Blog from the Loft

United Auto Group is changing it’s name to Penske Automotive Group (PAG). Penske wants to capitalize on his name, and also to get ready for his exclusive dealership setup for selling the Smart Car in the US. Are we all tired of waiting??

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is it just me? If you go to smartusa.com, try to sign up on the email list (click “insider”), and enters nothing on the contact form, you get an error saying “required fields are in red”. However, nothing is in Red. Does not work with Firefox nor Safari on the Mac. Yikes! I thought the [...]

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We must be getting close. MB now lets you “reserve” a smart car for $99. Go to the www.smartusa.com/ and sign up. According to the site:

Would you like reserve your very own new 2008 smart fortwo? Our exciting $99 Reservation Program is now open to all smart enthusiasts. Be sure to share the news about [...]

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A Eureka, California resident imported a Smart Car into the States. While the Smart Cars are not being sold officially yet, people are importing them and getting shops to help them modify the car to meet US Standards. This new owner, Jeanne Tunison-Campbell worked with Green Auto Shop at  Arcata to get the car modified. Read the [...]

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Finally, a review of the Chysler smart fourtwo that is heading to the U.S. shore. It will be different. Longer, with a bigger 1 litre engine. Given all the current concern of gas prices, will the 57.6 mpg spec win buyers over bigger and probably safer car? We will find out in 2008. I say, [...]

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Yes, this is real… sort of. It is a Smart Car body built on top of a Unimog 406 chassis. It is just a concept car. But you can point to this thing when people laugh at your little Smart Car. It is 145 inch tall, with 26 inch wheels and 55 inch tall tires.

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United Auto Group (UAG) will become Daimler Chrysler’s sole U.S. distributor of Smart Cars. UAG is the number 2 U.S. public dealer group in terms of sales, with a collection of about 180 U.S. retail franchises. UAG also have dealerships in Europe. UAG will purchase cars built by DaimlerChrysler in German plants at a [...]

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Mercedes dealer council chairman says MB dealers in the States do not want to sell Smart Cars in their Mercedes show room. It may hurt their image. Does this mean that MB buyers are not “smart”? Which brings up the old but true joke: What do you say Mercedes in German?………………………………. Taxi.
Yes, MB are well [...]

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According to Forbes Autos, the official announcement, by CEO Dieter Zetsche, is that
will begin selling its fuel-efficient, two-seat Smart Car in the U.S. during the first quarter of 2008. I guess we will wait and see. Meanwhile you could have pick on up in Canada since 2004.

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First, a smart car was used in the Pink Panther remake with Steve Martin. Now it is driven by Tom Hanks in the Movie version of the Da Vinci Code, speeding away, at one time backwards (what else) down a Paris street. I wonder how many people know that is a Smart Car.

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