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The Gazette editorial folks are really asleep at the switch these days… I guess it is ok now and then to see if they can light a fire under normally placid and laid back Montrealers.  I wonder how many letters they received encouraging Mr. BousQuet’s comments.  (Click it to enlarge) and see our reply below:

Car Buyer Beware, Do your Homework!

Re: “Buy a Chevy” (Gazette November 22,2010)

I had to laugh out loud when I read Mr. Bousquet’s comments encouraging “hard working Canadians” to spend their hard earned dollars on a GM vehicle. Turns out he states that most of the well to dos are driving foreign cars. Yes that is right, and a great many that have been purchased directly in the U.S; thus saving them thousands of dollars.

Before you run out and spend your hard earned dollars on GM products to support the North American Market and GM shareholders, please do your homework! GM’s “price-gouging” tactics have now gone one step further. There is currently a 18.96% difference between the price of a The 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe purchased in the U.S. versus the same model purchased through your local Canadian dealer. One contributing factor is that the delivery and processing fee in Canada is $2145 versus a fee of $825 in the U.S. Of course if you want to buy just “four wheels and a board” GM will accommodate you with an options limited Cruze for just under $16,940, including handling and delivery of $2000 and excluding taxes.

Car Buyer Beware, Do your Homework and save your hard earned dollars to pay for your children’s education or your retirement.

Robert Lamb

Kirkland

Founder of CarsWithoutBorders

We often wonder what all our other Consumer Protection Groups across are the country are doing to protect you the consumer.  They to are all asleep at the wheel!

Here is a pretty good report on Canadians buying cars in the U.S. that aired on the local Global station. One of the U.S. dealers just south of the border in Vermont is thinking about hiring a French speaking salesperson to handle all the people coming down from Quebec.

Well  we had a pleasant surprise this morning while perusing the Driving section of the Gazette.  POSTMEDIA NEWS reporters John and Sandra Turely-Ewart were allowed to report that the entry level price of the 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe is $9,000 more in Canada. A 20% difference!   

They go on to state that “the difference seems a bit much, something GM might want to revisit the price if it wants this car to sell in Canada and generate new Caddy Customers”.

Cadillac CTS good journalism!

Well this is a bit refreshing, but I am sure their editor had them tone it down.  So I decided to look at the true difference for hard working Canadians! 

Here is what we found:

Now this study is a bit rushed, and we didn’t go over the spec sheets in lengthy detail, but we are willing to wager that the US version is better built and has more features.

Here is the pricing data:

2011 CTS Coupe US Pricing   2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe Canadian Pricing  2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe Canadian Pricing OPage 2 

Remember in Quebec you need to make around $25,000 in order to save $13,000 after taxes! That is a big hit on our cost of living, but we guess GM figures wealthy Canadians are just as stupid as the CRUZE folks!

 On a side note, we are hoping that GM does not “black-ball” this writing team, as we have heard them to do in the past.  All Auto Journalists just love the free trips, parties and give aways that the Car companies throw at them!

Guess they make good candidates to run for political office in Canada, or work in Construction in Quebec!   EVERYBODY KNOWS …. EVERYBODY KNOWS……

So the Cruze is making a big splash all over North America.  (also Car of the year in INDIA! … we wonder who they wined and dined and  paid off to get this title… )

This morning we were so upset with these rave revues, we wondered if GM was going to be fair to Canadians!  With a dollar hovering just over par you… my hard working Canadian can now  pay over $5000.00 more in Canada for the same car your U.S. cousins are purchasing.  $30,379.77 in the U.S. and $35696.25 in Canada.  Almost a 15% difference!

see details Cruze U.S. Pricing  , and Cruse Canadian Pricing 1 and Cruze Canadian pricing 2. 

What is not surprising is how all the Automobile Journalists have refrained from writing on this pricing issue, while at the same time informing us of all the fantastic new features. 

They should be mentioning the pricing issue, but I guess they still want to be wined and dined by the Canadian Car Companies…..   Canwest Car writers need to start informing Canadians rather that being cheerleaders for Car Companies that are ripping Canadians off!!!!