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Author Topic: Canadians can get cheap SUVs in the US
Michelle
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Babbler # 560

posted 27 June 2006 04:16 AM      Profile for Michelle   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I'm not sure whether this is good news - that SUVs are expensive in Canada still - or bad news, that it's easy to get those nasty machines for so cheap in the US.

Story here.

This is one of those "live online" stories which will consist of a live chat on the Glob site, so it's a pretty barebones story.

quote:
The massive gap in prices that led Americans to flood into Canada to buy vehicles has vanished, so that now Canadians can save thousands of dollars if they purchase a new car in the United States.

Canadians buying luxury sport utility vehicles will save as much as $14,000 if they buy them in the United States, auto industry analyst Dennis DesRosiers says in his annual comparison of vehicle prices between the two markets.



From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
Boom Boom
rabble-rouser
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posted 27 June 2006 06:16 AM      Profile for Boom Boom     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I don't care for SUVs at all, but if a Canuck can get a great deal on one of these monsters down south, then where's the problem? You can stay home and pay the already bloated sticker price (SUVs, I've heard, are the segment that returns the most profit to manufacturers). I think any model of SUV sold in the US is available here (that's how it looks according to some Canadian auto publications). Personally, I'd like a complete ban on the larger SUVs in urban core areas, maybe based on Gross Vehicle Weight. These things don't belong in the cities.
From: Make the rich pay! | Registered: Dec 2004  |  IP: Logged
Sineed
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posted 27 June 2006 06:32 AM      Profile for Sineed     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
These things don't belong in the cities.

I couldn't agree more, Boom Boom. As an asthmatic, my major beef is with people who think the city is too dirty to live in and commute from the suburbs to our downtown core, fouling the air we breathe. During the last mayoral election for Toronto, candidate (and eventual winner) David Miller suggested that tolls be put on roads into Toronto to discourage vehicular traffic into the city, encouraging the use of public transit and cleaning up the air. He was bullied out of this progressive idea by rival John Tory, who set up information pickets saying "No Tolls," etc, on the major roads into TO, forcing Miller to say he would only bring in road tolls as a last resort. Whenever I'm choking my way through another smoggy day in the city, I thank John Tory, who is now head of the Ontario PCs and always at the ready to bully our premier out of any progressive idea he might possibly have (hey, it could happen).

But unless they live in a border town, people who buy SUVs south of the border will pay their Canadian taxes in the end at the gas pumps.

[ 27 June 2006: Message edited by: Sineed ]


From: # 668 - neighbour of the beast | Registered: Dec 2005  |  IP: Logged
Boom Boom
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posted 27 June 2006 07:20 AM      Profile for Boom Boom     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Sineed:
- snip -
But unless they live in a border town, people who buy SUVs south of the border will pay their Canadian taxes in the end at the gas pumps.

According to Michelle's link, Canadians who buy these awful SUVs in the US will still have saved tons of money instead of buying them here. We'll all pay our taxes at the pumps, regardless of where we but our vehicles. But it's still a huge savings to buy your nasty SUV down south.

The first part of your reply was interesting - I live in Quebec, so never knew that Miller had proposed toll roads leading into Toronto. Shame on Tory for opposing them. What a jerk! Two weeks ago I guess it was, during the heat over Rona Ambrose, CBC Newsworld showed a clip of the smog over Toronto - wow, it was thick and brown. Nasty!


From: Make the rich pay! | Registered: Dec 2004  |  IP: Logged
otter
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posted 27 June 2006 09:14 AM      Profile for otter        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
CBC Newsworld showed a clip of the smog over Toronto - wow, it was thick and brown. Nasty

Hmmmm, it was thick, brown and nasty 30 some years ago when i left the place. Surely the pollution must be close to the consistency of gravy by now.

But fear not the answer is to be found in Japan where enterprising entrepeneurs have placed oxygen dispensing machines on every street corner so that those with a pocket full of coins can get a hit of life saving air as they race from machine to machine on the way to and from work. Others carry oxygen bottles in their cars to cope with the traffic jams, as well to be able to remain conscious long enough to make the commute.


From: agent provocateur inc. | Registered: Feb 2006  |  IP: Logged
Boom Boom
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posted 27 June 2006 01:58 PM      Profile for Boom Boom     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by otter:
But fear not the answer is to be found in Japan where enterprising entrepeneurs have placed oxygen dispensing machines on every street corner so that those with a pocket full of coins can get a hit of life saving air as they race from machine to machine on the way to and from work. Others carry oxygen bottles in their cars to cope with the traffic jams, as well to be able to remain conscious long enough to make the commute.

Holy cow!


From: Make the rich pay! | Registered: Dec 2004  |  IP: Logged
arborman
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posted 29 June 2006 11:31 AM      Profile for arborman     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I assume the reason for the cheaper price in the US is the 25% import tariff the US applies to all other light trucks (free trade except when it favours them etc)

SUVs are poorly designed, unsafe, gas guzzling monstrosities that only exist because of a trade dispute over chickens 30 years ago, combined with the fact they are exempt from US fuel efficiency standards (also an unintended consequence of the original law, writ large).

100 years from now people will deny that their ancestors ever owned any such thing, and will edit them out of family photos.

Until then, may all their engine blocks crack. My they become the most unattractive quality about any individual. May people mock them in the streets as pathetic losers.


From: I'm a solipsist - isn't everyone? | Registered: Aug 2003  |  IP: Logged
500_Apples
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posted 29 June 2006 11:42 AM      Profile for 500_Apples   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
This could be fixed by a simple change in federal duty laws on foreign purchased vehicles - I think.
From: Montreal, Quebec | Registered: Jun 2006  |  IP: Logged
Rambler
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Babbler # 10194

posted 29 June 2006 06:35 PM      Profile for Rambler     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by 500_Apples:
This could be fixed by a simple change in federal duty laws on foreign purchased vehicles - I think.

They've done it in Mexico. People bringing trucks and such in from the States have to pay to "nationalize" the vehicles.


From: Alberta | Registered: Aug 2005  |  IP: Logged
Michelle
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Babbler # 560

posted 30 June 2006 04:48 AM      Profile for Michelle   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by arborman:
May people mock them in the streets as pathetic losers.

I think that often happens now. Whenever some idiot pencildickmobile driver who figures s/he owns the road does something aggressive or stupid when I'm a pedestrian among other pedestrians, it's not unusual anymore to hear someone in the crowd (whether me or someone else) say with disgust, "SUV driver." I mean, if they don't care that their monstrosities are killing the environment, why should they care whether they also intimidate or nearly cause accidents with pedestrians and other drivers?


From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
Melsky
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posted 30 June 2006 07:01 AM      Profile for Melsky   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
SUV Owners Seeking Gas Price Respite Turn to Arson, Insurance Fraud

A recent sting operation conducted in Southern California netted an entire arson ring that would torch a debt-ridden SUV owner’s vehicle in exchange for $300. Operating out of the financing department of a local car dealership, the SUV owner would contact the finance manager in hopes of trading their gas-guzzling SUV in exchange for something a little more economical. The finance manager then put them in touch with an arsonist who, for the $300 fee, would burn the car to the ground. Using an undercover office and an SUV-mounted camera, the ring was busted, and eight people in total were arrested.


From: Toronto | Registered: Dec 2003  |  IP: Logged
Boom Boom
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posted 30 June 2006 08:05 AM      Profile for Boom Boom     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Wow. If gas prices go up, and SUV drivers find they just can't afford to fill their vehicle at the pumps, might we see more arson/insurance fraud of this kind? I'm amazed that big SUVs are still being produced, if they are. They're out of reach of the average Jane or Joe, I would guess - not to mention they're quickly becoming deserving symbols of waste and environmental destruction. To quote an occasional poster here: "ban 'em".
From: Make the rich pay! | Registered: Dec 2004  |  IP: Logged
Vanessa S
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posted 30 June 2006 10:46 AM      Profile for Vanessa S     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I think in the next election, the NDP should take a stand against SUVs. And it won't cost us any votes because progressives tend not to drive such destructive autos.
From: Toronto | Registered: Jun 2006  |  IP: Logged
BleedingHeart
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posted 30 June 2006 10:57 AM      Profile for BleedingHeart   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
When the Canadian dollar was low and cars were cheaper in Canada, the American companies actually penalized car dealerships for selling to Americans. I wonder if American dealerships who sell to Canadian are being punished?
From: Kickin' and a gougin' in the mud and the blood and the beer | Registered: Nov 2002  |  IP: Logged
rotary
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Babbler # 12860

posted 08 July 2006 10:04 PM      Profile for rotary     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by otter:

But fear not the answer is to be found in Japan where enterprising entrepeneurs have placed oxygen dispensing machines on every street corner so that those with a pocket full of coins can get a hit of life saving air as they race from machine to machine on the way to and from work. Others carry oxygen bottles in their cars to cope with the traffic jams, as well to be able to remain conscious long enough to make the commute.



Are you serious?!

From: Regina SK | Registered: Jul 2006  |  IP: Logged
TemporalHominid
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posted 09 July 2006 01:25 PM      Profile for TemporalHominid   Author's Homepage        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Vanessa S:
progressives tend not to drive such destructive autos.

my baloney detection kit has been triggered here...

what sources do you have to support this speculative claim?


From: Under a bridge, in Foot Muck | Registered: Jul 2004  |  IP: Logged
Sineed
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posted 09 July 2006 04:49 PM      Profile for Sineed     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Because most of us lack the funds to purchase and run such piggy vehicles.
From: # 668 - neighbour of the beast | Registered: Dec 2005  |  IP: Logged
arborman
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 4372

posted 10 July 2006 11:03 AM      Profile for arborman     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I've met a surprisingly large number of 'progressives' that drive SUVs. Many people are unable to see the connection between their personal entitlements, and the social/enviro injustices they oppose.

I don't just mean craven hypocrites. We all have a little of it, because we live in this society. I haven't owned a car in almost ten years, and do a lot for the environment (I think). However, I am quite happy to fly to Alberta or anywhere else in the world when I can afford it, despite the fact that air travel is a major environmental problem.

That doesn't make it OK. Air travel should be a lot more expensive than it is, and SUVs should be banned. Whether that's a good idea politically is another question, but it's certainly the right thing to do.


From: I'm a solipsist - isn't everyone? | Registered: Aug 2003  |  IP: Logged

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