Driver reviews at the tours

[Guest patinLA]

It was a big hit in BH 20 to 30 min wait for the test drive. Fun to drive, good visibility. Looking forward to seeing how long the line will be for the actual car purchase? They sey 44,000 people in line with the $99 program? Chances to get one in 2008???

[Duck 16]

Here is the LINK TO OTHER PIX

Holy crap, did you make that site?! Looks freekin' Official!-Iain

[rrrucke 0]

It was a big hit in BH 20 to 30 min wait for the test drive. Fun to drive, good visibility. Looking forward to seeing how long the line will be for the actual car purchase? They sey 44,000 people in line with the $99 program? Chances to get one in 2008???

Welcome PatinLA to CsC!

Please go into further detail as to who told you the reservations have soared to 44,000 people! I thought we were up to 20,000 but 44K is amazing!!

Thanks,

Regina

[aphoenix 0]

If 44,000 was said, it is a mistake. That number is completely wrong.

[runner33 0]

Here is a recent eNewsletter from MB of San Diego regarding the road show.

http://www.imakenews.com/mbsandiego/e_arti...9Lnvm6,b7rj8Sr0

[Cora Napple 2]

After a one hour wait in 110 degree heat (it IS the desert) I drove the yellow cabrio. Really liked how it handled. Seemed very tight and responsive, shifted a bit better and had an all around quality feel to it. The top is amazing, so easy to lower and raise and has a substantial liner. Only deal breaker for me might be giving up my diesel for gas..... Altho the displays are along the strip, the demo cars are hidden underground in a parking garage which I feel lessened their visual impact which is the whole idea of the road show. As photos of the cars have already been posted I took 2 photos showing where the event is held....the state bird of Nevada is in one photo (the crane) and I suspect that Wynn Hotel/Casino will be a smart dealer, tho no one is talking.

[Cora Napple 2]

cranes

[hodad66 0]

Thanks for the review!!

[rrrucke 0]

Thanks for the Road Show post and pixs. Interesting that they would hide the cars like that but the strip can get very congested. BTW, I was born in Nevada!! Not Vegas just outside of Reno in a small town.Regina

[SCHMART 0]

I wonder if they were trying to prevent them from super heating the cabins in the desert sun??

[Razorback 0]

Well that sounds logical to keep them out of direct sunlight as many would know that Las Vegas can get extreamely hot in the daytime. It would kinda ruin the experience to sit on a hot plate that your trying to impress.

[smartie yank 0]

Should be a good test of the A/C. I have parked in multi-story lots in that kind of heat and it was still much hotter than I wanted to experience. I don't know how much difference an underground lot would be.

[SCHMART 0]

I lived in Tucson for a year and if the temp is 110 and the car was in the sun, the interior was usually 160 degrees F...just a thought

[DJW 0]

I sure wish one of the Sun Block/Winshield Cover makers would come up a sun reflector that was made for the smart. I have one of the ones that has the 2 disks that you fold up when not in use, but it does fit up against the windshield so it does not do a very good job of blocking out the sun. I am going to have the side windows covered with the glass tinting material. That should help some. Can you put that film on the inside of the windshield?Dennis

[hodad66 0]

I would bet that once the new ones are out that the shades will be available... With sales all the way down here in Florida there is simply no way that theywill let all those future customers slide. I'll bet that they are working on one right now..

[smart142 605]

This lady likes the smart but had issues on how the tour was managed. Makes for a good read:''I mentioned on June 15th that I had been in customer heaven ever since I plunked down $99 to reserve a 2008 model fortwo smart car. I’m still in the clouds, although the smart USA Road Show has hit a few bumps in the road. I received an email invitation to “an exclusive preview…for Phoenix-area reservation holders” to “speak with members of the smart USA team” and give the car a test drive. Great! The event was even scheduled at a nearby Mercedes-Benz dealer; it appeared they had similar events in other parts of the Valley of the Sun this week. The invitation gave a unitedauto.com email address for RSVP-ing with “the names of those in your party and what your expected arrival time will be.” Even better! Sounds like an appointment, eh?So, a week goes by and I receive the exact same email, but with a different unitedauto.com email address for RSVP-ing. Hmmmm. Did they not receive my earlier RSVP? I respond, indicating I’d already RSVP-ed. Comes the email reply: “Thank you. This was just a reminder.” OK. But, you know, it is the 21st Century and the technology smart USA has been applying to sell and impress me to date will also flag me as having RSVP-ed; I should have received a don’t-forget-we’re-expecting-you email, not a how-would-you-like-to-attend email. That way, I wouldn’t have had to re-RSVP and the guy with the second-cited unitedauto.com address wouldn’t have had to reply. Just a bit smarter all around, smart USA.OK, so that’s a minor bump. But, the next one wasn’t. At precisely 11:00 a.m. today, as I twice RSVP-ed (to two different unitedauto.com addresses), my husband and I drive up to the dealership and receive the choice of going through the informational trailer parked outside or heading straight into the showroom and getting in the honkin’ long line of people waiting for their test drive. Huh? We are handed clip boards to fill in (name, address, phone number, driver’s license number), with boxes to check for whether or not we’ve already made our $99 reservation. Well, this can’t be right, me thinks, as I am here having RSVP’ed for ”an exclusive preview…for Phoenix-area reservation holders.” Reservation holders. Not, people off the street who saw or othewise heard about this event and want to drive the car. And, I did RSVP with my “expected arrival time.” So, I ask the woman who gave me the clip board if there is perhaps some other form or even area for us, since we’ve paid our $99 and RSVP-ed for 11:00 a.m.; surely she has my name, address, and phone number already and is expecting me. No, no, says she, all these people—with a sweep of her arm in the direction of the growing-by-the-second line—have registered, so we need to get in line with them if we want to test drive the car.Looking a bit shocked, we drag ourselves to the back of the line. Although there was a dumbwaiter full of ice and water bottles next to the line, it still felt like we were queueing up to be shot. No smart car materials to read, no salespeople chatting us up, no videos to watch. Gee, every restaurant in America now blares cable television all day long, but this car dealership can’t feature informational videos as we stand in a line as long and slow as any at Disneyland? I didn’t grab a bottle of water for fear I’d have to use the bathroom; I had no idea how long I’d be standing in line. After half an hour they dragged out pill-cup sized servings of ice cream (it was getting very close to lunch time). I don’t eat sugar, but after another half hour—in line a full hour—and with my watch reading past noon, I started to reconsider the ice cream. Talk about feeling held hostage! This is my only chance to drive a car I’ve already committed to buying, so what choice do I have but to wait? And wait. And wait! There were four smart cars in service; three on the showroom floor (I think). I didn’t get a chance to see the ones on the showroom floor. I didn’t even get a chance to stroll through the trailer that supposedly contained informative ’stuff’ about the car. I just stood in line for an hour for the privilege of driving around a city block with a smart USA drone reciting her spiel from the passenger seat. By the time we were finished with this “exclusive preview,” my husband and I just wanted to sit down and eat some lunch (and go to the bathroom, in spite of having resisted the bottled water in line). I wanted to go back after lunch and maybe spend more time sitting in and poking around the showroom models, but my husband flinched—hard—at the suggestion. And, actually, I needed to get back to work. So, I still intend to buy a smart car, but I sure wish smart USA would get a little smarter. They came out of the gate so fast that they hit today’s bumps in the road painfully hard! ''

[hodad66 0]

Vid from Boston tour

or on utube

[Razorback 0]

This lady likes the smart but had issues on how the tour was managed. Makes for a good read:

Alot of snippage. I almost made a grievous mistake in thinking the content from this post was from you. My mistake. I deleted the reply and if you were one of the people who did read my scathing reply I apologise to you and smart142. If you didn't see my scathing reply then please just move along...

[eqwalker 0]

Well, maybe some would be content to be treated that way Razorback, but that is why customer service in this world gets to be as bad as it is. If people don't stand up and say how they feel then improvements would never be done. I, for one, agree with Smart142 and would suggest that she send a copy of this post to SmartUSA to suggest that they find a way to treat their "VIP"s more respectfully. Otherwise, they shouldn't give the impression that you are making an appointment and that they would be waiting for you when you get there. I'm sure there are other car dealers out there that would do just that if they could sell their car to you. Yes, I'm eager to get a Smart and probably will. But it will be interesting to see how they act if the Smart does not catch on and then they probably would love to make some of those "VIP" reservations to make that sale.

[eqwalker 0]

Or should say I agree with the post that Smart142 put up.

[rrrucke 0]

The Boston video was real nice. It was a good idea that they added testimonials to the piece other than the reporter. Thanks for sharing.With regard to the actual feedback on the Phoenix Road Show, I think with any type of product launch, there are likely to be hiccups. Despite that, I'm still very hopeful the smart is still worth while.Based on your experience and probably some other people, folks should remember to eat first or bring a snack for the line, definitely go to the bathroom, wear comfortable shoes, bring reading material and/or your IPOD for the possible slow line.Regina

[mainefortwo 1]

My wife and I drove down from Maine to Somerville, Massachusetts for an invitation event for reservation holders at a Mercedes Dealership. The road show staff was very friendly and well informed. The location was not crowded and I had a chance to drive a red Passion Coupe twice and my wife drove a blue Cabrio. I am over 6 feet tall and had to move the seat forward and found the seat and driving position very comfortable. The power from the 3 cylinder was adequate and the transmission had to be used in the "auto" mode so I cannot comment on the paddle shifters. The hesitation between gears is there, but I found if you let off the gas during the shift like you would when using a clutch, the shift was quite smooth. This is something I would do if using the paddle shifters. The visibility was great and you could comfortably work through traffic with no problems. The one thing that caught me off gaurd was the brakes which were amazing and only required a gentle touch of the peddle. I hope the pictures from the event post ok. I am looking forward to my light yellow coupe with silver tridion in 2008.

[MikeT 744]

Thanks for the review, great stuff!And welcome to the club!

[hodad66 0]

Thanks for the review.... we'll all be waiting together!!

[smartie yank 0]

Is it just me or does the engine look like it takes up a whole lot more room than the current engine? I realize there is no turbo or intercooler but that engine looks like it takes up more than half of the access cover opening.