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 Robert has accepted Zack’s invitation and the show will be aired this Sunday August 2nd, at 1:00 P.M. Eastern on the Corus Radio Network!  

The show will focus on the current state of Vehicle importing and Fair Automobile Pricing in Canada.  With our loonie now at .92 and expectations of a par dollar in the near future will smart Canadian car shoppers  be heading south again?

Zack Spencer  hosts a weekly national radio show called Driving which is heard across Canada on the Corus Radio Network on the following radio stations.

CKNW-Vancouver 980 AM, CFAX-Victoria 1070 AM, CHNL-Kamloops 610 AM, CKOV-Kelowna 63o AM, CKOR-Penticton 800 AM, CJOR-Oliver, CHED-Edmonton 630 AM, CHQR-Calgary 770 AM, CKOM-Saskatoon, CJME-Regina, CJOB-Winnipeg 680 AM, CFPL-London 980 AM, CHML-Hamilton 900AM, CFMJ-Toronto 640AM.

 Driving airs live at 10am Pacific, 11am Mountain, Noon Central and 1pm Eastern time. All of the previous broadcasts are available on this website for you to listen to them again.

 Note to Montrealers and Quebeckers . you will have to hook-up on the Internet.. CKNW should have the live feed.

Zack also Hosts Driving Television seen every week across Canada on the Global Television Network.  You can catch his shows on his Web site at www.motormouth.ca

We have reviewed the 2009 Honda Civic Exl and determined that with a .92 dollar you can save 8.29%, but when the dollar reaches par you can expect to save 15% or $4,540 dollars.  It appears that honda set it’s Canadian pricing using .85 dollar, while our findings on Toyota indicate they used a .82 dollar.    Come on guys wake -up, you need more flexibility in your pricing.  When are you going to be fair to Canadians.

honda-civiccoupe-ex-lcomparison-july-31-20091.pdf 

 Today Canwest Newspapers went to great length to summarize a report issued yesterday by Douglas Porter and the BMO Capital Markets. Titled ” Loonies Leap: Mind the price Gap”

The report , which we have included here indicated a 1% difference in the price of Automobiles.    2009-07-30price-gaps.pdf .   The report went on to state that “it is no coincidence that the two most high profile and easily comparable goods - cars and books- have seen the most dramatic narrowing.  We found that Canadians are now paying not measurably more…..”

Well we at CarsWithoutborders challenged these findings today.  Our recent survey of the Toyota Rav 4 results in over a $2,300 difference or 6.5%.  ( 36,560 versus 34,176) This is not to say that this difference is enough to warrant a visit in the U.S., but to  a potential Canadian buyer we would advise that waiting a few months may pay off handsomely, as all indications are that the Loonie will reach par by year-end.   That is unless our GOVT intervenes and helps out the big multinationals to the detriment of  hard working Canadian Consumers.

On another stunning front the RIV (Registrar of Imported Vehicles) reported yesterday to CarswithoutBorders that the Month of June saw a 28.34% increase in Canadians importing vehicles from the U.S. This seems to indicate that the .92 cent Loonie is creating a gap that is significant enough for some Canadians to do their homework and shop around. 

 We at CarsWithoutBorders also take exception to Porter’s report findings that it is easy to compare car prices.    One needs to be particularly careful that they compare apples to apples as the many of the car companies attempt to make this difficult.

Attached find the detailed reports that we conducted on the RAV4.  And even at that we can not guarantee that both vehicles will be identical.  The U.S. version will have a TPMS system (Tire Pressure Monitoring) worth a least $500 more.

2009-07-30rav4canada.pdf  2009-07-30rav4us.pdf 

So the bottom line is that a smart shopper will look around and not be swayed by what appears to be a propaganda campaign on behalf of the Canadian Car Companies and our Canadian Government.  

Mr. Porter please be careful when you publish your reports, the Canadian public deserves better!

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?

The Globe and mail reported today that Bill Heard Enterprises Inc., the biggest Chevrolet dealer in the country, said Wednesday it is closing its 13 remaining dealerships, unable to survive in a weak economy with high gas prices and an inventory heavy on trucks and SUVs.

The Columbus-based company said in a statement it tried to avoid the closures, which will affect about 2,700 employees.

Continue reading “Biggest U.S. Chevy dealer closes!”

Auto Remarketing - a top Newsmagazine of the Used Car Industry in the U.S. has just published the weekly commentary submitted by Don “Donnyo” O’Connor. 

 Funny how the U.S. media folks picked it up, but the Canadian “little boys” probably got their wrists slapped from their editors for even thinking about publishing it!

 Congrats to Don and CarsWithoutBorders. 

 For more true and unbiased information concerning the used car market in the U.S. and Canada go to Autoremarketing.com