The Winnipeg Free Press reports a Manitoba court ordered four “chronic” car thieves to attend counseling sessions, to learn the error of their ways. Plainclothes police re-arrested three of the teens minutes after their first session at the Winnipeg Training for Youth (TRY) program ended. You guessed it: they were about to drive off in a stolen car. The youths, aged 16 and 17, told officers they went to class in a hot car because it was "too cold to walk." (NPR reports that it was “40 below” in Winnipeg that day.) “Police said this is the first case they've seen where people allegedly stole a car so they could attend programming to learn about not stealing cars.” Uh-oh. Does that mean the story fails the modern media test (i.e. all bad news must represent a trend)? Not if you stretch… "This is what's pandemic in the whole auto-theft culture,” Crown attorney Scott Cooper announced. “These kids just don't think it's a big deal.” Gee, I wonder why…

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.

Once upon a time, GM had to pull a TV spot for the Corvette because the media nannies thought it would encourage 10-year-olds to drive America's sports car recklessly. And now the Canadian Press reports that Ford's yanked a newspaper ad in Saskatchewan and Manitoba because the (thought?) police says it encourages auto theft. The full-page ad showed the rear of a Ford SUV with a bumper sticker that reads "Drive it like you stole it," with "Built for life in Manitoba" underneath. Ford of Canada spokeswoman Gina Gehlert has thrown herself on her PR sword (guaranteed non-fatal), saying "It was never our intention to offend anyone." But Gehlert refused to comment on whether the ad will appear in other markets or be reworked into something that doesn't lead Canadian youth into a lifetime of crime. May I suggest a bumper sticker that says "Drive it like you rented it?" No, that's not it. Any suggestions?

It's entirely possible, likely even, that GM doesn't want to reveal any decisions about their Canadian production facilities until they beat the Canadian Auto Workers with the same stick that convinced the United Auto Workers to surrender wages, job security, health care provisions, etc. But it's also true that GM has been vacillating back and forth on whether or not to build Canadian rear or front wheel-drive passenger cars for the American market for well over a year. Aside from the… wait for it…. here it comes… ready…. not yet… Camaro, there are no firm product plans for our neighbors to the north. For an answer to this dilemma, the Globe and Mail turned to GM CEO Rick Wagoner, who said union schunion [paraphrasing]. "The issue we're looking at in the U.S. is just with the CAFE [Corporate Average Fuel Requirements] – how big those segments are going to be. It really is the $64,000 question." That figure might be a little low. According to the Globe, "Sources said the original plan called for GM to manufacture as many as 500,000 rear-wheel-drive vehicles including the Camaro once the plant was running at full tilt by 2010." The limbo dance continues. 

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.

Now that the UAW gave away the farm concluded its 2007 contract negotiations with the Big 2.8, it's the Canadian Auto Workers's (CAW) turn. CAW president Buzz Hargrove has publicly committed the union to opposing the two-tier wage system adopted by the United Auto Workers (UAW) at all three Detroit automakers. He'll attempt to forestall the change despite the fact that the rising Canadian dollar has eliminated Canada's competitive advantage over the lower 48. ReportOnBusiness reveals Buzz is addressing the problem with his usual combination of humility and tact. "We're not agreeing to a second-class group of workers at our plants that come in at half-pay and never get to top pay. That just isn't going to happen." Buzz reminded Canadian automakers that the UAW didn't accept wage and benefit cuts to reach parity with CAW salaries back when Canadian costs were lower than in the U.S. Even so, Buzz better have a good supply of Pepto-Bismol on hand when he starts negotiations; chance are he'll be eating his words right form the git-go.

Looks like oil isn't the only liquid that will challenge car owners' budgeting skills in the near future. The Ottawa Sun reports that come 2008, a methanol shortage may cause two-fold hikes in the prices of windshield washer fluid. According to the Sun, the Vancouver-based company Methanex, which produces methanol for companies that produce windshield washer, is selling the critical ingredient at $832 per metric tonne, up from a low of $309. The Sun speculates that we may be looking at $5 or $6 a (4L) jug, up from about $3 right now. The cause of the shortage is two-fold: natural gas supplies becoming more difficult to come by and export tariffs imposed by (the methanol-producing nation of) Argentina. With one of the worst winters hitting the North East in 40 years, it seems like perfect timing.

Manitoba is set to become the second province of Canada to adopt the same emissions standards as California. CTV News reports that Manitoba premier Gary Doer– fresh off winning his third election– is hot (so to speak) to make the Canadian province Kyoto compliant. "[Cars] represent 33% of our challenge," says the former corrections officer. Earlier this month, Québec became the first province to adopt California's stringent auto regs, setting average emissions targets that must be attained as early as 2010 (CAFE by any other name?). Doer suggests that Manitoba's measure is only a first step on the way to more stringent federal standards. He notes that having provinces and states enact tailpipe standards produces a piece-meal approach to Kyoto and, thus, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Readers are invited to gloss over the fact that pollution of any kind has a global scope, not a national one.

As Canada struggles to hammer out a trade agreement with South Korea, the automotive trade imbalance has taken center stage. And no wonder. According to the Canadian Auto Workers, South Korea imported fewer than 500 Canada-made vehicles last year– as compared to the 200k Korean cars sold in Canada during the same period. In total, South Korean only welcomed 43,492 imported autos in '06. And for "good" reason. Although that meager total accounts for just four percent of South Korea's total new car sales, Chosun reports that it also represents a 32 percent increase over the previous year. And that's got South Korea worried. "Considering that Hyundai Motor's growth rate for the same period was 9.6 percent and Kia's was just 2.5 percent, the imported car sector's growth is alarming." At the same time, the types of cars entering the Republic has changed, from the early imported luxobarges to today's wider range of mass market motors. Honda, in particular, is kicking ass, doubling its sales. And here's the kicker: Toyota ain't even in the game yet. Meanwhile, one wonders what GM's take is on all this, as it has a large manufacturing bases in both Canada AND South Korea. GM's Daewoo brand currently owns about 30 percent of its domestic market. [thanks to starlightmica for the link]

With the strong loonie, declining auto production and cheap foreign-made parts working against them, auto parts makers in Canada, along with the governments of Ontario and Quebec, asked the federal government for CA$400M in assistance to stay afloat. The response from Federal Industry Minister Jim Prentice came in typical bureaucratese: "I'm certainly happy to sit down and discuss it, but I would point out that the items which the government can control and which ensure competitiveness in the auto sector are items we are working on." Okay, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, what do you have to say on the subject? "Had they [the Ontario and Quebec premiers] been fully briefed, they would be familiar with the $1.3-billion reduction in the capital costs, the accelerated capital costs [for manufacturers], the benefit that we brought in … the March budget, months ago … so the federal government has done a great deal and I'm looking forward to the provinces emulating the federal government." Uh… right. So will they get the assistance or not? We make that a definite maybe.