And I am going to put down my deposit tomorrow.......for October delivery. $ 16,000 CAD is the provisional MSRP for the 3.5 litre Turbo Diesel that uses 3.5 litres per 100 kmh (80 mpg approx). My friend at the MB dealer where I worked for 7 years just called me with the news !! Woo Hoo !! Image Unavailable, Please Login
How safe is that car? Do they over engineer it like the mini...read make it heavy....so increase its structural rigidity? Looks unsafe..
That was my first reaction when I saw them in Paris 2 years ago. He has a video of an "S" class hitting this thing in a factory "frontal offset collision" test...among other tests, where the "S" class actually looks worse off than than SMART car afterwards. Given MB's safety record, the difficult Eurpoean "TUV" standards and their overall penchant for over-engineering and designing vehicles, I am not terribly concerned.....even with all the SUV's around.
The "A" is coming but in 2 more years as I understand it since they want to bring out the larger, redesigned version. Dr. Tax.... You must have read my cowboy hat comment on the >$40K thread ?
A buddy of mine had one of those for a while. It came in via a shipping container, and I don't think anyone from FedGovCo ever knew it was here. It was a lot of fun to drive, surprisingly roomy, and freaked out everyone else on the road. He eventually sold it on Ebay, still untitled.
Those cars are great for running errands around town. I saw the new cars at a dealership in Germany. I liked the sign they had it the dealer. It was a sign that was clear with the cars all stacked vertically in a row. It looked liked they were packed similar to the ten Hot Wheels one would purchase at Toys R Us. Probably the best car to have when you cannot find a place to park.
Ralph.... That is exactly the same dealership concept I saw in Paris when I was there.....cool or what ? $ 16 K CAD.....including AIR...ESP....ABS..... It'll be silver on black cloth with a 5 speed. My wife is excited......!! She's gone out to buy herself a new purse this afternoon now.......thank gawd there is no LV or Hermes in Calgary....heh.
Silver on black ? Porsche or MB wanna be ? lol We have Hermes and the others here ! The dealer signs are the same in Germany for all the franchised dealers. It is probably the same elsewhere ? They are nice looking cars. It would be nice to drive into the USA that diesel car. I would guess that the diesel will never make it over here ? MB does not have good success with the diesel in the USA. Good Luck with your new TOY CAR !
In Europe a lot of owners are putting the actual toy Smart Cars on the dash of the real thing ! Similar to the flowers on the Bug. Just 2 cents of info. You just might be the first one in Canada to start the new trend.
As a car salesman for the last 16 years I am pretty thick skinned....so let the "baby SMART toy car" comments fly....LOL !!! I drove the "A" class in Brasil last month and absolutely loved it so I imagine it would be hard to be disappointed by this thingie.
A two door SMART car was featured in "Shifting Gears" on the History Channel. The show is based out of Los Angeles. I think it is a similar situation to the Gwagen. Individuals imported them and then the MB realized there was a market, so they began to import them.
we will actually have a couple smarts in the Playersrun for Media. I have driven one in Europe...amazing car and soo much fun to drive ! I even fit in it perfectly despite my size of 6'6"...Quiet interesting since I don't fit in 90% of US cars. Markus Playersrun.com
Friend of mine in Dallas owns one. Hey Markus, still no media packet. Gimme a call if you get a chance. Jason-
Yo Keith (Kds), THere is actually already one of those smart cars in Calgary. I saw it parked down the street from my parents place in Woodbine a few months ago. Can't remember the color exactly, but pretty sure it was silver or white. The owner must have got it imported perhaps?? Regards, Pacman
Cool little car, I want one. I hope that U.S. get the diesel. I've never understood why diesels don't sell well in the U.S.(except in trucks). I've got a friend with a 98 E class turobdiesel and he adores it. Rides and drives great and gets close to 40 mpg on the highway.
$16K is not bad considering it is a Mercedes. The first time I saw one of these things was in England back in 2001. Looked like it would be a fun little "city" car. Since then, they (Transport Canada I think) would have one or two on display during autoshows, to gauge public interest in the car. Looks like there was/is enough interest. Heck, I might even get one to scoot back-and-forth to work!