Troubled car brand Smart could be launched in the United States as parent firm DaimlerChrysler aims to turn it into a profit-making venture within the next 18 months.

Smart has struggled to make a profit and DaimlerChrysler has axed models to concentrate production on the two-seater ForTwo city car.

Now the ForTwo, one of the smallest production cars on sale, could enter a market where its owners would battle with huge pick-ups and SUVs on urban roads. DaimlerChrysler's CEO Dieter Zetsche told German Sunday newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, 'At the moment, the tendency is clearly positive.' A decision is expected later this month.

Source = Autocar

Watch it flop. Horribly.

You never know, mini has done very well in the US!

Yeah, but the Mini brand is an icon - the smart band isn't. Not to mention they're ugly, overpriced and just too small and unnecessary for the American market.

I hope they'll pull it off successfully, counter to my gut feel.....

On top of that, a Mini has performance to match the looks while the Smart doesn't offer anything really. I heard their fuel economy is quite terrible too.

Their fuel economy is around 50 mpg, if that's quite terrible then you must be on a bike!

I think when it comes to the US, it will become a niche vehicle... You will see it in the big cities, and it will also become popular among celebrities. It will probably become like a fashion statement more than anything. I wouldn't expect Mini-type sales though, but neither did Mini when they came, so you never know.

I don't know, because I've heard that real life fuel consumption is actually not that great considering how big the car and the engine is. Let's put it this way, from what I've been told, there are cars that do better when it comes to fuel economy. Not to mention there are cars that look better too.

That was the whole plan in Europe. People there like small cars. But Smart didn't take off there either so why would it be different in the US?

I think the main problem with Smart is all there cars a way overpriced, and they aren't actually worth that premium over other cars! It's like MB are marketing Smart as a prestigious car company and it isn't really that good! When you compare this to mini which is prestigious, you can see why it sells so much, because people think it's worth the amount of money it costs! The handleing is amazing, or as some people put it 'go-kart like', the interior quality is very high and it's a very good looking car, retro but still modern.

I think the ForTwo it trying to be like the original mini, it's just not that good!