[darkwizard]

pretty smart for the technology but pretty dumb for the price. Normally
people buy something,
1st they see the design.
2nd they see the price. (If expensive, Already scare people away)
3rd they see the technology
4th they see the quality.
only reach price part then people already turn it down.

[hlchan1]

SMART is for smart market. Very niche market indeed.

In europe, most SMART owners are retirees. They have the money but doesn't
want to drive big cars. It's small and safe. SMART is ideal for them.

My uncle owns a SMART. He has an MPV. Got a SMART for his wife.

My sister just got her SMART. Her husband also has an MPV, get herself a
SMART too.

SMART is definitely ideal for familiy with more than 2 cars.

If you spend 1 hour discovering the car, it's a very smart design indeed.
It's amazing for such a small engine can deliver such power. Not
forgetting the safety features. It's just a fun car to have.

If you ask me to buy.. Not now, maybe when I own 2 cars, have some extra
income.. I will consider the SMART forfour.. That one looks more
practical..

[ripper99]

For those who thinks that getting a smart car is not so smart, better stick
to your kancils or vios or whatever for the same price and try to race
along the Plus hiways at speeds in excess of 100kph.

Surely you are smart enough not to compare an apple with an orange

[erzer111]

Daimler Chrysler, who own MB, who own Smart car, lost $250m on this little
toy to date (or was it just last year?). Anyway, commercial flop by
anyone's standards, maybe even worse than Potong!

[hlchan1]

Where did you get such news? No doubt it started off pretty slow in 1999
with loss of almost $1B in the beginning. People have not accepted the
concept then, but things are looking better now.. Even other car makers
are looking into this new market segment.

"smart sales up 23 percent in November"
The smart brand continues to post dynamic growth. Led by demand for the
smart forfour, sales of the brand rose 23 percent in November to the
record figure of 12,500 units. A total of 36,500 smart forfour have been
delivered to customers worldwide since the vehicle’s market launch last
April. Deliveries of smart-brand vehicles increased 22 percent to 126,000
units through November. Above-average growth was recorded in Spain (6,700
units, up 66 percent), France (11,500 units, up 37 percent) and Portugal
(2,700 units, up 45 percent).
As part of the brand’s sales offensive, smart models became available in
Malaysia at the end of November. This Southeast Asian country offers solid
growth opportunities for the company, because the small car segment
accounts for approximately 80 percent of the total automotive market
there, and demand for premium vehicles is constantly increasing. The first
smart showroom in Romania will also open in Bucharest this week, after
which the smart brand will be present in 36 countries.

[youngmn778]

[Daimler Chrysler, who own MB, who own Smart car, lost $250m on this little
toy to date (or was it just last year?). Anyway, commercial flop by
anyone's standards, maybe even worse than Potong!]

yaya.... show the prove plz.

[zybisko14]

i dunno... i think value for money isn't so good. had a look at it that
day, kinda dissapointing. revved it up and it didn't give me much
satisfaction. looked at the coupe, was even worse, couldn't even fit my
luggage. and some more it costs 100k and it's not even the brabus version.
dissapointing...

[james35]

zybisko14 bro,

I feel the SMART car is still new, I doubt one can find a cheap 2nd hand
model so soon, so the 'value for money' issue may be too soon to
generalize. We all know that lots of cars in Malaysia are overpriced and
cars in general always depreciate - some more than the others. Maybe the
2nd hand SMART on sale would be a better value buy???

As for revving the SMART, don't expect the Alfa growl or those conti car
engine solid sound. It's a concept car that is fit for mass production
and never meant to be a racer. Of course it could not fit your luggage!!
Your golf set or working bag maybe,leh....

Agree the tag price is high but this is where the 'image
and 'exclusivity' comes in. It's a deliberate marketing and branding
strategy. Pricing is a strategy. The target market are different group
all together. It's definitely targeted at the affluent group (silly or
not, they have the dough....and for some, 'if you have it - flaunt it')
No matter how souped up your Kancil or Kelisa is - it is still that. I
admire those people who will buy the new 3's and immediately make changes
to the car - don't they understand BMW spends lots of money to pay their
designers to come up with the new designs? Of course it is all about
personal choice at the end of the day. Unless the car owners do the car
upgrades tastefully and use those 'recognised' body kits- it can really
turn out bad taste... Now, the brabus version of the SMART is something..

SMART is colourful and vibrant. I think if you do not have the
personality to go with it, you will be put off with this car. I think
this car can fit a 6 footer driver. No problems. With such a small
vehicle, don't expect carpet ride or ultimate riding machine but it has
got character and it can grow on you...

Just sharing only... cheers!

[OTMOTM]

does any one know how much it is selling overseas ??

[Scream]

Unfortunately the people who will actually buy this car will be well
travelled enough to know not to pay that kind of dough for the car.

I mean, I think it's ok to overpay for an SL55 because you know that money
just cannot quantify the excitement of owning that car, or 911, or
Cayenne, or DB9, or an Enzo for example. But paying 100k+ for this car...
hmmm.... It's subjective, but from gut feeling , it is just not right.

Well, in any case, cannot blame the importers since it's really the tax
structure which makes the price as crazy as it is. The importers will
bring it in as long as it makes business sense and as long as some people
will actually pay money for this ride. I saw two today at Mega Mall, just
for the records.