The 4th Annual Keeler Motor Car Block Party

At Keeler Motor Car Company we love to throw parties for our customers.  We want them to know just how important they are to us and honestly, who doesn't like a good party??  We also plan these events to show our potential customers all the benefits that come along with being a Keeler Motor Car customer.  Well, June 4th is no exception!!  It's the 4th Annual Keeler Motor Car Block Party. 

• Check out vintage Mercedes-Benz vehicles when the
  Mercedes-Benz Club rolls into town
• The Hudson Valley BMW Car Club will be here showing off their classic BMWs
• A host of shined-up MINIs will be on display courtesy of
  the MINI Car Club
• See a "brilliant" gathering of smart cars at our 4th Annual
  smarty Party at smart center Latham
• Live Entertainment from 12:00 - 3:00 by local band The Audiostars

Featuring Mercedes-Benz, BMW, MINI, Honda, smart and Keeler Quality Pre-Owned Center vehicles at Summer Event pricing!

All this and more in one day!
Saturday, June 4th, 10:00am - 5:00pm
Keeler Motor Car Company, Rt. 7, Latham

smart delivers its first smart fortwo electric drive to Mindy Kimball of Silver Springs, MD

Jill Lajdziak deliver smart fortwo electric drive to Mindy Kimball of Silver Spring, MD

Washington, DC (January 26, 2011) – smart USA Distributor LLC, a subsidiary of Penske
Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE: PAG), today delivered the first smart fortwo electric drive to a
retail customer in the United States. Penske Automotive Group Chairman Roger Penske and
smart USA President Jill Lajdziak made the ceremonial delivery to Mindy Kimball at her home
in Silver Spring, MD.

“This is a groundbreaking day for smart in the United States,” said Lajdziak. “We are extremely
excited to add the smart fortwo electric drive to the smart product lineup, solidifying our
position as a key player in transportation electrification.”

Mindy Kimball is a 36-year-old early adopter of electric vehicle technology and a Major in the
United States Army. Kimball chose the smart fortwo electric drive after thoroughly comparing
and evaluating every electric vehicle available because she believes smart’s offering is the
most modern electric car on the market. She has been a volunteer presenter with The Climate
Project since 2007, educating the public about the science of climate change and the ways to
reduce negative impacts on the environment. Kimball is also an active member of the Electric
Vehicle Association (EVA) of Washington, DC, and she will display her new car in the EVA/DC
booth at the 2011 Washington Auto Show. smart USA will have three smart fortwo electric
drive vehicles at the auto show including the “Advanced Technology Superhighway” exhibit.
The smart fortwo electric drive is a zero-emission vehicle and the ultimate visual statement on
conservation. It is powered by a 30 kW magneto-electric motor and 16.5 kWh lithium-ion
battery. According to the U.S. EPA LA4 test cycle, the smart fortwo electric drive can travel up
to 98 miles on a full charge. In combined city and highway driving, the U.S. EPA estimates the
range on the smart fortwo electric drive to be 63 miles. Using a 220 volt outlet, it takes only
three and a half hours to charge the battery from 20 to 80 percent of its capacity and about
eight hours to reach full charge from a depleted battery.

This year, smart USA is strategically placing 250 smart fortwo electric drive vehicles across the
United States with companies, municipalities, organizations and individuals interested in
-moremaking a passionate statement on conservation and environmental awareness. Series
production on next-generation vehicles for retail sale through smart USA’s dealer network is
expected in 2012.

Mindy Kimball becomes the first member of “Team 250,” an elite club, featuring a concierge
service, for all smart fortwo electric drive lessees. Each Team 250 member will have personal
access to smart USA’s electric drive expert, 24/7 roadside assistance, receive electric drive
communications, and be able to participate in dialogue around their electric drive experience.
Members of Team 250 will also have the first opportunity to move into the next-generation
smart fortwo electric drive vehicle.

The smart fortwo electric drive is available for lease through participating smart USA
dealership locations at http://www.smartusa.com/electricdrive.

About the smart fortwo and smart USA
smart USA Distributor LLC, headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, is the exclusive
distributor of the smart fortwo in the United States and Puerto Rico and is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. The smart fortwo is a brand of and is
manufactured by Daimler AG. The smart fortwo and the smart fortwo electric drive form a
portfolio of sustainable, forward-looking technologies for urban mobility. The smart fortwo
achieves an EPA estimated 41 mpg on the highway and is an ultra-low emissions vehicle, as
certified by the State of California Air Resources Board. The smart fortwo is available in three
trim levels starting in price from $12,490* to $17,690*. The smart fortwo electric drive is the
ultimate zero-emission visual statement on conservation and environmental awareness and is
available for lease. Both vehicles measure 8.8 feet long, 5.1 feet tall and 5.1 feet wide and
come equipped with many functional and safety features. smart is currently sold in more than
40 other countries, and more than one million smart fortwos have been sold since 1998.
*Excludes tax, title, registration, destination charge, options and other dealer fees.

About Penske Automotive Group
Penske Automotive Group, Inc., headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, operates 323
retail automotive franchises, representing 39 different brands and 25 collision repair centers.
Penske Automotive, which sells new and previously owned vehicles, finance and insurance
products and replacement parts, and offers maintenance and repair services on all brands it
represents, has 172 franchises in 17 states and Puerto Rico and 151 franchises located
outside the United States, primarily in the United Kingdom.

Penske Automotive, through its wholly-owned subsidiary smart USA Distributor LLC, is the
exclusive distributor of the smart fortwo vehicle and related parts in the United States. smart
USA supports over 75 smart retail centers in the United States and Puerto Rico. Penske
Automotive is a member of the Fortune 500 and Russell 1000 and has approximately 14,100
employees. smart and fortwo are registered trademarks of Daimler AG.
Caution Concerning Forward Looking Statements
Statements in this press release may involve forward-looking statements, including forward-
-morelooking statements regarding the anticipated availability of future products. Actual results may
vary materially because of risks and uncertainties, including external factors such as consumer
credit conditions, adverse conditions affecting a particular manufacturer, macro-economic
factors, and other factors over which management has no control. These forward-looking
statements should be evaluated together with additional information about our business,
markets, conditions and other uncertainties, which could affect our future performance. These
risks and uncertainties are addressed in Penske Automotive's Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2009, and its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission
("SEC"). This press release speaks only as of its date, and we disclaim any duty to update the
information herein.
For additional information, visit www.smartusa.com or www.penskeautomotive.com

smart is "againt dumb!"

Have you ever received a gift and thought, "that is the dumbest gift I have ever received."  Well smart USA wants to help you rid of the mindless, dumb gifts in your life.  Now through January 17th you can upload a picture of your dumb, mindless consumption and enter for your chance to win a new smart fortwo coupe!  I'm uploading a picture of the cow bell (yes, that's correct, a cow bell!) I received this Christmas!  It's a shoe in for sure!  Just click here for more details.

Report: Smart fortwo Electric Car Announced for 2012

Daimler AG has announced that the second generation Smart fortwo electric drive will go into series production starting in 2012. The announcement was made during the visit of French President Nicolas Sarkozy to the facility where the electric Smart cars will be built in Hambach, France.

A small number of vehicles will begin production in November of this year as Daimler continues to test the product durability and battery capability. Using a more compact lithium-ion battery pack sourced from U.S. electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc., the second generation of the Smart fortwo electric drive doesn’t compromise space and has adequate room for two adults. Power is rated at 30 kW (40-hp) and 120 Nm (89 ft-lbs) of torque, with a range of 135 km (84 miles). The initial vehicles will begin testing this year in cities across Europe and the U.S.
Smart claims the cars can hit 60 km/h in 6.5 seconds (the same as the gasoline models) and are speed-limited to 100 km/h (60 mph).

Click here for the official press release.

Source: Autoguide.com

New York Auto Show: A Smart iPhone App, Literally

How do you make a Smart car even smarter? You guessed it: Create an app for that.

Smart has developed an iPhone app that acts as a infotainment system for the Fortwo.Smart’s new Smart Drive App for the Lilliputian Smart Fortwo is more ingenious than most. Developed by Mercedes-Benz software engineers, the coming application for the iPhone not only adds features like navigation to the car, but also does something the iPhone usually can’t do on its own: multitask.

Demonstrated at the New York auto show, the software is part of a package that will include a cradle than needs to be installed by dealers. The application divides the iPhone screen into larger, legible quadrants, rather than using tiny icons that might tend to distract the driver (or distract the driver even more). The four on-screen buttons cover media, phone, map and assist functions.

The phone button takes drivers to the usual hands-free calling functions, while the quadrant entitled maps takes drivers to a full, turn-by-turn navigation program based on Navteq’s maps. Like built-in nav systems, it will mute a call in favor of spoken instructions, and it’s here where the multitasking function comes in handy. Unlike other nav-only applications for the iPhone, you don’t have to choose between chatting on the phone or following the nav system. It can run both simultaneously because the developers built both functions into a single application. In other words, the iPhone doesn’t know it’s multitasking.

Also tapping into the iPhone’s abilities, the Smart app can play music from the phone or tune in countless Internet radio stations from around the world using the vTuner service (sorry, no Pandora yet). Again, because it can trick the iPhone into multitasking, the program will automatically mute the music for instructions from the navigation part of the program.

Lastly, the car assistance section includes Google 411 for free searches of local points of interest via voice instructions, and it will find and call a local dealer should your Fortwo break down. Best, however, is the automatic car finder feature. Like the coming iTag software for Android phones, the Smart software automatically marks your car’s location when you remove the iPhone from the car’s cradle. So if you forget where you parked the car (or just can’t find it in a sea of S.U.V.’s) the phone will lead you back to your wheels. No more marking the spot before you leave.

The company says the software will be available by June for $9.99, but a price for the cradle and professional installation hasn’t been set yet.

Source: NY Times, Wheels Blog

Visually Challenged: Daimler encourages you to design your own Smart, results vary

Not digging the Smart ForTwo's two-color paint palette? Think you can do better? You're in luck. Daimler, Smart's German parent company, has announced a contest where customers and budding designers can customize their own ForTwo. Hit up styleyoursmart.com and you can... well, style your Smart.You have until February 23rd to post your own smarty-pants design, and the winners will be announced three days later. America's tiniest automaker promises prizes totaling about $7,200 (€5,000), which, we imagine, is plenty of money to turn your design into a reality... assuming you already own a ForTwo.At this point, the contest has just begun and there don't seem to be too many contestants just yet, so we grabbed the most colorful option for our lead image above. We briefly considered plastering our own Fortwo with the Autoblog logo, but thought better of it. Perhaps if they'd finally fix that transmission... Click here for the official Press.

2008 smart fortwo Passion Coupe for Sale

Color: Blue Metallic with Black Tridion
Price: $13,999
Odometer: 8,360 miles
Style: 2-Door Coupe
Year: 2008
Transmission: semi-automatic

Specs:
9-spokes alloy wheels (15")
power windows
softtouch: automatic gear program, switchable to softtip
electrically adjustable and heated door mirrors
smart premium sound system package
lockable glove box
fog lamps
air conditioning, including dust and pollen filter
panorama roof
electric power steering
seat heating

click here for more details or contact Jon Monroe at 518-785-4197 ext. 501 or jmonroe@keeler.com.

Driving your smart in your garage

Have you ever thought about better ways to make use of your garage? How about driving in and driving out of it? Well the smart makes things like this possible. See for yourself.

smart Safety Report

(Source: Capital News 9)

smart USA is planting trees!

In celebration of the smart fortwo’s first year anniversary in the United States, smart USA will plant a tree in honor of every vehicle sold in 2008. In partnership with American Forests and Daimler Financial Services, smart USA will plant approximately 25,000 trees in the Cache River State Natural Area, located in southern Illinois, about 150 miles southeast of St. Louis, Missouri. smart USA plans to continue this initiative for every vehicle sold in 2009 as well. This partnership not only celebrates the smart fortwo owner, but also helps the environment, much like the environmentally friendly smart fortwo.

Simply by purchasing this vehicle, smart fortwo owners have already played an active role in supporting the environment. In addition to great fuel economy, the smart fortwo is up to 95% recyclable, and is certified as a SmartWay vehicle for its low air pollutant and greenhouse gas scores by the Environmental Protection Agency. The smart fortwo leaves a small carbon footprint on the American landscape.

smart fortwo owners, as well as the general public, will be able to visit the Cache River State Natural Area, or camp overnight at Fern Cliff State Park, located across from the tree planting site*. In addition, when owners reach the one year anniversary of taking delivery of their vehicle, they can download a certificate recognizing this environmental contribution.

American Forests, the country’s oldest non-profit citizens’ conservation organization, is a world leader in planting trees for environmental restoration, a pioneer in the science and practice of urban forestry, and a primary communicator of the benefits of trees and forests. Since 1875, American Forests has been working to create healthy forest ecosystems for every community. smart USA will be planting the trees as part of the American Forests' Global ReLeaf campaign, which is dedicated to planting native trees in rural and urban ecosystem restoration projects across the United States and around the world. The Cache River State Natural Area project will create large blocks of historic hardwood bottomlands that support neotropical migratory birds. It will provide high-quality swamp and wetland habitats for more than 100 species listed as threatened or endangered, such as river otters, little blue herons, and the Indiana bat.
Click here to visit the American Forests website.

If you are a smart fortwo owner, you can download an official certificate recognizing the tree planted in honor of each smart fortwo sold in the United States. Please enter the last 6 digits of your VIN# and the state in which you purchased your smart fortwo.
Go to http://www.smartusa.com/smart-fortwo-plant-a-tree.asp

Note: Only smart fortwo owners who have reached or passed their one year anniversary will be able to download the electronic certificate.

smart aims to repeat sales in 2009

Automotive News Europe January 8, 2009 06:01 CET
As far as sales go, there weren't many success stories in 2008. Subaru eked out a small year-over-year gain. And Daimler's Smart unit racked up sales of 24,622 in its first year in the United States.

Smart is turning into an improbable success here. Americans have never before bought into the idea of microcars. All the tiny cars that came here in years past -- the Subaru 360, the BMW Isetta, the Crosley and others -- failed. Even the original Mini Cooper never sold well in the United States and was pulled in 1967.

With Smart now heading into its second year, President David Schembri said Smart USA aims to maintain its momentum, add a few dealers, keep volume about the same and improve customer satisfaction. He recently spoke with Automotive News reporter Richard Truett.

Have Smart customers complained about the crudeness of the ForTwo's automated manual transmission?
You might call it crude; most people call it fun. That's one of defining differences of this vehicle that makes it the unique car that it is. It takes some getting used to, but what we've found is that once our owners get used to it, they love it. They would not trade it for a standard automatic transmission. About 95 percent of the cars are being bought with paddle shifters, so you are able to transition between driving in straight automatic mode or paddle shifters. That's a heck of a lot of fun, and it adds a different dimension to driving.

How soon before Smart gets some competition?
Well, there is a clear expectation that based on the acceptance of the microcar concept in the United States, there will be competitors that come into the market. And we welcome that. That means there is a viable segment there. We think our car is different enough to set itself apart from any competitors.

What has Smart USA learned about how consumers are using the ForTwo?
For the most part, it is a second or third vehicle. What we anticipated is exactly what we are finding. This car appeals to four distinct groups of people. First-time buyers use it as their primary vehicle. They'll buy it mainly because of its value. Urban dwellers will use it as their primary vehicle because of its maneuverability. Baby boomers, one of our largest segments of buyers, will have it as second or third car and use it as their commuter car. And then empty-nesters will have it as a second or third car. They are also using it to commute.

What volume are you expecting in 2009? Will it drop now that early demand has been filled?
The most optimistic forecast for 2009 indicates that the entire market could be off by about 25 percent over 2008. For us to be able to duplicate what we did in 2008 would be a huge success. We'd be very happy at 25,000.

Will Smart USA be profitable at that level?
Our business plan is very solid, and we are optimistic at those kinds of volumes that our business plan works for both us and our dealer organization.

From our vantage point, Smart's U.S. launch seemed to go very smoothly -- no recalls or other glitches.
It's one of those moments in your career that you hope for, that you have an opportunity to launch a car in the manner that we did. But that's not to say that we aren't trying to get better. Every day we are trying to improve every aspect of our business.

What do dealers want from Smart USA? Are they asking for different body styles or a diesel engine?
I think the dealers would like us to sustain the momentum we have created. If we can do that, they'll be very happy. The diesel engine for the U.S. market would be too expensive to homologate.

What will we see on the Smart stand at the Detroit auto show next week?
We will be presenting the Brabus model, which is an appearance package with side skirts, front and rear aprons, dual chrome-tipped exhaust, different wheels and suspension. In addition to that, you'll see an electric-drive Smart that is part of our future.

What are Smart's marketing plans for 2009?
This brand was founded on below-the-line marketing, doing things in nontraditional ways. And we'll continue to look at ways to do things in that same spirit.

Will Smart USA be adding dealers in 2009?
There may be two or three dealers added in markets that we are not in.

click the following link for more information on the smart car at the smart center of Latham website: http://www.smartcenterlatham.com/