Canadian Sales Up, Worldwide Sales PlummetUnless you've been living under a rock for the past few months, you've probably heard of a book and/or movie called "The Da Vinci Code." Dealing equally with the works of Leonardo himself (Da Vinci means of the town of Vinci, after all) as well as most Christian religions, the book and corresponding movie have caused quite a debate about the role of religion in today's society. But even more importantly (ahem...), Tom Hanks, the star of the movie that opened to gross $224 million bucks worldwide, drives a smart car in it.
Yes, that's right. The man that was slee
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| No, Tom Hanks wasn't driving this one. Chances are, with only 38,500 sold this year, neither were you. (Photo: Mercedes-Benz Canada) |
pless in Seattle and said that life is like a box o' chocolates spends the first few minutes of the movie speeding down Paris' city streets in a wee smart fortwo. The small size of the car allows the chase scene to take on a sort of "Italian Job" (the original, not the crappy remake) air, with the smart leaving the road to careen down footpaths in reverse, finishing off by squeezing between oncoming freight trucks; both maneuvers that would have larger cars crushed. After all, when you've got a mere 41 horsepower diesel that can only manage 100 km/h from standstill in 20 seconds with a tailwind, you need to get creative with your escape tactics! Of course, as is becoming of a smart car, the fuel economy is excellent; not once during the whole movie does Mr. Hanks have to stop to refuel.
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| This smart Crosstown concept debuted last year, and rumour has it that a utility smart may be in the works again. (Photo: Mercedes-Benz Canada) |
But what the movie doesn't show you is exactly how unpopular the bizarre and mostly useless (unless you happen to live in the city and never need to transport anything larger than a dartboard) smart cars have been this year. Last month DaimlerChrysler reported that worldwide, smart sales are down by almost a quarter. That equated to a worldwide total of only 9,500 smart cars sold last month, with the year to date figure being a paltry 38,500. That doesn't bode well for the brand, who's future was questionable eve
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| The smart fortwo cabriolet allows the driver to enjoy the environment they're saving. (Photo: Mercedes-Benz Canada) |
n last year amidst the debut of the Crosstown concept (which is rumoured to be a "vision" of an upcoming utility-styled smart due out soon) when smart managed to pawn off 143,000 microcars, a rise of 2.5 percent over the 2004 sales figures.
Strangely enough, we here in Canada seem to have a growing penchant for the diesel-sipping (the car's single most redeeming quality) plastic-bodied wonders, and Canadian smart sales in April soared... relatively. While the rest of the world was turning their back on the perky microcars we were buying them in droves, with 11 percent more fortwo coupes and cabriolets leaving Canadian dealership floors so far this year month than did last year. Thankfully, that 11 percent increase correlates to meager 44 more smarts on the road than last year, which in turn correlates into a total yearly fuel consumption increase of 702 litres, nationwide, on average.
So, what
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| These were the first smart cars to invade Canadian soil two years ago. Could the invasion be over before it even began? (Photo: Mercedes-Benz Canada) |
does the future hold for smart? Well, one simply cannot tell. After all, critics were remarking that Chrysler Group was on the verge of disappearing until the 300 came along and saved them, only smart may not find its saviour in the form of an excellent car, but rather in the greed of oil company executives. With gas prices rumoured to reach over $1.50 per litre by the end of the summer, it isn't a stretch to predict that the once-popular summer automobile choice of sporty coupes and convertibles will disappear, replaced almost overnight by the hamster of the automotive world. But for how long?
