DETROIT — Dave Schembri, president of Smart USA, stopped for a moment as he passed through the nearly finished flagship Smart dealership in Bloomfield Township, Mich., earlier this month.

He couldn't help but point out one more feature of the Smart ForTwo, a European-made mini car about half the size of a family sedan.

"It's a solid car," said Schembri, eyeing a bright-red Smart cabriolet.

Then, he kicked the side door and banged on it with his hand, causing the body panel to bend — and pop back into shape.

"It's also dent resistant and scratch resistant," Schembri said. "I could hit that car ... I could do anything you want."

Schembri, a former Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Mitsubishi executive, is a salesman at heart. He started his career at 13 years old, polishing autos at a used-car lot in Detroit.

At 54, Schembri is leading the rollout of one of the hottest vehicles to hit the U.S. market next year.

30,000 RESERVED

Smart USA, based in Bloomfield Township, Mich., has reservations for more than 30,000 vehicles with deliveries expected to begin in January. (Smart cars already are being sold, in small numbers, by eVehicles of Hawaii, 831 Queen St.)

These two-seat cars are made by Germany-based Daimler AG and will be distributed in the United States by Smart USA, a subsidiary of Penske Automotive Group.

More than 70 Smart dealerships are to open next year, including the one in Bloomfield Township that also shares a building with the Smart USA headquarters.

Smart, according to Schembri, is the rare quadruple threat of the auto industry, attracting four major customer groups: first-time buyers in search of affordable transportation, baby boomers looking for a fun second or third car, empty nesters who no longer have kids to haul around and urban dwellers seeking an easy-to-park car.

The Smart car starts at $11,590 and gets about 40 miles per gallon.

No other car in its price range provides as strong an emotional and rational draw, Schembri said. He drives a Smart five or six days a week in metro Detroit, attracting plenty of second looks and sparking lots of conversations. The Smart will make you feel like a "rock star," Schembri said.

"There's hundreds of cars on the nonluxury side that you could provide thousands of rational reasons to buy," he said. "But are your neighbors going to come over to see that car when you pull in? With this car, you'll meet neighbors you never knew."

Not everyone is convinced Smart will be a lasting success in the United States.

Yes, the Smart cars are cute, said Aaron Bragman, a research analyst following the auto industry for Global Insight.

Images of Smart cars — tiny, colorful, egg-shaped vehicles — often stand out when U.S. tourists return from their European trips. But Smart has not been a resounding success in Europe, where it has struggled to sustain sales.

In the past three years, Daimler has cut the Smart line to one model, dropping a roadster and four-door version.

Smart could sell well in the first couple of years, Bragman said, but it's not well-suited for the United States, which has plenty of wide-open driving spaces and consumers who crave roomy interiors.

NO REAR SEAT

If fuel economy and price are a concern, he said, most U.S. consumers will turn to something like the Toyota Yaris, which comes with a key feature Smart cars lack: a back seat.

"It's cute and it's a novelty and it's quirky," Bragman said. "But in terms of practical transportation, there are other options that are a better value."

Schembri disagrees. Smart USA is getting a 90 percent conversion rate when it contacts people who have paid a $99 refundable reservation fee and asks them to provide a specific order, he said.

The timing is right, Schembri said. People are concerned about gas prices and the environment, he said.

"It's our perspective that this will not be a fad," he said. "It will be a trend. It will be the car that has the opportunity to change the automotive landscape on the highways of America."

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