MB/SMART sales up 9.4% in October
 

A sigh of relief for MB while Smart sales literally disappear.

Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - Nov. 3, 2009

Smart Fortwo - $11,990 to start and 36 mpgUS combined on the 08 EPA. Cute but too small for American tastes apparently.

Mercedes-Benz USA today reported October sales of 18,193 vehicles, its highest month of the year and a 21.3% improvement over October 2008.

"Clearly we're very pleased with this month's result and we believe that we will be able to parlay this into a strong fourth quarter and continued increases in our market share," said Ernst Lieb, President & CEO of MBUSA. Lieb attributed the strong month to a more stabile economic environment relative to last year and to the momentum of the company's new products -- the compact SUV GLK-Class and the new 9th generation E-Class -- as well as volume leaders like its C- and M-Class model lines.

The GLK-Class, introduced in January 2009, has outsold every vehicle in its class on a year-to-date basis. The all-new, 9th generation E-Class, launched in late June, recorded sales of 6,071 for October 2009, up 189.4% over October 2008. The other volume leaders for the month were the C-Class and M-Class with sales of 4,122, and 2,370 respectively.

On a year-to-date basis, the company sold 153,606 new vehicles, trailing the comparable period last year by 20.1%.

Smart on the other hand had much less to cheer about with just 661 vehicles sold in October 2009. Year-to-date sales now total 13,082 units. Since its introduction in the United States, there are nearly 40,000 Smart Fortwos traveling the roads throughout America. There are 79 Smart centers located in 36 states.

Re: MB/SMART sales up 9.4% in October
 

I still need to take one of these for a test ride -- it seemed very comfortable when I sat in one last year (in LA).

Too bad they don't offer a high efficiency (60mpg??) version with a 5spd manual transmission.

Re: MB/SMART sales up 9.4% in October
 

I never really saw the point of the ForTwo, other than cheapness. My Fit gets 40 MPG without even trying, with more usable cargo room than some small SUVs... and Honda depedability. :)

Re: MB/SMART sales up 9.4% in October
 

The smart car is definitely not for everyone. Limited room, limited dealership network and just the small size of the car make it really more of a niche car, but around here, there are a ton!

Re: MB/SMART sales up 9.4% in October
 

I would not buy one unless it got 90-100mpg. My insight I used to have got 70mpg rain or shine and was capable of much more under the right conditions. Plus it had more cargo room, accelerated quicker and had a much higher top speed. It was also built 8 years before the smart came to the usa. You would think they could at least have the smart get 70mpg...you would think... Hell in 1985 the geo metro xfi (suzuki engine) got 55-60mpg. AND it sat 4 people!!!!:flag: