Fortwos are having a deserved success in Canada. In fact it is a major source of pride over at smart head office, so I hear….

Yeah, I checked out the mileage on those hybrids and I was disappointed. Especially the Civic and Accord. My first thought on those was, “Aren’t those the normal non-Hybrid numbers?”

Even the Insight, at 66mpg (and that’s factory tested so expect lower), was disappointing. But I suppose it is economy sized, seating (I assume) 4 people. Which is a bit of a draw over the Fortwo. But for pure fuel economy the Fortwo is kicking all their asses, and it really shouldn’t be, those hybrids should be competitive versus the Fortwo.

BTW, did you ever see that video (maybe you have it here on the site somewhere) of some crash test of a Fortwo being driven at 70mph into a cement barrier? Impressive roll cage on those little cars.

The Civic - that number shocked me a bit - I really thought it would be higher. But then consider that it’s mileage isn’t THAT much more than a straight gas Civic.

And there’s the point - it’s virtually the same car, but significantly higher in price.

The smart has no competitor to speak of. The waiting lists were 3 to 6 months long, and there are still people waiting for their car to arrive.

As fas as the Insight goes - it’s not Honda’s intention to sell many. At $26,500 - it should sell more - but it doesn’t. Honda is no doubt happy to collect awards for a car you can’t even test drive - because it holds the # 1 position in the US as well, beating out the Prius.

Having said all that - the real credit to smart’s success is definately NOT the marketing of it. It hasn’t really been marketed yet in the traditional automotive sense, at least not by MB, other than at autoshows. The credit goes to the ambassadors that own them - the early adopters that took interest, no matter what the critics said… There are some great reps selling them too - and even the occasional dealer that really tried to get the car over here, even 2 or 3 years ago. (TPM in Victoria specifically.)

Hybrids function okay in Canada - no better or worse than the smart. The price is the main consideration I’m sure, especially for the Hondas. There aren’t any major supply issues per se - if you want an Insight, you only need to order it and wait 60 days. The Prius has had waiting lists at times, but not as long as smart at it’s peak.

That’s all very interesting, but how many of these vehicles were generally available? If more Insights were available, would more have been purchased? Probably. Are there specific mitigating factors that are affecting these numbers? Price? Availability? Lack of marketing and consumer awareness?

I’m not complaining about your post. But the numbers are only a fraction of the entire story.

The other point to make … how do hybrids perform in our much colder Canadian environment? Batteries are adversely affected by sub-zero temperatures.

What are the sales figures compartively between hybrids and the Fortwo in much warmer environments? California? Arizona?