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| Virginia's got Smarts | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Mon Feb 11th, 2008 04:52 am |
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ALephart Administrator 
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From: http://www.inrich.com/content/cva/ric/news/business.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-02-10-0133.html Sunday, Feb 10, 2008 - 12:05 AM By LOUIS LLOVIO TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Smart cars, those bug-eyed vehicles that have dotted the urban landscapes of Paris, London and Berlin for several years, have finally made their way to Virginia. Three Virginia dealers -- in Vienna, Alexandria and Virginia Beach -- will sell the car known around the world for its diminutive size, unique look and ability to traverse city traffic, and parking lots, with the ease of a large motorcycle. It could be another year before a Smart Center opens in the Richmond area. Richmond automobile dealer Haywood "Huddy" Hyman Jr. said he has been talking to Smart USA about opening a local store. Hyman, who owns two Saturn dealerships in the Richmond area and a used-car center and a Land Rover franchise in Chesterfield County, owned three Smart dealerships in Paris when the two-seaters came out in 1998. At the time, Hyman was the only American selling the Smart car. He sold his operations there a year later. A Richmond dealership could be in the plans when Smart USA Distributor LLC, a subsidiary of the Penske Automotive Group Inc., announces its second phase later this year, said Ken Kettenbeil, the Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based company's spokesman. The stores in the second phase would open in 2009. This year, 74 Smart dealerships, dubbed Smart Centers, should open in the United States, with 68 opening by month's end. The dealers are the first to have factory authorization to sell the distinctive Smart cars in this country. Daimler AG, the parent company of Mercedes Benz, which manufactures the cars, named Penske as the exclusive U.S. distributor last year. Despite Hyman's enthusiasm for the brand, he is not sure how the cars will fare in this area. Smart cars will sell "well in big cities like Los Angeles and Washington, but it's hard to say how they'll do in smaller markets," Hyman said. Despite his concerns, he is willing to invest in bringing a store to the area. "It'll be interesting to see what happens if we can get a store in the Richmond market," he said. Sue Williams of Chesterfield placed an order for a Smart last summer. She's been told the car should be ready by the end of the year. She believes the dealer she'll be working with will be the one in Virginia Beach. Williams said she believes her Smart convertible will fit in fine with her lifestyle. The 66-year-old retiree, who intends to trade in her Volkswagen Beetle, said the Smart will be her everyday car. "I put a lot of miles on my automobile driving frequently to visit family and friends in North Carolina and Pennsylvania," she said. "But most of my [Smart] driving . . . will be around town to meetings and functions." She will drive her husband's Honda CRV for longer trips. "I saw my first Smart [in France in 2005] and thought how useful this little auto could be for so many of us in our downsizing world," she said. George Hoffer, an economics professor at Virginia Commonwealth University who specializes in the auto industry, doesn't believe Smart will do well here. "It's a kook car," he said. "Clearly it's very chic, but why would you want to pay a premium price for a car that is so impractical." The problem, as he sees it, is the car's size. Not only is it "impractical for two people to go grocery shopping," Hoffer said, but the car is unsafe with all the larger cars and SUVs in this country. "It does well in Europe because of the critical mass of small cars, but here, it's mismatched in terms of size. And you can't beat weight or size for safety," he said. But Dave Kinney, an automotive writer and publisher of the Cars That Matter price guide, disagreed. "If you look at any of the crash video, you'll see the car is extraordinarily safe," he said. Kinney, who picked up his Smart convertible Wednesday near Tysons Corner, concedes he is using the car as a commuter car. His office is a mile from his Northern Virginia home. "It wouldn't be my first choice if I was taking a trip to California," he said. "Or my second. Or even third." Kinney, who is 6-feet, 4-inches tall and "wide," said he sees the cars selling well because of how they will perform in cities. "It's a small car that behaves like a big car," he said. Williams, the Chesterfield resident, said she's not concerned about size. She's already learned to maximize space in her Beetle. "I've gotten quite good at getting a ton of groceries in it without too much trouble," she said. "Occasionally I've had to put the top down to add things and then put it back up." Stephen Snyder, executive vice president of the Checkered Flag Motor Car Co., which owns the Virginia Beach Smart dealership, said he would be surprised if Richmond isn't part of the next expansion. "Ultimately there will be a dealership in Richmond. It's inevitable," Snyder said. Even Hoffer was surprised a dealership wasn't placed here. "You would think they would have put one in Richmond," he said. Until that happens, customers in this area will have travel to one of the Virginia dealerships if they are interested in buying a Smart car. The Vienna store opened Jan. 12. Alexandria officially opens later this week, though it's already doing minimal business. The Virginia Beach dealership is slated to open the last week in February. Smart USA chose the original batch of dealers based on the number of reservations in a geographic area, Kettenbeil said. Smart has about 30,000 people in the United States on the waiting list, he said, but the company would not break down the reservations by markets. Because so many people have reserved the 3-cylinder, 5-foot-tall cars, inventory at dealerships could be thin. Richmond's Hyman said he thinks dealers will be sold out of cars for a year and the factory will have hard time meeting any increased demand. "There is only so much capacity," he said. Smarts, sold in 36 countries, are built at a single plant in Hambach, France. In Virginia Beach, Snyder said reservations will keep inventory at the new $2.6 million Smart Center to a minimum. "They've said we'll get at least 15 to 20 cars a month, but we have to sell them to the people who have reservations first," he said. But even a reservation is not a guarantee that a customer will get a car in the early days. "I haven't driven the Smart car. I'm sure that seems odd that I've gone so far out on a limb," said Williams, the Chesterfield resident. She ordered a red and silver convertible with black leather seats. "Though I've given my final specs, I can still change my mind." Contact Louis Llovio at (804) 649-6348 or LLLovio@timesdispatch.com.
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