CTV News reports that Canada's environment minister, John Baird, is about to announce a program designed at removing older vehicles from Canada's roads. Baird's ministry, Environment Canada, contacted vehicle scrappers to give them the heads-up. According to the Goverment's research, five million vehicles dating from 1995 or earlier roam the country's roads. Though these vehicles represent only 28 percent of licensed vehicles, they account for 67 percent of the smog. Mark Natais, president of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association– who has absolutey NO INTEREST WHATSOEVER in inciting five million Canadians to buy new vehicles– piles it on, noting that models from 1987 or earlier could release 37 times more emissions than a brand-new vehicle. Details of the taxpayer-funded mechanism favoured by Baird are scarce. CTV mentions some possible alternative: rebates on new vehicles, free transit passes and charitable receipts in exchange for older cars. At a glance, such a program seems like a no-brainer. The problem is that, from a cost/benefit point of view, any car older than 12 years is typically fully paid and has negligible trade-in value. And let's face it, if it's made it this far, it's a survivor. No incentive can overcome the cost of a new set of payments.
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Posts By: Samir Syed
CTV News reports that Canada's environment minister, John Baird, is about to announce a program designed at removing older vehicles from Canada's roads. Baird's ministry, Environment Canada, contacted vehicle scrappers to give them the heads-up. According to the Goverment's research, five million vehicles dating from 1995 or earlier roam the country's roads. Though these vehicles represent only 28 percent of licensed vehicles, they account for 67 percent of the smog. Mark Natais, president of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association– who has absolutey NO INTEREST WHATSOEVER in inciting five million Canadians to buy new vehicles– piles it on, noting that models from 1987 or earlier could release 37 times more emissions than a brand-new vehicle. Details of the taxpayer-funded mechanism favoured by Baird are scarce. CTV mentions some possible alternative: rebates on new vehicles, free transit passes and charitable receipts in exchange for older cars. At a glance, such a program seems like a no-brainer. The problem is that, from a cost/benefit point of view, any car older than 12 years is typically fully paid and has negligible trade-in value. And let's face it, if it's made it this far, it's a survivor. No incentive can overcome the cost of a new set of payments.
The Government giveth, and the Government Taketh. In the same budget that contained a $250m initiative for Automotive Innovation to help the Canadian auto industry make the transition to greater mandated fuel efficiency, Canada's Conservative government quietly canceled the Clean-Car Rebate scheme. Introduced in the 2007 budget, the rebate provided up to $2000 cash back to consumers who purchased new cars with high MPG ratings. The Canadian Press reports that the rebate still applies to vehicles up to the 2008 model year, but expires in March of 2009. Union appeasement may have been behind the kibosh, as virtually all of high mpg whips covered by the scheme were imports. In any case, environmental groups lambasted the Clean-Car Rebate's extinction. "They've missed a great opportunity to be a global environmental leader," declared Andrew Van Iterson of the Green Budget Coalition. "Canadians want to be a leader – and the government's not catching up." Lead, follow or green out of the way? 
Another myth exploded. Hot off TTAC's Paul Niedermeyer's editorial shattering our high-octane illusions of a country content with big, RWD Australian-made sedans like the Falcon, The Age reports that Ford and Holden finished at the bottom of the first ever J.D. Powers customer satisfaction survey for Australia. A sample of Aussies with cars up to three years old were fed an "international standard questionnaire" and asked to rate their purchases on several factors, including performance and reliability. Scanning the top place finishers paints a familiar picture for many Americans: Mazda, Honda and Toyota. Holden spinmeister John Lindsay uses utterly generic understatement to diffuse any controversy, noting that "When you sell thousands of cars some people will have issues". Right up until they stop buying, John.
The AP reports that the World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled against China regarding its commercial practices in the area of imported auto parts. According to the WTO, Chinese tariffs "accord imported auto parts less favourable treatment than like domestic auto parts." The tariffs make foreign parts more expensive, thus providing an incentive to manufacture parts locally (in China). The complaint was brought jointly by the U.S., Canada and the European Union, all of which have large manufacturing bases in the car industry, whose car industries have bled (sent?) thousands of jobs offshore over the last few years. The WTO is now calling on China to "to bring these inconsistent measures as listed above into conformity with its obligations." Don't hold your breath; China isn't exactly known for playing fair, and the WTO is as slow and toothless as a Giant Musk Turtle. "WTO cases tend to take years before retaliatory sanctions can be authorized, after the ruling is released," states the AP. By then, the Chinese parts markers will have copied all the parts anyway.
The Tahoe Hybrid. From gas friendly to gas-free. FlexFuel. The plug-in electric – gas Chevy Volt. The [entirely theoretical] hydrogen fuel cell Cadillac Provoq. It's clear that General Motors has finally embraced a low-emissions, scarce fossil fuel future. Provided, that is, you're as gullible as a Barry Bonds supporter. While GM is pushing itself as the second coming of Al Gore, The General's CEO sent a very different message to the National Automobile Dealers Association in San Francisco. According to Yahoo! News, Rick Wagoner asked GM's immense network of dealers to aggressively oppose state-specific greenhouse gas legislation that exceeds the restrictions mandated by the U.S. Congress. While Wagoner's influence may be falling in Washington, his dealers still have a lot of pull at the state level. "Dealers are very effective in the political process because we don't have a plant in every state," Wagoner boasted. "We have dealers in every state." Wagoner's biggest fear: California and its copycat states' air quality rules will trump federal regs, as they already do in several areas (including diesel particulate standards). If the need for "50-state compliance" extends into CO2, "We're not going to be able to accomplish everything that we otherwise could," Wagoner noted, vying for TTAC's understatement of the year award.
Canada.com reports that Transport Canada has concluded a pilot study of a GPS-based speed governing system that may intervene to cut throttle inputs in speeding cars based on their location. T-Can researcher Paul Boase breaks it down: "The technology has the ability of just saying, OK the posted speed limit is 50, so we'll let you go 55, that's it". Though the vehicle could be fitted to any new vehicle, Boase suggests its primary application should be for repetitive speeders who need a little "help" maintaining a safe cruising speed. So… what about those rare moments when breaking the law is actually the safer thing to do? What if an emergency vehicle comes up behind you? What if you need to speed to duck out of the way of someone who has crossed over the median? What if you're driving a woman in labor to the hospital? A manual override makes the device useless, but no override makes its dangerous. Nevertheless, the idea grabbed the attention of the Alberta's transportation ministry, which is highly interested in the research.
When it comes to engaging in non-essential secondary activities whilst behind the wheel, I think it's fair to say both sexes are equally guilty. Women do their make-up, men pick their noses and scratch themselves, and life goes on. However, hair is one area where women out-do men for dangerous distractions. Yep, The Vancouver Province c/o Canada.com reports any haircut, including Kate Moss' famous bang-fest (get your mind out of the gutter) may reduce peripheral vision and interfere with driving. Citing a UK study, the Province lays down some scary numbers: 190k women in the UK have copped to a near-miss due entirely to hairstyle malfunctions. Additionally, 67 percent of survey respondents currently wear a hairstyle that may let hair fall over their eyes. But here's the kicker: "57 per cent of women confess to taking their hands off the wheel to rearrange their hair or push it off their face, leaving them temporarily out of control of their car." I don't know about you, but next time I see that blonde in a Lexus RX primping at 85 mph, I'm getting the fuck out of her way (and hopefully not crashing into Mr. Bigshot, busily blackberrying away while delegating the task of handling the road entirely to his BMW 5-series).
For four months, the Canadian dollar has been flirting with U.S. dollar parity. And yet the same vehicles cost more north of the border than south. As America’s NAFTA neighbor imports more and more American cars, basic theory holds that automakers would eventually cut Canadian prices to eliminate arbitrage. “Eventually” hasn’t happened. Just as it was back in October 2007, the Lincoln Navigator is still $28k cheaper in the U.S. than Canada. Why?
The revival of Ford's defunct Windsor, Ontario engine plant may hinge on Prime Minister Stephen Harper's electoral ambitions. Here's the deal.. Each time the Canadian dollar rises, the divide grows between Canada's two most prosperous provinces. On one side we have Conservative Alberta, Harper's home turf, whose petro-success has strengthened the Canadian loonie. On the other side we have Liberal Ontario, the former industrial powerhouse, whose fortunes and competitive advantage have diminished in direct proportion to the loonie's ascent. In the past, Harper has rejected the call for manufacturing subsidies, pissing off Ontario no end. However, this time, an election looms; Harper needs votes in Ontario. Signaling a possible shift in government policy, Harper's industry minister Jim Prentice has hinted that Ford's Windsor plant may be eligible for a chunk of the $350m hardship fund earmarked for Ontario. The Globe and Mail reports that Prentice has pinned the chances of Ford receiving the money on just how much Ontario's provincial government, led by Liberal Dalton McGuinty, cooperates. And if neither Ford nor Dalton play by Harper's rules, well, GM is also lined-up to receive some that loot to build a six-speed transmission plant in St. Catharines, Ontario. Realpolitik, eh?
Call it a pre-emptive attempt to steal GM's thunder, call it a veiled threat, call it a bluff. No matter what you call it, Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) Prez Buzz Hargrove is once again out there (in every sense of the word) discussing GM's future plans for the new Oshawa plant. GM's already set-up Oshawa as the focal point for GM's new rear wheel-drive architecture; the factory's currently readying the 2009 Camaro. But GM Car Czar Bob Lutz threw a major spanner in the works by announcing that new federal fuel economy regs could mean that the next gen Chevy Impala will probably be a front wheel-drive (FWD) vehicle. An FWD Impala could well sound the death knell for Oshawans, as production of future RWD Cadillacs has already been shifted back to Lansing, Michigan. Of course, the prospect has done nothing to diminish the Union Kingpin's sense of entitlement. "There's an obligation on the part of General Motors to put new product in there," Buzz pronounced to CTV. "What that will be, we don't know." I admire Buzz' gumption. With new CAFE standards favoring FWD, the soaring Loonie, high gas prices and GM's multi-ga-jillion dollar debt, Buzz is about to enter negotiations with approximately no leverage. 
The Canadian Press reports that the Liberal Party (with a capital L) has pledged a $1b fund to subsidize R&D in green technologies. Party Leader Stéphane Dion notes that Canada must go green via government subsidies– or else: "Tax cuts alone are not enough… Innovation is essential to the survival of our industries, but it can be an expensive undertaking." Ostensibly, some of money will go to Ontario, where the heart of Canadian automotive manufacturing aches with the pain of high fuel prices and an atmospheric loonie. Though he slammed a similar amount promised by the current Conservative government– albeit as a high-dollar relief measure not a Green subsidy– Canadian Auto Workers' head honcho Buzz Hargrove welcomed the announcement. "This fund would provide a much-needed boost to struggling manufacturers and the workers they employ, particularly the auto industry which is grappling with unfair trade, a slowing U.S. economy, a high dollar and environmental challenges." Buzz has always known where his friends lie (so to speak). But let's not forget that Canada's Liberals have an abysmal environmental track record. After Jean Chrétien's Liberal government ratified the Kyoto protocol, Canada became the number one per capita consumer of energy among the developed world. Greenhouse gas emissions rose by 26 percent during the years the Liberals held power (so to speak). Still, no political party has a lock on hypocrisy.
Most Canadians define themselves primarily as "Not Americans". Think about it. Once you boil away the bizarre obsession with the mediocre offerings at Tim Horton's, the love of all things hockey and the regional slangs, you get generally overweight folks who go to Blockbuster on Friday, Costco or Wal-Mart on Saturday and wherever the game is playing on Sunday. It's fitting that on the heels of the U.S. Congress' recent adoption of the 35 mpg by 2020 legislation, Canadian transport Minister Lawrence Cannon fired off (geddit?) a proposal for new Canadian fuel efficiency standards for… 2020. "Now, we welcome the U.S. goal," he graciously opined (via CTV). "But we are committed to developing a made-in-Canada standard that achieves, at minimum, that target benchmarked against a stringent dominant North American standard." Though Cannon calls it a "Made in Canada" solution, the proposal follows a long-established trend of Canadian pols waiting for America (California?) to do something, and then outright copying it– once America has forced everyone to adapt and the legislation has become moot anyway. To wit, earlier this year, the province of Québec announced it was considering adopting California's emission standards. It's the right thing to do, eh?
Buzz Hargrove is on a roll. After saber-rattling with Alan Mulally over the impending Big 2.9 – Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) negotiations, after chastising the federal government for offering a paltry $1b to Canada's ailing manufacturing sector, the Globe and Mail tells us the CAW kingpin is asking the Canadian government for $30m to revive Ford's currently shuttered engine plant in Windsor, Ontario. This sum would be on top of $30m currently promised by Ontario's provincial government. If you think Buzz is pulling this figure out of his ass, he isn't. As he notes, "If there's an opportunity to get a $1-billion investment around the world, the standard is that governments put in 20 per cent of that." What standard? Who knows? The old plant was the manufacturing center for Ford's long-running Windsor V8 engine series, which have seen duty in everything from the Mustang to the AC Cobra. Ford, on the other hand, is keen to develop and build its new upcoming V8 at its Essex plant (also in Windsor).
CAW big kahuna Buzz Hargrove is back in the news, but his target isn't the one you'd expect. Taking a break from shooting arrows across the Ambassador Bridge into Detroit, Buzz has rejected the $1b manufacturing subsidy announced by Canada's government. Globeinvestor.com reports the the feds are offering the aid to help a manufacturing sector reeling in the wake of the Canadian dollar's stratospheric ascent. BUT the aid package limits Ontario's portion to "only" $350m, as The Gov't also intends to help other ailing industries such as forestry and pulp & paper. And Buzz ain't happy with his slice of the potential pie. "They have to recognize these are extraordinary times and require extraordinary measures," declares Mr. Hargrove. "There are many states in the United States that are willing to do almost anything to get a new engine plant. If we don't get out ahead of the pack, we could very well lose an opportunity." The saddest part in all of this, though, is that Buzz is right. Split amongst The Big 3, which have combined debts in the hundreds of billions, a scant $350m subsidy ain't gonna cut it.
The Big 2.8 – United Auto Workers (UAW) negotiations came and went with a couple of day's strike here, a couple of hour's strike there. Motown now turns its attention to Southern Ontario, where all three domestic automakers will be entering negotiations with the Canadian Autoworkers' Union (CAW). Fresh off the unionization of the Canadian auto-parts giant Magna, CAW boss Buzz Hargrove has warned Ford, GM and Chrysler not to seek the same wage, benefit, security and job classification concessions given by the UAW. Last December, Buzz declared "If they want to have a fight with us and they table those issues, there will be a fight." The Globe and Mail reports that Ford's CEO has fired his first shot in the mounting war of words. "The most important conversation we're having in Canada is about competitiveness," Alan Mulally declared. It's a thinly-veiled warning that, given lower-cost options in the U.S. due to good labor deals and the recent appreciation of the Canadian dollar, Canada risks pricing itself out of the auto manufacturing game. Will Buzz really go to the mat? Watch this space.
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