Are Canadian new car buyers smarter than Americans?

Despite gas pump prices dropping across the country in October (last week, the national average was $0.84/L, with a low of $0.75 in Ottawa) Canadian new car buyers continue their love affair with small cars.

According to figures from DesRosiers Automotive Consultants, what the firm calls “small entry level vehicles” were up 6.4 per cent in October and up 9.6 per cent year to date.

Sitting at the top is the ubiquitous Toyota Corolla with 3,999 units, an increase of 41.8 per cent from the same month last year. The Honda Civic was a close second at 3,937, but still number one year to date.

And despite what you may have heard, Ford still sells a few pickup trucks.

Dodge Ram sales up almost 40 per cent. But with 4,527 units in October and 59,326 units year to date, the F150 is still numero uno in Canadian truck sales.

You can click on the chart, above left, for more detail.

So compared to our friends south of the border—who keep going back to buying pickups and SUVs with every penny drop in gas prices— are Canadian new car buyers smarter, or just poorer than our American cousins?

[Source: DesRosiers, MJ Ervin & Associates]

Autopocalypse Update: Is this the beginning of the end in Canada?

Magna International’s planned closure of two Ontario auto parts plants and the 850 jobs that go with them, could seem like a drop in the bucket by this time next year.

Why?

First off, today’s automakers don’t really “make” cars. They “assemble”, mainly from parts suppliers like Magna.

By some accounts, for every job in a North American auto plant, there are six to seven others with suppliers. And most of these companies have their eggs all in one basket.

During last week’s U.S. Congressional testimony, Ford CEO Alan Mulally said Ford, GM and Chrysler share 90 per cent of the industry’s largest suppliers.

That means, even if only one of the Detroit Three file for bankruptcy, it would decimate most suppliers. In such an event, all North American automakers—including BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Mazda, Mercedes and Toyota—would be dragged down.

Some doomsday prognosticators say that the hundreds of thousands of jobs lost by the collapse of the Detroit Three equates to millions of jobs throughout the continent.

And this isn't just an American industry problem.

As the Star’s Tony Van Alphen wrote today, according to the Conference Board of Canada,  automakers in Canada will wipe out at least 15,000 jobs and post staggering losses of more than $3.1 billion this year and through 2009 before starting a recovery in 2010.

Tom Spillane, auto industry partner with the Detroit law firm Foley & Lardner estimated in an interview with Automotive News that half of North American suppliers, like Magna, are "very distressed."

For example, if GM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today, it would owe its suppliers nearly $7 billion for 45 days' worth of parts already delivered.

Now consider this scenario: Americans hate paying taxes. They'll be more repulsed if their taxes are going to "socialist/commie" Canadian auto workers.

So even if the U.S. government coughs up the $25 billion in bailout funds/loans, and it's all wine and roses again in Detroit, the word in Washington is that if there are any future auto job cuts, they'll have to be in Canada or Mexico first.

The final straw for Canadian auto parts makers may simply be the type of vehicles that the Detroit Three make up here.

As I wrote about last summer, most of the vehicles produced in Canada by Chrysler, GM and Ford are in declining segments—minivans, pickups or large sedans.

Bailout money or not, you can expect more of these types of announcements through most of the winter.

No Brainer Alert: Accord Wagon coming to Detroit

Why Honda’s taken so long to replace the Accord Wagon it made in the 1990’s in lieu of the Odyssey minivan is beyond me. There’s such a gaping hole in the automaker’s lineup between the CR-V and slow selling Pilot that folks looking for some mid-size utility are desperate enough to drive its frat-boy Element.

Although I’m apparently in the minority, I really like what historians will one day call “station wagons.” The handling of a sedan, the utility of an SUV—there’s plenty of good reason our parents drove them. And with the recent loss of the Mazda6 Sportwagon and the Dodge Magnum (which, BTW, this new Accord Wagon looks eerily like) car buyers are left with Subaru’s aging Legacy as the sole affordable wagon survivor.

There's Toyota's new Camry wagon they call a Venza. But it's still more crossover than old school station wagon.

Anyway, there’s no word yet on when the wagonny  Accord will be launched. But despite canceling its press conference at January’s Detroit auto show, expect an almost-a-production Accord Wagon concept to show up on Honda’s stand.

Does this new age Accord Wagon do anything for you?

Or are crossovers here to stay?

[Source: AutoWeek]

Porsche's Panamera pops up

Its officially official:  Porsche has jumped into the four-door coupe pool. Its Panamera is finally here, at least in grainy, two-dimensional mode.

And guess what, the camouflaged Panamera mules we’ve been seeing for what seems like an eternity, didn’t really hide the new Porsche sedan’s bulbous shape.

Based on Cayenne mechanicals, the Panamera gets engines ranging from the secretary special 300 hp V6 to the put-the-hair-on-your-chest 500 hp unit from the Cayenne Turbo.

So what do you think?

Will the Panamera be the sales success the Cayenne has ended up being?

After the past few months, are there enough fat wallet customers to support the Porsche AND Maserati Quattroporte, Bentley Continental, and the forthcoming Aston Martin Rapide or Baby Rolls-Royce?

[Source: Porsche Canada]

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2008 L.A. Auto Show – Wrap-up

Los Angeles, California – The mood at this year's L.A. Show is as sombre as the brownish smog covering the L.A. basin this week.

Between every presentation, the quiet conversation among the media and industry types isn’t the usual  banter of “What’s the coolest car?” or “Can you believe they’ll ever actually make that thing?”

Nope.

Minds are all on The Three Amigos in Washington, D.C. this week, and the repercussions if one of the Detroit Three go down.

11:20 a.m. – Honda -  As a way to show that its FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicle isn’t a one-trick pony, the Japanese automaker showed the FC Sport three-seat sports car.

The fuel stacks that where mounted amidships in the Clarity have been pushed to the rear. And regardless of its quasi-Lamborghini Gallardo looks, trust me, this is a pure concept, and not the next NSX super car that’s due for Detroit in January.

11:50 a.m. - Ford – Like Nissan, Ford is offering both mean and green here in L.A.

In response to upstart American muscle cars from Dodge (Challenger) and The General (next spring’s Camaro), Ford has refreshed its five-year-old Mustang.

The highlights include a new, more luxurious interior that removes it from the Toys R Us bin, and larger wheels, retuned suspension and increased horsepower that Ford says was “developed from engineering experience on the race track and from special editions including the Mustang Bullitt.”

More important to Ford’s bottom-line is the new Fusion family sedan. Also updated inside and out for 2010, it gets a gas-electric hybrid option for the first time. And Ford expects its green Fusion Hybrid to get better fuel economy than the Toyota Camry Hybrid’s 5.7L/100 km. No really.

1: 55 p.m. Hyundai – The Korean automaker brought to L.A. its HED-5 i-Mode six-passenger crossover concept it first showed in Geneva last spring.

But this time, under its hood is the world debut of a new turbocharged gasoline 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engine with direct injection that Hyundai promises 15-20 per cent fuel economy increase compared with a standard 2.0L four-banger. Dubbed Theta Turbo GDI, expect the new engine in a Hyundai is some kind by 2010. And apparently, a production version of the crossover has been “green lighted.”

We had expected to see a Sonata Hybrid concept here on the west coast. But instead Hyundai just showed a mockup of its drivetrain, called Hybrid Blue Drive. It combines a 30 kW / 151 lb-ft motor/generator into a six-speed automatic transmission (kind of like the GM/BMW/Daimler two-mode system) and is expected in the next gen Sonata in 2010.

Er, that’s it for the important stuff. Sure. There were a trio of new convertibles from Infiniti, Bentley and Lamborghini. But more importantly, I’m off to drive the new electric Mini…

2008 L.A. Auto Show – Mid-morning update

Los Angeles, California – After watching the Detroit Three CEOs pitch the U.S. Congress for financial aid live on CNN from my hotel room, I headed over to the L.A. Convention Center (right beside the NHL’s Kings’ home, the Staples Center) for the start of a day’s worth of dog and pony shows:

9:40 am - Nissan – Although both cars have been splashed all over the Web, Nissan kicked off the show by debuting its ying and yang 370 Zed sports car and boxy subcompact Cube.

While some midlife styling refreshes look like forced compromises, in the metal, the new Zed looks great. Its shortened wheelbase and flared fenders adds some emotion to the last model’s mechanical heftiness.

You already know how I feel about the last Japanese-market Cube. This latest generation is the first to be sold in Canada, starting next year.

I really liked the last model's pure geometric forms. Not sure of the current on is as successful, especially the heavy handed Cyborg-like front end.

Can you see yourself making a Cube your nest set of family wheels?

10:10 am – BMW – Gas-only? Gasoline-electric? Diesel? Electric? Seemingly, the only propulsion type BMW didn’t show here was nuclear.

The North American debuts of the 7 Series hybrid, 335d turbo diesel and world debut of the all-electric Mini E showed the German automaker's drivetrain depth in the automaker's largest market in the world.

10:45 - Volkswagen - After pushing its roadster concept to January’s Detroit show (think poor-man’s Porsche Boxster), Vee-Dub-Ya’s biggest news was the introduction of a clean diesel in its mid-size Touareg SUV. 

This 3.0-litre, 222 hp engine will also go on sale early next year in the Audi Q7.

Autopocalypse Update: Automakers make their video case

If one thing the recent Autopocalypse has proven, opinions are like noses, everybody has one.

So in the ongoing debate of whether the Detroit Three should or should not get tax payer money, both Chrysler and GM have each taken the Spielberg approach, producing a pair of in-house productions to state their side of the story.

Obviously, both paint a grim picture based on the projected number of loss jobs. But do you think this will be the new the reality for the Detroit Three? Or is this just more propaganda from poorly run companies looking for free money?

[Source: YouTube, General Motors]

Autopocalypse Update: Coast-to-coast, it's going to be an interesting week

Well, well. Won’t this be an interesting week of industry watching.

On one hand, there’s the “show must go on aspect” of this year’s Los Angeles auto orgy on the west coast. As Ford is scheduled to unveil its updated Mustang pony car and Fusion Hybrid and Nissan set to debut its new 370Z sports car and subcompact Cube box-on-wheels, we can still see the industry at a crossroads, offering both mean and green products.

Press days start Wednesday. The Crank will be there blogging, if only to let you know if any other automakers have bailed or scheduled debuts canned at the last minute.

Then there’s the ongoing high drama continuing this week back east in Washington, D.C.

If you haven’t heard, the Detroit Three seem to be at the end of their financial ropes. The automakers’ respective CEOs return to the U.S. capital this week to testify why they cannot wait for the $25 billion in emergency aid until President-elect Barack Obama takes office in January. The looming question is: Will the U.S. Congress decide if General Motors, Ford and Chrysler will get the tax payer funds required to stay in business for at least another 12 months?

Apparently within the U.S. Congress, there’s little or no Republican Party support for the proposed loans. While Obama echoed Democratic party leaders in Congress on CBS's 60 Minutes last night by saying the U.S. government must help the Detroit Three get through their cash crisis.

Depending on what side of the “Save Them!/Let ‘em Die!” argument you stand on, or what media you read, at risk is only the entire North American auto industry, including millions of livelihoods on both sides of our shared border.

Keep in mind, if as reported, GM really is burning through $2 billion a month, another week of indecision will see another $500,000 lost on its ledgers.

Last call for ecoAuto rebates

What I called back in March as one of the finest examples of last-minute cocktail-napkin legislation we Canadians are ever likely to see, comes to an end in less than two months.

If you don’t remember, the federal government’s lame duck ecoAuto program provides $1,000 to $2,000 in rebates for new cars purchased with a combined fuel consumption of 6.5 L/100 km or less; new sport-utility vehicles and other light duty vehicles with a combined fuel consumption of 8.3 L/100 km or less; and new flexible-fuel vehicles with a combined E85 fuel consumption rating of 13.0 L/100 km or less.

As a stimulus for fuel efficient car sales, the program was a boon. Small cars have been in short supply on Canadian dealer lots all year long. And now ironically, just as some in the industry are calling for tax incentives to stimulate a sinking new car market, the so-called “freebates” come to an end December 31.

(I still believe a healthy gas tax, where the extra revenue is ploughed directly back into healthcare, education and our transportation infrastructure, is a fairer and more sustainable solution instead of rewarding particular makes and models, but that's for another day...)

The other ecoAuto caveat is that the free fed money only applies to 2008 model year cars. So even if you sign on the dotted line before January 1, if it’s a 2009 model, you’re out of luck.

Some 2008 ecoAuto eligible models, like the Honda Fit or anything with a hybrid badge, are likely to be long gone from dealers’ lots. However, if you can find any, a full list of 2008 models is available here.

So while the Canadian government is debating whether or not to follow the U.S. governments initiative to offer the Detroit Three bailout money, the feds aren’t willing to part with its newfound tax revenues from the “green levy” on gas guzzlers. They’ll definitely carry on after New year’s Eve.

How would you best describe the Canadian government's track record on dealing with the auto industry?

A) Ironic.

B) Hypocritical.

C) Just plain ignorant.

D) All of the above.

Autopocalypse Update: Car shows take big hit

Amid the current maelstrom of plunging sales and hat-in-hand government bailout requests, automakers are looking under every nook and cranny to save a buck. And the next line item on the expenditure spread sheet to take a hit seems to be car shows.

General Motors had already scrapped plans to debut its Buick LaCrosse/Allure and the Cadillac CTS Coupe at next week's Los Angeles Auto Show. Then yesterday, it announced it was canceling its only news conference planned for the event altogether.

GM spokesman Scott Fosgard told the Detroit News that with all the bad financial news and discussions about a bailout, any product news would simply get lost in the shuffle. Instead, GM will still show the Saab 9-X Air concept from the Paris Motor Show along with the production version of the Chevy Volt.

But GM isn’t the only company rethinking its approach to these glitzy auto orgies.

The Los Angeles Times ran a story this week updating the status of the next two big American auto shows—L.A. next week, followed by Detroit in January. Here are some interesting tidbits it found:

• Volkswagen also canceled its L.A. show news conference. The German automaker had planned to debut a roadster concept, but has moved it to Detroit;

• Chrysler said it would make local dealers pay for the company's L.A. show stand and would reveal no new products;

• Suzuki said spending money on the Detroit show no longer makes sense. Suzuki's U.S. sales are down 12 per cent so far this year, and with no new models or concept cars to introduce, the company decided to give up on the Detroit shindig;

• Other no shows for Detroit (so far) are Ferrari, Land Rover, and Rolls-Royce, which is owned by BMW. (BMW will be in Detroit, however.) And don't forget, Porsche bailed on the Motor City extravaganza last year.

And this is probably just the tip of the iceberg. But this trend does beg a couple of questions.

How important is it to you, the car buyer, that automakers are at these shows?

Do you find it an important medium to get info?

Or are car shows going the way of broadcast TV and hand written letters?

[Source: Detroit News, Los Angeles Times]