Smart car:

There are plenty of tiny cars buzzing around the streets of Europe, but nothing quite like DaimlerChrysler’s two-seat Smart, a cheeky little cross between a remote-controlled toy and a shopping cart with attitude. We wonder how many astonished American tourists in Paris or Rome have gone home with pictures of a Smart hanging from the edge of a sidewalk or dexterously wedged into a doorway.

The Smart looks like one face of the automotive future, a refreshing philosophical counterweight to the brute sport utility vehicles. But last week, after years of losses that some analysts said could total $3.2 billion, DaimlerChrysler announced plans to drastically scale back its Smart division, with a loss of 700 jobs.

This is bad news for DaimlerChrysler and its shareholders. But how bad is it for those who saw the Smart as not just a car, but an idea? Maybe not that bad. Despite its appeal, the Smart’s relatively high cost for such a short drink of water kept sales down. DaimlerChrysler’s distribution network was cumbersome, and it had what seemed some misguided ideas for the line, including a roadster version and an SUV, though both have now been scrapped. The Smart car really is smart; it’s just that the same can’t be said for DaimlerChrysler’s marketing strategy. But regardless of the idea, the road to that other automotive future still beckons. — International Herald Tribune