Monday 4th April 2005

Smart Roadster gets the chop

DC aims to stem haemorrhaging red ink

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Smart Roadster

DaimlerChrysler has announced its plans to save Smart, its spin-off that makes the car whose party trick is to park end on to the kerb, which include termination of the Roadster's production.

Some speculate that in fact the company's plan is eventually to choke off the marque altogether, whose
losses could be amounting to around £400 million a year.

But, putting a brave face on it, the company said its new business model aims to put the small-car brand onto a financially sound basis, with the goal of breaking even in 2007.

Key points of the plan are:

• The production of the smart roadster will be terminated at the end of 2005.
• The smart SUV project to be discontinued.
• Intensified development of the successor to the smart fortwo, including fulfilling the requirements of the US market. The next generation of the three-cylinder petrol engine will also be used by other manufacturers, said the company, making the point that cost-saving economies of scale should result.
• Cooperation with Mitsubishi Motors on the smart forfour to be continued. Measures to be taken to improve profitability mean that this product will break even in the future.
• The number of Smart outlets to increase by a quarter.
• Workers will be laid off or made redundant in a bid to shave a whopping 30 per cent off operating costs. The management said it aimed "to achieve these reductions in a socially acceptable manner, and talks are planned with the works council on this issue in the coming weeks."

[RosCabezas]

It's a pity. The roadster is a great little machine.

At least, I already have mine

[Rob_the_Sparky]

If they fixed the gbox maybe more of them would be sold. Seems such a shame to chop a nice little car with real potential.

[zaktoo]

All they really needed to do was make the V6 Biturbo smart roadster available. They only built 6 or 7 of them, which is a pity. Also, Mitsubishi must be pissing themselves laughing - having been set adrift by DC only for them to realise that they need Mitsubishi for further development of a key model for what must be a crucial brand...

Ciao

Zak

[thanuk]

Rob_the_Sparky said:

If they fixed the gbox maybe more of them would be sold.

And the steering feel.
And the boot space.
And the price.

[mechsympathy]

Whilst I'm sad to see the roadster go.

Some DC bloke said:

The smart SUV project to be discontinued.

This is very good news.

[alunr]

The only car they have of any worth is the Original "Smart". The roadster is overpriced, the coupe is overpriced, the ForFour is just plain pointless/gutless.

I think the ForTwo is ace but I wouldn't go near any of the others full stop.

[nickytwohats]

A mate of mine claims to have bought a brand new one for under £10K the other day.....

[Fire99]

Did the Roadster have the same lurchy gearbox as the original little baby smarty thingymajig??

Seemed rather slow and expensive for my liking but hey some people like the KA roadster!!!!

[JagLover]

alunr said:

The only car they have of any worth is the Original "Smart". The roadster is overpriced, the coupe is overpriced, the ForFour is just plain pointless/gutless. I think the ForTwo is ace but I wouldn't go near any of the others full stop.

You say that but in Auto Express annaul survey of car owners-The original Smart was ranked bottome for ride and handling.

[lanciachris]

the article said:

Intensified development of the successor to the smart fortwo, including fulfilling the requirements of the US market.

Theyre going to stick a v8 with 110bhp in it and triple the power steering assistance?

[Trooper2]

JagLover said:

You say that but in Auto Express annual survey of car owners-The original Smart was ranked bottome for ride and handling.

Then they won't need to change anything for the U.S.

>> Edited by Trooper2 on Monday 4th April 13:52

[Bill Carr]

JagLover said:

alunr said: The only car they have of any worth is the Original "Smart". The roadster is overpriced, the coupe is overpriced, the ForFour is just plain pointless/gutless. I think the ForTwo is ace but I wouldn't go near any of the others full stop. You say that but in Auto Express annaul survey of car owners-The original Smart was ranked bottome for ride and handling.

That misses the point somewhat, doesn't it?

[top brake]

"Cooperation with Mitsubishi Motors on the smart forfour to be continued. Measures to be taken to improve profitability mean that this product will break even in the future. "

what a rubbish un-inspiring project to be involved with - all that effort to achieve - nothing...

[whittaker52]

Its a real shame to see the roadster disappear from the smart range of cars, the car is fantastic, but if it wasnt selling very well, then it was the only thing to do. I was talking to a guy at the local smart centre today who was telling me that the UK was the only place where the roadster sold really well!

But at least i have my car, and i will enjoy it!

I find the gearbox really quite good, especially compared to the older cars. the car has such a huge potential that alot of people seemed to miss.

zaktoo said:

All they really needed to do was make the V6 Biturbo smart roadster available. They only built 6 or 7 of them, which is a pity. Also, Mitsubishi must be pissing themselves laughing - having been set adrift by DC only for them to realise that they need Mitsubishi for further development of a key model for what must be a crucial brand... Ciao Zak

They only made ten of these cars, of which all were "prototypes" and thus it would be too expensive to engineer them to be totally reliable.

thanuk said:

And the steering feel. And the boot space. And the price.

the steering wheel is great, as is the boot space, although id agree, the prices are a little high, although there are some good deals to be had at the moment! i think also an upgrade is needed in terms of the service recieved from dealers.

As for the smart formore/forall/suv/4x4, i think it should have been canned long ago!

alunr said:

The only car they have of any worth is the Original "Smart". The roadster is overpriced, the coupe is overpriced, the ForFour is just plain pointless/gutless. I think the ForTwo is ace but I wouldn't go near any of the others full stop.

I love my roadster, but i would still go back to a new city-car if i had the money and the space for an extra car. the city-car has much more character that the roadster, but the roadster is much more exciting when it comes to the driving experience.

Fire99 said:

Did the Roadster have the same lurchy gearbox as the original little baby smarty thingymajig?? Seemed rather slow and expensive for my liking but hey some people like the KA roadster!!!!

The car has the same 3 speed, up down dog manual box with automatic clutch control as all the other smart cars, but has upgraded software to give faster and smoother changes, up and down the gearbox. the only reason the car really has this type of gearbox, is because of the size restrictions.

[gooby]

I drove the Brabus roadster. It was ok if you could get used to that dire gearbox. Then I saw the price! When you consider that the roadster is a re bodied Smart, then how can you justify the incredible price.

[james]

All they need to do is produce a car that isn't crap and overpriced. Then they might not lose 400 million a year.

[zaktoo]

whittaker52 said:

zaktoo said: All they really needed to do was make the V6 Biturbo smart roadster available. They only built 6 or 7 of them, which is a pity. They only made ten of these cars, of which all were "prototypes" and thus it would be too expensive to engineer them to be totally reliable.

Sure, but they're halfway there if they've got running prototypes. I reckon they'd bag a few MX-5/MR2 sales, not to mention uplifting the marque's image. I still want one too ;-)

Ciao

Zak

[MILF]

If memory serves me right, the V6 Bi turbo had 2 of the triple cylinder engines for about 180 BHP. However, due to the positioning of the engine(s), the servicing for this car would have been commesurate with a 911, as even the most basic of servicing necessitated the removal of half the bodywork and the engine itself.

Hardly in line with Smarts ethos of cheap & cheerful motoring......Cant help thinking that even if Brabus could get around this fairly major design problem, then the price would still in all probability be over and above an Elise 111R and moving into Boxster territory.

[zaktoo]

MILF said:

If memory serves me right, the V6 Bi turbo had 2 of the triple cylinder engines for about 180 BHP. However, due to the positioning of the engine(s), the servicing for this car would have been commesurate with a 911, as even the most basic of servicing necessitated the removal of half the bodywork and the engine itself. Hardly in line with Smarts ethos of cheap & cheerful motoring......Cant help thinking that even if Brabus could get around this fairly major design problem, then the price would still in all probability be over and above an Elise 111R and moving into Boxster territory.

That's too bad

BTW, I hadn't noticed the cheap part of smart's ethos myself. Over here (South Africa) a smart is on par price-wise with Renault Clio 1.4 and Hyundai Getz 1.6. Almost twice the price of our cheapest locally available car, the Hyundai Atos...

Ciao

Zak

[Gentelman]

Damn, I've been waiting years to see this brand hit the states. Oh well, at least the 4x4 won't be the first one we'll see (or at all). If these had been available already, I would have seriously considered one instead of the volkswagen Jetta (Bora) I just bought. A fourtwo would also make those occasional trips into Chicago far easier on the bumpers.