Smart Car Cruise Control
January 30, 2009
Smartimes Reviews Area 451’s Smart Car Cruise Control
For our product review in this edition of smartimes magazine we decided to contact the guys over at Area 451 Parts to find out more about them, their company and specifically their custom smart 451 cruise control unit.
There has been a great deal of buzz revolving around this product in recent times so we thought it was about time we put it to the test. At the time of writing this review the Area 451 Cruise Control is only available from SmartieParts.com and retails for $479 USD.
I have to say that Steven from Area 451 was fully onboard from the moment we contacted him and agreed to ship us a sample unit post haste for installation and review.
As we started to delve a little deeper into the history of Area 451 we found out that Steven was also the owner of Smartieparts.com, a well-established Canadian based retailer for all things smart. Steven had recently acquired Area 451 and when asked to give a little feed back on the company he had this to say:
“Area 451 Parts Ltd. is a new company born to satisfy a particular need in a particular market. When it was determined that smart was not including a cruise control system in it’s smart car as an option or otherwise, it was clear there would be a window of opportunity. We knew that acting quickly and making a 100% custom designed product would give us an edge over any competition that may exist.
The cruise control: Unlike previous attempts at it in Europe, our product was designed from scratch to work specifically with the new model smart sold in the US. Feedback from the initial 200 units sold has been decidedly positive with many customers calling it the best cruise control they’ve ever used in any car, and many more echoing that it is the best addition for their new smart car.
The installation is not trivial, but not particularly difficult either and the step-by-step instructions have helped ensure there have been no significant problems reported to date. The unit comes with a 2 year warranty against defects.”
Feeling confident that we were in good hands, we patiently awaited the arrival of our unit.
Rather than having a trained technician attempt the installation of the cruise control, we decided to simulate the installation based on an average smart car owner with a modest ability to finding his or her way around a car.
Keeping this in mind on the day our unit arrived we unpacked all components and examined them thoroughly; with only a small number of components every thing was concise, well presented and superbly constructed.
Once everything was laid out, we decided to find and download the needed installation instructions from the Area 451 website. The only snag that our installation had hit was that the current Area 451 website, while being entertaining, was far from “user friendly” with regards to locating the needed instructions.
After several minutes of browsing, our instructions had been located, printed out and ready to go.
From this point on, the installation was a breeze. The instructions were well illustrated and very detailed insuring that nothing was over looked. Progressing at a steady methodic pace our install was completed in just less than two hours.
Not too bad we thought for a first attempt, but how will it work?
With this in mind we hit the road for our first test run. A quick 10 minute lap revealed that not only was this a well presented product that is simple to install but that it actually worked! No need for difficult calibrations or fancy controls, just push the button and you’re good to go.
Feeling confident in both our install and initial test run, we set out for our final test. this was to be a round trip of approximately 150 miles to really see how well the cruise control would hold up in real world situations.
The results of this test-drive not only revealed that, yes, the cruise control does exactly what it sets out to do, but also in our opinion made our journey far more enjoyable. By engaging the cruise control it actually eliminated the feeling that we were driving a small car. Our smart sat firmly on the highway cruising along at a comfortable 75MPH.
So, in conclusion, our test was a great success. Would we recommend that you buy the Area 451 Cruise Control?
Well, that depends on you as a driver. If you never take your smart on the highway or do so but very sparingly then this product is probably not for you and the price is a little steep but if you’re like us and maximize your driving time with your smart for both city and highway then this is a product that will certainly make your life easier and leave you smiling from ear to ear.
We would like to thank Steven and Area 451 for agreeing to take part in our review and for more information regarding this product visit www.area451parts.com.
The Smartimes Tech Team
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Smart Car Club Of Croatia
January 29, 2009
Club Name: Smartklub Hrvatska
Club location: Croatia, Zagreb
Website Address: www.smartklub.net
Contact Person: Drzislav Krasic
Email: info@smartklub.net
Club Info:
First Smart car fan club in Croatia (Hrvatska) and south-east Europe!
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Smartimes Spring 2009 Contribution Request
January 22, 2009
Dear Contributors,
I hope that everyone has had a great start to 2009.
As always I would like to thank each and everyone of you for your interesting and much appreciated contributions in the last issue of Smartimes Magazine and for those of you that were not able to contribute last time nows your chance.
We are now approaching the release of our Spring 2009 issue and I wanted to send this message out to encourage all of you to continue your contributions as there are so many exciting smart related events throughout the world that our readers would love to hear about.
For those of you out in the smart world that have never contributed to the Smartimes Magazine I welcome you to give it a try, whether you are an amateur writer, photographer or just an enthusiast in general, we would love to hear from you and so would the rest of the smart world.
I have included the following paragraphs to give you some direction and guidance as to how the magazine is structured.
Please consider which areas you might be interested in:
- Smart News - A starter section for readers containing the latest breaking news stories about smart car happenings all over the world.
- Smart Talk - A section composed of stories by contributors that will be of keen interest to our readers. These stories should reflect the enthusiasm shared by the worldwide community of smart car owners. They should be educational and entertaining for the reader. Each correspondent will be asked to submit their own photos.
- Smart Class - A section with information and photos submitted by readers featuring innovative or out-of-the-ordinary smart cars and their owners.
- How Smart - A how-to section containing technical information about the smart car relating to maintenance and modifications.
- Product Reviews
- Regional Sections - Containing information from each of the largest smart car markets in the world, including Canada, the U.K., the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia.
- A question and answer section for readers.
- A diary section containing anecdotes about memorable moments in the life of a smart car owner submitted by our readers.
The new issue is due out March 2009, and we need all materials no later than February 8th 2009. Please send e-mails to editor@smartimesmagazine.com and all contributions to contributions@smartimesmagazine.com.
Thank you,
Trevor
Editor, Smartimes magazine
www.smartimesmagazine.com
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Penske Is Smiling Over Smart’s U.S. Start
January 20, 2009
Roger Penske, left, surprised Dieter Zetsche, right, with the number of Smart ForTwos that were sold in the U.S.
DETROIT — Was it Roger Penske’s golden touch that sold so many Smart microcars in the United States last year, or the right product at a time when consumers crave fuel economy?
It was probably a bit of both. But even Daimler AG CEO Dieter Zetsche says he’s surprised that 24,622 Smart ForTwo cars were sold in their first year of U.S. sales. Daimler produces the cars, and in the United States Penske Automotive Group is the sole distributor, responsible for sales and marketing of the brand.
Smart At A Glance
- 2008 goal: 16,000 units
- Sold: 24,622
- 2009 sales projection: 25,000
- Total reservations: 100,000 @ $99 each
- Current reservations: 40,000
- Projected 6-month residual value: 58%*
- Dealers: 74 in 35 states; 6 to be added in 2009
- Brand awareness: 18% at beginning of 2008; 80% at year end
- Future models: Brabus high-performance in 2009, all-electric in 2012
[Source: Automotive Lease Guide]
A Little Amazement
Penske, who is chairman of Penske Automotive Group Inc. — the country’s second-biggest public dealership group — appears a little amazed at the sales numbers. That’s evidenced by the big smile on the face of the silver-haired, impeccably dressed racing mogul and entrepreneur billionaire.
“We were contemplating 15,000 to 16,000 in our first year, and as we entered into probably the most unique marketing of any brand coming into the market — Smart with a $99 reservation system — the Internet became the medium for us to build to a brand,” Penske said in an interview last week at the Detroit auto show.
Smart did no traditional TV or print advertising. Instead, it relied on the Internet and a 50-city road show where more than 50,000 customers took test drives.
Will sales hold up in Smart’s second year? Penske says 40,000 people who have put in a $99 reservation through the brand’s Internet ordering system are clamoring for a Smart. Sales are on a first-come, first-served basis.
Based on 2008 data, Penske says he expects 55 percent of the reservation holders to take delivery of a car. An additional 8 percent of sales is expected to come from so-called orphans — vehicles that customers ordered and then didn’t buy.
Based on the number of reservations and fourth-quarter demand, Penske thinks Smart could sell 25,000 cars this year.
The Smart reservation and order system has enabled Penske to “stay connected to the customer because dealers don’t have that direct contact.”
For 2009, the company has set up Smart Express. In markets with heavy reservations and a long waiting period, Smart finds orphans from other markets and pairs them with reservation holders.
Adding Dealers
Smart has 74 dealers and likely will expand to about 80 this year, says Penske. Each dealer spent about $600,000 on the store.
“The value proposition for the dealer has been very realistic. There is no cost pressure, so their ability to invest is possible,” Penske says.
About 18 percent of the cars ordered become orphans. Dealers can sell those cars out of their showrooms but cannot charge over list price.
Penske says Smart is staying with the Internet reservation and ordering system because of the added benefit of staying in touch with customers and potential buyers through surveys and follow-up services.
Service and information calls from Smart customers come in by telephone to Penske Truck Leasing.
“We open a repair order when you call,” says Penske, “I know how many cars are down every morning or the issues, and we can get the dealer involved. I look at the service calls every day.”
For 2009, Smart imported the sporty Brabus model — which is tuned by Brabus GmbH in Germany. This year’s allocation of 1,500 units was gobbled up in eight hours. Smart got an additional 500-unit allocation from Germany, and those sold out in eight hours, Penske says.
He says future models include an electric car and enhancements to the current ForTwo.
And how does the man who can own any car he wants feel about driving a Smart? Penske owns two and says: “I have never driven a vehicle when I get more thumbs up.”
[Source: Automotive News Europe]
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