On behalf of all the members of CarsWithoutBorders we would like to wish Serge all the best as he retires today after 26 years of dedicated service to the St. Lawrence Seaway.
My wife and I had the honor and pleasure of attending the retirement ceremonies yesterday that were sponsored and attended by his fellow workers.
We were overwhelmed at the turnout, and the kind words of thanks directed to Serge.
You are quite a guy Serge! All the best to you and your family.
I would also like to thank the Seaway folks that made Mary and feel so much at home.
P.S. Pictures to follow!
Today the Canadian Dollar hit 1.0875 U.S. It appears we are heading towards parity again.
Car buyers, keep your powder dry. We have been getting calls from U.S. dealers wanting to advertise. Should we persue this or wait?
A Private members bill, Brian Masse - NDP - will be introduced into the House of Commons designed to protect hundreds of thousands of jobs in the automobile aftermarket. The bill will also guarantee CONSUMERS the RIGHT to choose where their car is serviced.
As we all know most Canadian Automobile dealers go to great pains to make sure that if you buy your car in the U.S. ; they will not service it. They also give Canadian buyers of U.S. market vehicles a rough time and overcharge them for needless modifications to the car, in order to allow the car to be approved by Transport Canada. (changes to the console??) They refuse to be honest with Transport Canada and supply the necessary documentation in order to declare that the U.S. market car meets Canadian Standards.
This private member’s bill will put us on an equal footing with the U.S. consumer and ensure that the Automobile Manufactures in Canada can not resort to dishonest and unethical practices in order to secure your business.
For example, why do Honda and Cadillac Owners need to go to the dealer to be fitted with Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems. Why do Cadillac owners have to go to a GM dealer in order to have the Day-time running lights reprogrammed??
Please take the time to contact your MP, make them understand that you want them to vote for this bill against the Automobile Lobbyists in Ottawa. Find out if your MP is a Consumer advocate or just another politician waiting for their time at the “trough”.
Here is the article: 2009-04-14gazette.pdf
Finally Canadian automobile consumers are being warned about the deceptive and confusing Automobile ads that fill our newspapers and media outlets.
Our hats are off to George Iny, president of the Automobile Protection Agency, The Montreal Gazette and Protege-Vous ( a Quebec based Consumer magazine).
It must be difficult for the Montreal Gazette to report on these unethical practices given the revenue the car companies bring into CanWest. It is nice to see them taking a consumer oriented stand on this issue.
All individual hard working Canadians want to be properly informed. They appear to have done so in this story.
Again buyers beware. When are our gutless politicians going to stand up for Canadians and adopt tougher advertising regulations that bring some honesty and ethics into the forefront?
We need more articles like this.
2009-03-26gazette.pdf
My wife Sylvie and I were in Toronto at the Auto Show and we were invited to a sneak preview of the Toyota 3rd generation 2010 Prius. The car is quite impressive with all the new technology. Sylvie and I were on camera giving our impressions.
The video in French is at www.prius.ca/fr and the video in English is at www.prius.ca/en
It feels pretty strange to be on the Prius main site talking about Prius products when we know the fights we had with the car companies just a year ago on imports.
Serge Bergeron www.CarsWithoutBorders.com and www.Prius.ca
The Prius and Toyota are very good products BUT we also want good and fair pricing.
