Lilliput car heads for land of giant trucks

DETROIT – So small it can fit into a parking space sideways, the tiny “Smart” car is making waves in the land of the giant pickup truck after proving a quirky hit in Europe.

The “Smart fortwo” has been drawing curious crowds at the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, which opened to the press Sunday, with the words “Coming to the USA in 2008” emblazoned on its stand. Part of the Mercedes-Benz division of German-US company DaimlerChrysler AG, the tiny car has become a familiar sight on Europe’s congested roads since it was launched in 1998, although the project has yet to make a profit.But in the United States, proud home to gas-guzzling trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs), the notion that such a car might prove a hit seemed laughable until only recently.According to DaimlerChrysler chairman Dieter Zetsche, even the group’s head of US sales once “said it would fall into a pothole in Manhattan and you couldn’t find it any more.””That’s not the attitude people are showing today.The Smart is simply cool,” he said on an ice rink laid out to introduce new Mercedes-Benz cars, insisting that US drivers were ready for the two-seater vehicle.”I think the simple equation that the larger the car the better, doesn’t apply that much to the US market any more either.”DaimlerChrysler says that more than 770 000 Europeans have chosen the first generation of the Smart, which now comes in four models including a four-seater and a sporty convertible, often to replace a larger car for city living.Now, with higher fuel prices hurting US drivers’ wallets and traffic gridlock commonplace in the urban jungle, DaimlerChrysler says the vehicle with shopping-trolley dimensions will take off.Company officials point to the Smart’s relative success in Canada, where the brand was expected to shift 1 500 units in its first year but has ended up achieving more than 4 000 sales.At 2,5m long and weighing in at a mere 990 kg the two-seat Smart car is about half the length and a third the weight of a Hummer, Ford Expedition or other large SUV.And with fuel consumption of over 40 miles per gallon (3,8l/100km), it is half as thirsty as the bigger SUVs.Some Smart cars have already sold in the United States through unofficial resellers such as Zap! Cars.But DaimlerChrysler has teamed up with motor racing legend Roger Penske and his UnitedAuto distribution group with a plan to put the Smart on general US sale in the first quarter of 2008.”The ‘Smart fortwo’ is coming to the USA at the right time,” Penske said at the Detroit auto show.”Volatile gas prices, urban congestion and America’s acceptance of smaller vehicles will make the Smart fortwo a real home run here in the United States,” he said.The outgoing president of the Smart division, Ullrich Walter, told AFP the company had been inundated by requests from US dealers wanting to sell the Smart.The unit is maintaining “conservative” sales targets, he said, adding that Smart as a whole should break even this year and turn a profit in 2008.Jesse Toprak, executive industry analyst at auto website Edmunds.com, said questions could surround the Smart car’s safety alongside beefy pickup trucks.”It’ll take a lot of marketing dollars to get across the message that they are safe,” he said.”But if you drive around Europe, they’re everywhere.They’re practical, they’re stylish and they get great gas (petrol) mileage,” Toprak said.”Low running costs, combined with a hip image, will appeal to a wide enough market that DaimlerChrysler will be able to sell as many as they can import into the US for at least a few years.”Nampa-AFPPart of the Mercedes-Benz division of German-US company DaimlerChrysler AG, the tiny car has become a familiar sight on Europe’s congested roads since it was launched in 1998, although the project has yet to make a profit.But in the United States, proud home to gas-guzzling trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs), the notion that such a car might prove a hit seemed laughable until only recently.According to DaimlerChrysler chairman Dieter Zetsche, even the group’s head of US sales once “said it would fall into a pothole in Manhattan and you couldn’t find it any more.””That’s not the attitude people are showing today.The Smart is simply cool,” he said on an ice rink laid out to introduce new Mercedes-Benz cars, insisting that US drivers were ready for the two-seater vehicle.”I think the simple equation that the larger the car the better, doesn’t apply that much to the US market any more either.”DaimlerChrysler says that more than 770 000 Europeans have chosen the first generation of the Smart, which now comes in four models including a four-seater and a sporty convertible, often to replace a larger car for city living.Now, with higher fuel prices hurting US drivers’ wallets and traffic gridlock commonplace in the urban jungle, DaimlerChrysler says the vehicle with shopping-trolley dimensions will take off.Company officials point to the Smart’s relative success in Canada, where the brand was expected to shift 1 500 units in its first year but has ended up achieving more than 4 000 sales.At 2,5m long and weighing in at a mere 990 kg the two-seat Smart car is about half the length and a third the weight of a Hummer, Ford Expedition or other large SUV.And with fuel consumption of over 40 miles per gallon (3,8l/100km), it is half as thirsty as the bigger SUVs.Some Smart cars have already sold in the United States through unofficial resellers such as Zap! Cars.But DaimlerChrysler has teamed up with motor racing legend Roger Penske and his UnitedAuto distribution group with a plan to put the Smart on general US sale in the first quarter of 2008.”The ‘Smart fortwo’ is coming to the USA at the right time,” Penske said at the Detroit auto show.”Volatile gas prices, urban congestion and America’s acceptance of smaller vehicles will make the Smart fortwo a real home run here in the United States,” he said.The outgoing president of the Smart division, Ullrich Walter, told AFP the company had been inundated by requests from US dealers wanting to sell the Smart.The unit is maintaining “conservative” sales targets, he said, adding that Smart as a whole should break even this year and turn a profit in 2008.Jesse Toprak, executive industry analyst at auto website Edmunds.com, said questions could surround the Smart car’s safety alongside beefy pickup trucks.”It’ll take a lot of marketing dollars to get across the message that they are safe,” he said.”But if you drive around Europe, they’re everywhere.They’re practical, they’re stylish and they get great gas (petrol) mileage,” Toprak said.”Low running costs, combined with a hip image, will appeal to a wide enough market that DaimlerChrysler will be able to sell as many as they can import into the US for at least a few years.”Nampa-AFP