United Auto Group Inc., the auto retailer charged with distributing the Smart fortwo when it arrives on U.S. shores in 2008, is reporting that 12,600 people have plunked down $99 to become a Smart "Insider" and reserve a spot in line to buy DaimlerChrysler's microcar. That number of people represents about three-fourths of the 16,000 fortwos that will be sold in the car's first year on sale in the U.S., and there's enough time before then that the entire allotment could be, in a sense, "sold out" before it actually goes on sale. Of course, not everyone who spends $99 to reserve a fortwo will buy one, but they'll lose their c-note if they don't.
We expect the rate of reservations to increase sharply over the course of this summer with the cost of gasoline continuing to rise. High fuel prices have a way of making people reconsider cars that promise above average economy, and the fortwo should be able to achieve 40 mpg without breaking a sweat. The $99 reservation campaign is also helping the automaker determine how many of each fortwo will be needed next year. Customers can choose from the base Pure model, upgraded Passion model and Passion Cabriolet. If you want to reserve a fortwo and haven't yet, visit the Smart USA website to get in line.
[Source: CNN Money via Kicking Tires]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Mike @ May 10th 2007 5:21PM
so, the 12,600 that want one have one... the people who didn't hear about this till later will pick up the remainder...
and they won't sell another till the leases run out.
smart @ Jan 9th 2008 11:46PM
Thanks for creating this great article on the smart, I would like to personally invite you to the new smart site just launched.
The new smart website is focused on the 451 smart fortwo ( 2008 smart car ) and its web address is: http://www.451s.com
451s.com was created to help bring together worldwide smart owners and smart enthusiasts. While this site is focused on the 451 smart fortwo sold in America and Canada it is open to all smart's and the worldwide smart community.
http://www.451s.com
rwcmick @ May 10th 2007 5:29PM
clarification: you don't lose your $99 if you back out. it's fully refundable.
fizzandpop @ May 10th 2007 5:37PM
I wouldn't buy one for the fuel economy, or the size. I want one for the sheer pleasure of watching people's faces on the freeway as I buzz past them at 90mph. I've been on the roads in Europe and it's a unique experience as one flies by. Like being in the outside lane in a 2CV doing 70mph down hill.
fizzandpop @ May 10th 2007 5:40PM
#2: So why did they bother asking for a deposit? It's like the reverse of the rental car "reservation". "You can take the reservation, but you just haven't learned how to hold onto the reservation...and that's the most important part."
Ben K. @ May 10th 2007 5:40PM
These cars may be cute, but they have no business on American roads. DCX is trying to dump them on the U.S. market because European's didn't like them. About the size of a golf cart, the 3 cylinder engine only gets about 50 mpg. Fatalities and injuries will skyrocket with smaller vehicles on our highways. It doesn't matter how good the mpg is, when your safety is compromised. American's are truly gulible, might as well buy a moped at least they get 70-90mpg.
joe @ May 10th 2007 5:54PM
@ben k.
These are surprisingly safe; even compared to compact cars.
"A 70 mph crash test conducted by British TV show "Top Gear" revealed that the Smart Fortwo's body remained mostly intact when compared to that of a conventional subcompact car."
see http://auto.howstuffworks.com/smart-car.htm
srivendel @ May 10th 2007 6:00PM
Ben, maybe we should just buy Chevy Blazers instead? Oops! Those have the worst safety record of any vehicle on the road! Worse than Civics, Corollas, and lots of smaller vehicles. The myth that size necessarily equates to safety should have died a long time ago. Saying that a Smart -- with six airbags, ABS, stability control, and high strength steel construction -- is the same as a moped is lpure ignorance.
shrique @ May 10th 2007 6:08PM
I would be interested to know the geographic spread of the people that put in the reservations money.
zach @ May 10th 2007 6:16PM
Ben -
Try using your brain before using your keyboard. I would absolutely feel safe in anything that is designed by Mercedes engineers; much more so than just about anything over 5 years old. Engineering knowledge and expertise has a lot to do with safety - size has surprisingly little to do with it.
Ignorant people like you who think everybody has to drive huge cars to be safe should leave the discussion to those capable of coherent thought.
By the way, ever check out the fatality/injury rates for SUV's?
...stupid people suck.
jg @ May 10th 2007 6:18PM
Judging by the vast numbers of Smarts I saw in europe (tons of them in Monte Carlo of all places) europeans like them just fine. Its not even the smallest car over there. Its the coolest looking 2 door speck I've ever seen.
Paul Y @ May 10th 2007 6:28PM
Given that the Smart promo tour is passing through Buffalo in August, I'd love to give one of these a shot. It's an intensely wacky car, and the diesel version would have me sold.
fizzandpop @ May 10th 2007 6:31PM
#5: If they're only going to sell 16,000, and this car was twice as unsafe as the most unsafe car on the highway (probably an SUV) then fatalities and injuries aren't exacly going to skyrocket are they? The fact is, it isn't twice as unsafe as the unsafest car, so that arguement is a pile of poop, isn't it?
And all we here about on the news is SUV plows into this..., SUV driver loses control doing that..., SUV driver loses ass-kicking competition to one-legged man, etc.
The rule that a car's size is inversely proportional to the driver's brain has never been truer in your case.
AC @ May 10th 2007 6:45PM
These cars look pretty safe to me: check out this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju6t-yyoU8s
Tr33 @ Jun 15th 2007 10:32PM
i love smarts. They are cool and they are relatively safe. But, in that link, they said something to the effect of 'though the car survived relatively well, the passengers inside, mostlikely would not have.' While i love smarts, and believe me i do, i can hardly wait for them to arrive, a smart is no match for a bus/tractor trailor. It all comes down to mass. A smart car weighs what? about half a ton give or take a couple hundred pounds. When a multi-ton bus t-bones you or rearends you, you and your smart will go flying! So while the car is theoretically safe, its mass puts it at a disadvantage
Shadyman @ May 10th 2007 6:53PM
... Or you could get one in Canada, eh? We've had them for a couple years now.
far jr @ May 10th 2007 6:56PM
Have fun recovering from a skid on wet/icy/snow covered road with that short wheelbased bugger. I have seen one on the interstate and they are neat to look at but that's about the only use I have for one.
Daniel Cote @ May 10th 2007 6:57PM
I have on of the $99 reservations and I can't wait to take delivery. Unfortunately, if you want the turbo-diesel (and I do) you'll have to get it in Canada. I suppose there's still time for MB/UAG to change that decision but I suspect we won't get them until gas hits $5-$6 a gallon. Regards, Dan
bonesb @ May 10th 2007 7:28PM
I don't understand what the story means by the Smart fortwo arrives in 2008. They're already here, been here for months. You can buy one today, drive one today. Heck, there's one parked by a business about two blocks from my house right now. It's silver...
http://www.oswegoluxury.com/
They're cute. I'm 6'7" - I won't be owning one anytime soon...
RV @ May 10th 2007 7:44PM
how cool is this!!! from howstuffworks.com
"The rest of the Smart's body comprises replaceable, recyclable body panels. They are so easy to change that Smart owners can quickly change the color of their car when they get tired of one color scheme."