabrio versions that are quite nice, and a Brabus-tuned version.

Plus, that pic doesn't do it justice. You can perpendicular park without obstructing traffic.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Hell, I've seen sportier-looking Porta-Johns.

I betcha have...Carolina boy. :)

[AppyPappy]

I would probably drive one 90% of the time considering my commute. But the Subaru sedan makes more sense considering the weather.

Sell one for $5k and I might consider it.

[NaughtiusMaximus]

Could this be the Trabbie of the new milenium?

[kinghorse]

anyone thinking ahead cannot deny the fact the SUV will someday be taxed out of sight for the regular joe. tax code will be written like it has for all other sort of commercial vehicle whereby you'll need this or that fact circumstance to exempt you from the restriction. Then the issue of "I won't be the first one to sacrifice my life for the better of all" won't be an issue. Fuel is going to get more scarce with the passage of time and we will be shoved into minicars for commuting and most other mundane tasks.

Actually it may be the manufacturers who will be coerced into limited what is offered. Just a matter of time.

[jjackson]

I've seen them in Holland. They are cute and easy to park, which is important in crowded Holland.

[Constitution Day]

Our outdoor Johns are Perma, not Porta.

[Notwithstanding]

shocked to see them whizzing along on A3

[AngryJawa]

"I see dead people..."

[Notwithstanding]

[Constitution Day]

But there is also another tiny car sold by Daimler here: the Mercedes A series.

They must not sell them here. I have a C-class, and have never heard of the A-class.

[theFIRMbss]

>There is a trend towards cute, adorable miniaturisation
>>Do European women agree?

Euro-chicks can hold it up with one hand, change flats with their other hand . . .

[antiRepublicrat]

Heater, AC, intercooled turbocharged engine with dual-sparkplugs per cylinder, six-speed auto transmission (with F1-style shifting on demand), front and side airbags, ABS (with auto-optimized front/rear braking), ESP (electronic stabilization to prevent sliding), CBC (corner brake control, optimizes braking in a corner), electronic brake assist during emergency braking, anti-skid control when on snow/ice/sand, and a thing to get you started on a hill without rolling back. It's the perfect commuter car, including a nice sound system.

You can also put new body panels on when you get bored with the color.

Dont' forget, it is a Mercedes.

[martin_fierro]

Segway with an eating disorder.

[LuigiBasco]

Will it fit the entire family?

Only if the family is Small :-)

[taxcontrol]

That's not a car - it's a motorcycle with a copula

[DeFault User]

she and her husband are "dead against SUVs".

Talk about a "straight line". Wow! I can just hear Paul Shanklin singing, "In a Yugo".

[Libertarianize the GOP]

bump

[antiRepublicrat]

My Toyota Echo 4-door gets 37-39MPG routinely.

From the book, it's 50mpg gas engine and 69mpg for the diesel. The gas engine can run all those funky gas substitutes and mixes, and the diesel can run bio-diesel (basically, diesel mixed with waste cooking oil).

[DeFault User]

she and her husband are "dead against SUVs".

Talk about a "straight line". Wow! I can just hear Paul Shanklin singing, "In a Yugo".

[antiRepublicrat]

Two words: Elk Test. I know, I know, they've gotten better.

[Constitution Day]

Hmmm. At least it's better-looking than the Smart Car.

[antiRepublicrat]

Am I right in temembering that Swatch watch company originally was involved in the Smart car project?

It was Swatch design with Mercedes engineering. That's why it looks so cutesy, but has massive amounts of technology packed into it.

[traumer]

in the US... ? Forget it

[antiRepublicrat]

rough, highway-choked LA.

Smarts do just fine in rush-hour traffic in Frankfurt and Berlin. Think about it: you don't need much of a gap between two other cars in order to change lanes since the car's only about eight feet long.