Gas smarts dead in USA and Canada after Fall 2017

[jwight]

 

Quote

 

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Daimler <DAIGn.DE> will stop selling combustion engine Smart cars in the United States and Canada and focus the brand on electric vehicles in the two markets, the company said late on Monday.

Dietmar Exler, head of Mercedes-Benz USA, said in a letter to dealers reviewed by Reuters that the sale of Smart cars with gasoline engines would stop when the 2017 model year ends this fall.

It is the latest sign of struggles for small cars in the United States.

"Developments within the micro-car segment present some challenges for the current smart product portfolio," Exler wrote. "A dedicated focus on the electric drive in the U.S. and Canada provides a logical step to support a sustainable, zero emissions future."

The German carmaker will sell battery-powered versions of its Smart Fortwo and Fortwo convertible models in the United States and Canada. The change does not apply to other markets outside North America, Daimler said.

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/daimler-focus-smart-brand-electric-cars-u-canada-004100925--finance.html

[smartnhappy]

This result is and was to be expected when next to nothing has been spent on promotion and advertising for years.

Without marketing and advertising, you can't help but fail.   And MB failed big time.

And they blame it on low fuel costs.  That's a crock of shit !

If you keep quiet and don't make a sound, no one will notice you....... and no one did !!

Congratulations MB, you've unburdened' themselves.  The Smart brand is dead, and no longer an issue.

I suspect they'll inherit rationing of the EVs as a result of their half-assed previous efforts.

I doubt if the Smart EVs will succeed in any way, shape or form.

i expect they'll blame it on high electricity costs.

[darren]

This definitely explains why Car2go has started phasing out smarts and introducing M-B CLA and GLA cars into their fleet. 

 

Its a shame, because the latest fortwo is fantastic. The engine and transmission are excellent. But the flip side of that is that electric propulsion was always a cornerstone of the smart vision, so it's great to see that being fulfilled. Car2go is also a key part of that vision. Own or lease an electric city car, and offer smart owners free Car2go membership so they can rent on-demand gas cars for longer trips. 

[MikeT]

The Nosebear is dead!  Long live the Nosebear!

 

I expect that the 453 will be the last generation to be sold in North America.  It will not make sense to "Federalize" a redesigned fortwo for North America when the tiny ED volumes are added up, even if sales increased by a factor of 10.  If they dropped the ED next year, that too would not surprise me.

[darren]

Low fuel prices are definitely the root problem in the American market, less so in Canada. Americans have incredibly myopic automotive purchasing habits. As long as gas prices remain low, conservation is of very little interest to them. And it's not just smart that suffered, it's ALL small cars. Fiat-Chrysler discontinued the Chrysler 200 and Dart for that reason. I'm sure Fiat 500 sales are limping along. 

 

In America, bigger is better. Honestly, they should have bringing over the new forfour would have made MUCH more sense for the American market. 

[niteshooter]

I think the problems go a lot deeper than advertising. If you read the book smart thinking by Tony Lewin you would see that smart was in trouble out of the gate in that Hayek wanted to be a lot more green as in electric while MB wanted to be more conventional. 

 

It did seem that NA was more of an afterthought than a serious commitment what with us up here in Canada getting the 450 diesel but not gas since MB did not want to work on getting that motor certified for here. The US came on board later with the gas 451 which IMHO was a much better smart than the 450 in some ways but they farmed out sales to Penske. I drove several 450's when they first arrived in Canada and the thing that really struck me were the brakes. It felt more like an on/off switch then normal brakes. The shifting was rather odd as well but the deal killer for me were the brakes. I much prefer the 451 in terms of braking and acceleration, 70 HP is good enough for me.

 

Granted when you look at the difference between NA and Europe in terms of horsepower that likely didn't help. Then just make the Brabus more of a sticker option than performance other than wheels, tires and suspension and not give us the turbo engine on a 'premium' vehicle made no sense as well.

 

It also didn't help that the first smarts were a sort of acquired taste, the french build some rather quirky cars such as the 2CV and design vs HP is more common as opposed to here where many put HP figures above other features. 

 

Plus here we can travel great distances between places, even a commute to and from work can span quite a distance vs in Europe where everything is much closer together. Also roads can be a lot narrower especially in smaller towns and villages so the advantages of a small nimble vehicle are more important over there than here.

 

Yup over here 'bigger is better' seems to be the car buying mantra except maybe during major gasoline price hikes. But automakers have sure come a long way, was looking at a Cadillac ATS 4 with 2.0 Turbo 4 cylinder that puts out 270 hp and has all wheel drive. They sure don't hold their value though. The RV I'm interested in has a turbocharged V6 and even the big pickups seem to be getting better milage vs when I was a kid and fuel economy was something nobody talked about and gasoline was .20 cents a gallon. I was reading a disturbing thread over on smartcarsofamerica talking about being targeted by drivers of pickups and semis. Not good.

 

But for me the problem has been price, seemed way to high for a small car and then once you start comparing to other cars in this segment it really hurt. Again going back to what I read in that book it seemed that Hayek wanted very much to apply his same model of swatch making to smart. Make a lot of inexpensive cars, but MB doesn't strike me as a discount car builder so I can see how their two diverse philosophies collided and the partnership dissolved. 

 

Flip side is that a used smart can be quite the deal though I suppose original owners aren't to happy to see just how badly their car has depreciated. And why I bought my used smart recently, just too good a deal to pass up.

Edited February 14, 2017 by niteshooter

[MikeT]

It's only the 450 that appeals to me. I love the car's quirks and it is undiluted free form thinking in a car.  That is rare these days.

[steveyfrac]

That Smart is almost certainly dying makes me question purchasing a New electric smart.  Will Mercedes honor the warranty?  I don't think they'll have to.

Looking at a Bolt now.

[smart142]

I am positive that Mercedes would honor the warranty.

In fact they are also very good in supplying support to their older vehicles. I know as I own a 1982 Mercedes.

[niteshooter]

Warranty would be the least of my concerns. At least MB Canada will be around, vs what happened with GM when they killed the Saturn division. Parts are now starting to get very difficult to find and what were cheap parts have really started to climb in price or cannot be found at all.

 

Because I intend to keep my smart for a long long time I wonder if there are certain parts I should consider warehousing....

 

I'm starting to think I am the kiss of death to cars with plastic bodies.....

[MikeT]

Get a Bolt, it's a better EV.  I agree that warranty will be ok with smart, but as a usable polyvalent car the Bolt will be better.

[1983JZR3W]

2 hours ago, niteshooter said:

 

 

I'm starting to think I am the kiss of death to cars with plastic bodies.....

 

 

Please do not buy a Corvette then.........

[Da Shoumi]

8 hours ago, niteshooter said:

If you read the book smart thinking by Tony Lewin you would see that smart was in trouble out of the gate in that Hayek wanted to be a lot more green as in electric while MB wanted to be more conventional. 

Maybe, but if Nicolas Hayek's idea of an electric smart car ever came true in the mid-90s, I doubt if Mercedes-Benz would have invested in a 0.8L CDI engine that was very innovative back then...

 

Sad to see the smart go, even if I was never thrilled by the 453 myself, even after seeing  a couple of those in the flesh.

 

I feel fortunate to have owned a 450. And after all, isn't it a first-generation of smart that the Museum of Modern Arts once chose to exhibit?

Edited February 15, 2017 by Da Shoumi
Omission

[MikeT]

It's in their permanent collection.

[niteshooter]

6 hours ago, 1983JZR3W said:

 

 

Please do not buy a Corvette then.........

 

Own one, it's fiberglass not plastic. Should have bought a Fiero would have had a trifecta....

Edited February 15, 2017 by niteshooter

[1983JZR3W]

Me too.....2004 Z06.  I thought it was made of fiber reinforced plastic.  I need to go out and check my manual.  What generation do you own?

[tolsen]

The end of Smart means the end of Clubsmartcar. 

[niteshooter]

7 hours ago, 1983JZR3W said:

Me too.....2004 Z06.  I thought it was made of fiber reinforced plastic.  I need to go out and check my manual.  What generation do you own?

 

Yours is a lot newer, they did start to use SMC but mine is made out of the more brittle fibreglass. It's an 80, got sticker shock this spring when I saw that my license plate is now almost double what it costs to insure through Hagerty. I promise not to buy a newer Vette made out of 'plastic'!

 

[smart142]

6 hours ago, tolsen said:

The end of Smart means the end of Clubsmartcar. 

 

I'm sure that there will be some diehards like me and you that will still be around.

I'm in it for the long haul.

 

As we speak I am preparing a 450 cdi for a 3,266 km road trip to St. Johns Nfld at the end of the month.

I'll keep everyone posted!

[dmoonen]

Oh wow, I honesty say its not a total surprise with the lack of numbers and advertising they were pushing.

[Leadwing]

14 hours ago, smart142 said:

As we speak I am preparing a 450 cdi for a 3,266 km road trip to St. Johns Nfld at the end of the month.

I'll keep everyone posted!

Bring a shovel!

 

[MikeT]

So under the new regime, how well will the 453 ED do?  It's hard to say because it's a new model, but if the 451 ED sales are anything to go by, the sales will be statistically insignificant.

 

2016 total sales of 451 ED:

USA: 657

Canada: 9

 

2015 will probably be a better guide because the availability of the 451 ED was limited in 2016, especially in Canada...

 

2015 total sales of 451 ED:

USA: 1387

Canada: 306

 

This is why I suspect that the 453 will be the last generation smart fortwo to be sold in North America.  Even if sales settle in at the 2015 levels, or 5 times that, the business case for "federalizing" the 453's successor will be very weak.

[dmoonen]

I'd assume the only reason to keep the ED is just to run off rebates and incentives.

[lebikerboy]

Based on conversations I've had with our M/B rep,

the vast majority of customers visiting the smart

showroom are interested in the ED version...

[MikeT]

I am not surprised, but the majority of how many?  And then there is the question of tire kickers vs. buyers.