Great way to advertise, but how smart is a car if you have to worry about a collision with a bicycle? See them intermingling with 18-wheelers and get real concerned.
What?! Visit Mexico and get killed by a drug cartel?!
The Smart was originally going to be the Swatch - as in Swatch Watch. Swatch approached Mercedes about making a small car in the Swatch concept. The watch has removable bezels allowing the owner to customize it. Likewise, the car would have colorful, removable body panels allowing the owner to customize it. A deal was struck. Mercedes built a for-purpose factory to assemble it, parts were ordered, dealers signed - and Swatch got cold feet at the last moment. Mercedes, taking a lemons-to-lemonade approach, left the colorful body panels, but permanently attached them, selected the name Smart, and offered it to the dealers who had signed up to sell the Swatch. However, the car was only a lukewarm success in Europe and Mercedes management wanted to pull the plug on it. This was when Mercedes still was partnered with Chrysler here in the US and Dieter Zetsche was running Chrysler. Mercedes had other troubles at the time and brought Dieter back to Stuttgart to fix them. When the board told Dieter they were going to kill the Smart, he told them 'Nein, ve will send das auto to Amerika!' He was nearly laughed out of the boardroom and bound in a straight jacket. The board said 'The Yankees only drive pickup trucks and SUVs! A small car like das Smart vill never sell there!' Dieter told them to hide in the bushes and watch. Shortly after the Smart was introduced in the US, gas prices skyrocketed and the Smart was sold out for six months, the added volume made the Smart profitable, the brand was saved and Dieter was a hero. Even though gas prices have dropped considerably from the prices we were seeing when the Smart came to the US, it has continued to sell well in urban areas.
This Smart car was advertising Sun Country Airlines vacations to Cancun, Mexico. I wish I could go there in February.
10 comments:
Did you see this in Eagan...where? Skip Cancun and go to REAL Méxican cities like Puerto Vallarta or Mazatlán.
I'm with Kate, Cancun is like the US in Mexico. I'd much rather visit real Mexican cities as well.
Great way to advertise, but how smart is a car if you have to worry about a collision with a bicycle? See them intermingling with 18-wheelers and get real concerned.
Darryl and Ruth : )
Hej Leif! Jag har en SMART Cab-den är helt underbar! Hälsn Ulla Fordell
Miatas are slightly bigger and a lot more fun
What a great promise to escape winters cold. A nice new week for you.
daily athens
These cute cars will make you look. Dominos has a few in their delivery fleet here.
What?! Visit Mexico and get killed by a drug cartel?!
The Smart was originally going to be the Swatch - as in Swatch Watch. Swatch approached Mercedes about making a small car in the Swatch concept. The watch has removable bezels allowing the owner to customize it. Likewise, the car would have colorful, removable body panels allowing the owner to customize it. A deal was struck. Mercedes built a for-purpose factory to assemble it, parts were ordered, dealers signed - and Swatch got cold feet at the last moment. Mercedes, taking a lemons-to-lemonade approach, left the colorful body panels, but permanently attached them, selected the name Smart, and offered it to the dealers who had signed up to sell the Swatch. However, the car was only a lukewarm success in Europe and Mercedes management wanted to pull the plug on it. This was when Mercedes still was partnered with Chrysler here in the US and Dieter Zetsche was running Chrysler. Mercedes had other troubles at the time and brought Dieter back to Stuttgart to fix them. When the board told Dieter they were going to kill the Smart, he told them 'Nein, ve will send das auto to Amerika!' He was nearly laughed out of the boardroom and bound in a straight jacket. The board said 'The Yankees only drive pickup trucks and SUVs! A small car like das Smart vill never sell there!' Dieter told them to hide in the bushes and watch. Shortly after the Smart was introduced in the US, gas prices skyrocketed and the Smart was sold out for six months, the added volume made the Smart profitable, the brand was saved and Dieter was a hero. Even though gas prices have dropped considerably from the prices we were seeing when the Smart came to the US, it has continued to sell well in urban areas.
neat peppy car!
and the story told by louis was very interesting!
The Smart is such a cute car! But I'd be scared to be in it with all of our crazy bus and truck drivers.
I hope your wish comes true!
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