I don’t usually editorialize on sites like this...but today I’m
making an exception.   The smart fortwo is dying, at least in
the US. Sales are not recovering, even as other car makers begin
posting some pretty encouraging numbers...but the perception
(maybe a wrong perception, but a widely held one nonetheless) is
that Penske and Daimler are doing little to reverse this.
Putting one’s hope in a car demo caravan going from town to town
around the country is an exercise in futility. It looks
(perception again) like the focus is simply on spending as
little money as possible. I understand that every business,
particularly those under financial stress, need to control
expense...but at what cost? This car (at least the fortwo
version) cannot survive here by selling only to us crazies who
always wanted one. The problem is, anyone who fell in love with
the idea of this car has already bought one. Now what? To
survive (let alone prosper), the company has to begin appealing
to the general population of buyers conside