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Comic-con is both a Mecca for the people who love (and dress like) superheroes and villains, and, arguably, Hollywood's biggest marketing event of the year. Should it also be a public charity? By Richard Siklos, editor at large (more)
It's a tough market for selling a house. Maximize your chances of a sale at a good price with these house-staging tips from an expert. (more)
Today's BlackBerry-wielding, expense-account impresario may think he's invented the concept of retiring at work. But such executricks have been around as long as people have labored at tasks they'd rather not perform. Following are some of the greats in the pantheon of tricksters. (more)
Almost all new cars today offer a 3-year or 36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty that covers every part of the vehicle. But Smart only offers a 2-year, 24,000-mile bumper-to-bumper plan.
Most cars also offer an extended powertrain warranty that covers the engine and transmission - the parts that make the car go and that would cost a lot to fix if something went wrong. Powertrain warranties are typically at least 5 years long - sometimes as long as 10 years - or 60,000 to 100,000 miles.
The Smart ForTwo's extended powertrain warrant isn't. Again, everything's covered for 2 years or 24,000 miles.
"The Smart experience is built around customization," explained a marketing representative. Additional coverage, tailored to your personal needs, can be purchased from the dealer, she said.
In other words, you can buy an extended warranty just like with any other car.
A two-year standard warranty isn't much of a show of confidence by Smart in its own product, one with no record of reliability on American roads. I take it as a bad sign and advise waiting to buy one until Consumer Reports and J.D. Power have weighed in with some early vehicle quality surveys.
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