ZAP delivers first smart cars in US
by TreeHugger 
on 05.18.05
A reader tipped us that yesterday was the first day that DaimlerChrysler's diminutive smart car (they prefer the lower-case "s") was to be sold in the US, and this press release seems to confirm it. ZAP, the company that imports and modifies the car for the US market (Daimler already sells it in Europe and Canada, but has no plans for the US) has received the final regulatory approval last month, and back then they already had $750M in advance orders. It still has to be seen whether the smart will be popular in the US, land of SUVs, and if DaimlerChrysler will stop losing money on it. ::ZAP [by MGR]
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as i understand it, they only started losing money on smart when they modified the line and added the larger 'smart forFour' and the larger still 'smart forMore' (an SUV smart for the love of god!). the original smart (now called the 'forTwo') has always been profitable and remains so, based on what i've read.
smart sighting at Benz dealer in Devon PA; parked in front lot with dealer tag in window
I remember seeing one of these on the road here in LA several months ago (might even have been last year). Not sure if someone's importing them, or if the buyers are doing it themselves.
Shane, it was probably a Canadian model.
Note from Germany: Funny that a smart ist considered 'green' in the US because in Germany it's not. A green car would be something like a Toyota Prius, a smart is just small but not especially green. It has been in the beginning when smart-founder Nicolas Hayek ("swatch") wanted to build cars with electric or hybrid power and promoted the idea of integrated transport systems but after his split from the project DaimlerChrysler was no longer interested in Hayeks green ideas. Today they would probably be happy if they had hybrid car ...
i'm fairly (99%+) sure that smart has never made any money on the forTwo. i think the "negative profitability" was why swatch (of watch fame) pulled out. and smart has been rumoured for the chop for a long, long time.
also, the forFour looks like a losing proposition. a case of surface over substance.
but the forTwo is great for advertising. and nicely quirky. best car showroom display i ever saw was a tower of smarts in eastern switzerland back in 99.
The above comments have overlooked the roadster and coupe models (the first extensions of the "fortwo" concept). The roadster/coupe is a mid-engine sports car-toy, reported to have very respectable handling characteristics. The development costs for these models was entirely absorbed by smartcar (unlike the forfour which is a little mitsibushi, if memory serves) and they have not sold well: roadsters are still a rare sighting on the road in Germany. DaimlerChrysler has announced that this model will be discontinued at the end of 2005. The SmartSUV project has also be dropped according to reports. The "fortwo" and "forfour" seem to be on the agenda going forward, which can probably work if they catch on for city-commuters in the USA--they do make finding a parking spot easier.
But Andy is right too. If you want a "green" car for about the same price in Europe, VW set the trend for efficiency in standard technology with the first "3L" car (yes, 3L/100km, that's over 77 mpg and it seats four). Now Audi offers a 3L as well.