How Many Smartcar Lovers Are Out There?
Just how many Smartcar lovers are there in the world? Apparently, not as many in 2009 as there were in ‘08. Sales are down almost 14% so far. Yet, it seems ever since the first Smart fortwo dropped on American soil I’ve seen the numbers of them driving around quadrupole – everyone from old geezers to new drivers and all in between seem to have one. But again, reports continue to surface that Smart sales are down since last year. So, why all the enthusiasts sites online?
Just Google “Smartcar Fans” and you’ll find pages upon pages of Smart fans from across the globe. One of our favorite sites is 451s.com, which takes its name for the model number Smart vehicles made post-2008 have. This site alone consists of fortwo drivers in Europe, Canada & the United States.
According to a recent BusinessWeek article: “German carmakers Daimler, BMW and Audi said Tuesday their August sales declined from year-ago levels, though all offered more upbeat assessments, indicating the sales trends of the economic downturn are abating.” At first, the steadying fuel prices were blamed for the slowing of Smart sales – but to be honest, until Cash for Clunkers came about, no brand witnessed a major incline of closed deals. “Mercedes, Smart and Maybachs said it saw strong contributions from several regions and expected more positive results from the release of new models…” As of this month Mercedes has only sold 78,600 Smart Units YTD. Guess we will have to wait and see what fortwo Cabrio CDi does for Smart’s pocketbook in ‘10.
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