The smart Car Comes To Mercedes-Benz of Buffalo: Experience It Firsthand!
You may have seen the new Saturn "Rethink American" campaign. The latest spot just started to air and focuses on modest price and lower environmental footprint as the new vogue. Eric Hirshberg, the Chief Creative Officer at Deutsch/LA said the campaign attempts to "recast a cultural moment in America through the lens of the American car".
That "cultural moment" Hirshberg references is fascinating, specifically that large ad agencies and their very large auto manufacturing clients are banking on an increasing awareness of issues like leaving smaller environmental footprints and more moderate consumption changing people's buying patterns, specifically what they want to drive.
For more evidence of that "cultural moment", take a look at DaimlerChrysler's Smart Car. With three cylinders, 60 MPG, two seats, just more than 8 feet long and less than 5 feet wide, and at a price between $11K and $18K, the smart USA(tm) smart fortwo is coming to Buffalo. In August, Mercedes-Benz of Buffalo will be among the first U.S. dealers to represent the smart USA(tm) cars.
Dave Schembri, president of smart USA(tm) said, "The smart fortwo is all about urban independence and freeing people from the constraints of city driving." It's fun to drive, gets great gas mileage, and can park in half the space of a traditional car. If the car is as popular here as it's been in Europe, it could fundamentally change the way drivers travel in the city and the environmental cost and space required to support them.
Mercedes-Benz of Buffalo is hosting a preview Thursday of the new "smart fortwo". It' s a chance to speak with members of the smart USA team, test drive the European edition of the "smart fortwo", hear the eco-friendly story, and learn about "smart fortwo" functional and safety features.
It's a chance to see up close a part of a new "cultural moment"...and maybe even play a small role in turning that moment into a fundamental change in how we travel and consume precious resources-the environment as well as your checkbook balance.
Mercedes-Benz of Buffalo
Thursday, August 2nd
12PM - 8PM
8185 Main Street, Williamsville
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BuffaloGreen
I've seen these in Canada a lot, and it's exciting that they're available here now. I had no idea they were so affordable. $11,000 - 18,000 is the cost of a keychain at Mercedes, isn't it? I might have to get one.
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MisterChips
The real "smart car" is a train.
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ktl340
Will they be building a Smart dealership here?
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fill
wow.........60mpg ?? And I felt smug when I got 56mpg in my Prius (usually around 48mpg).
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Charger
Isn't that Mercedes-Benz of Williamsville? I don't recall seeing a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Buffalo.
But seriously, if they were smart (no pun intended) they would set up some sort of Smart showroom space in downtown Buffalo. Even if it were only a temporary space at the Convention Center or in one of the parking ramps or a tent in a surface lot. Who wants to deal with the traffic nightmare in Williamsville in order to get one of these great cars?
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Chief_Psychic
This is a fun car to drive. I had one for a couple of months when I was in Europe for business last year. Mercedes has had a difficult time bringing these cars to America, primarily because of the strong lobbying efforts of our legacy car manufacturers and labor unions. They pose a threat to the status-quo in American autombiles, they are the antithesis of the Hummer or Yukon.
Charger - Mercedes-Benz of Buffalo is in Clarence (East of Transit Road). They moved to follow the money, just like so many other Buffalo businesses. That said, this is a great dealership that is very responsive to their customers needs, they have a great service department, and they donate to local causes and charities. They do a good job of representing Buffalo, we should be happy that they didn't rename the dealership "Mercedes of Clarence". If you can't handle the drive from the Thruway to Main Street (all of 10 minutes, even on a bad day) then you have much deeper issues to deal with that a smart car will not solve.
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The_other_mike
It is my understanding that the SMART car won't be available in the US until Q'2 2008 (pending approval by NTSB and other Gov't agencies). This is just an event to hype the car and determine the market / demand when / if they become available in the US.
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Lorne
The Smart car has been in Canada for a couple of years now. You can see them toodling around Toronto. I had a chance to take a peek at its interior, and it's surprisingly roomy. The company promotes its safety features, in order to allay fears from the car buying public. To learn more about these features, there are two good independent websites that offer information. www.asmartcar.com, and www.smartcar of america. com. While the car maybe as safe as it can be for its size, it's not the kind of car I'd personally want to take on the QEW.
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Buffalopundit
The Smart fortwos in the US will not have the CDI engine found in Europe and Canada, and will not get 60 MPG.
A Toyota Yaris gets 40 MPG, costs $12,000, and has a rear seat.
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