There is definitely a market for small hatchbacks in the US. The Toyota Yaris and Honda Fit are good examples. I'm sure their sales are great because of rising gas prices. But the problem with Benz and Smart is that they are way overpriced and just don't have anything to compete with. Like Siko mentioned, no one in their right mind is going to shell out 30 grand for a hatchback here. Having both the Smart and B-class would be doubly disastrous. The only way the Germans can come into this segment is by having a sporty hatchback, such as the A3, Mini, 1er, Golf GTI...