Not so Smart

What started as a happy story with a joint venture between the world's most respected auto manufacturer and the world's most popular watch company, is beginning to look more like a everyone's worst nightmare. Morgan Stanley is now urging DaimlerChrysler to dump the Smart brand entirely. The whole enchilada. The advice mirrors that given to BMW in 2000, when investors demanded the sale of Rover, BMW's loss laden unit. For BMW, the move proved successful, and that's what probably spurred the recent recommendations that DC do the same. Smart has already delayed its U.S. premier indefinitely, so the writing is on the wall. I don't want to ruin the story for you, but the Smart days are over. Perhaps they could unload the operation on Mitsubishi? There is a winning combination.