Topic: Canadians: Stop buying cars!!

[supercrip]

Here is the direct link to the GTA Group Buy for Subaru's thread on red flag deals
http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=505791

Dunno what results it will get. Seems like quite a few requests for Tribeca's though

[sandynw]

So Montana is Canadian then?  No wonder I see so many of those darn cookhouse restaurant around here.

Then according to Freetrade, I can just go to the US and get a job without the need of a working visa?

Not yet, but is it that far off?  As far as goods are concerned, the border counts for less than ever, and that means, as markets go, Canada and the US are no longer very distinct.  Our cars are built to identical standards (why so many can be imported without any mods) and you can bring any US made car across the border very easily.  So, what makes Canada such a distinct market?  Oh, and don't just repeat "different country" because that does not really answer what makes the two markets different enough that Canada has to have higher prices.  Makers do not make Canada-specific models (at least not many do). 

So, why should a Subaru be priced higher in Canada?  Subaru could easily view the North American market as one large market.  They produce nearly identical cars for Canada and the US.  Rail and trucking lines flow over the border unfettered.  The production plant in Indiana only knows that some cars have km odo/speedo and others have mph/mi units.  The cost of production doesn't vary a bit becuase of the destination.  If I can bring a car into Canada with barely and cost, Subaru of Canada can't?

Manufacturers have fought for this condition.  They fought to have the border erased for them.  Now they want it back, but not for them, only for us.

Amen, and Amen.

Sandy

[tpl]

but then why can't consumers engage in it too?

Consumers just have to get noisy enough, which they seem to be doing. The Europeans went through this same baloney years ago. Companies were pricing vehicles with large differentials despite all the free trade stuff the EU was created for.

One response was the research and publishing of vehicle price lists in different EU countries:

"The Commission has published a six-monthly car price report since 1992. This initiative was launched following numerous complaints from consumers about differences in car prices between Member States and obstacles placed in the way of those consumers that wished to buy in another EU country."

Sound familiar?

If people get aware and complain enough companies will be forced to change, and thankfully this seems to be happening.

http://ec.europa.eu/comm/competition/sectors/motor_vehicles/prices/report.html

That type of thing would be useful for us too.

The fallacy in your arguement is that you are assuming that NAFTA and the EU are basically the same thing. They are not.  As John says, Nafta is for the benefit of business with no thought of any other "good".    The EU is a project, nearly 60 years old now that is aiming towards being a single political entity like the USA ( although some members are very unhappy about that). It took them DECADES to get the real single market going as you describe as part of that project and even now it has gaping holes on services.

Personally I'd go for a political joining or a EU style single market of Canada and the USA. I am old enough and well enough off to live through the turmoil that it would cause but I fully realize that a very large percentage of Canadians want nothing to do with it and it won't happen in my lifetime.

[PJungnitsch]

The fallacy in your arguement is that you are assuming that NAFTA and the EU are basically the same thing.

Exactly the opposite. Despite the EU being a closer association than NAFTA, the automakers were still trying to keep historical price differences in the member states and were using the same methods to do so (and probably giving the same lame reasons).

[tpl]

And the "rules" of the EU, its purpose if you prefer, gave the commission no choice but to shut them down whereas NAFTA has no reason to ever listen to the public. I am sure the auto mfrs DID give all the same lame reasons and DID try to weasel out of setting prices EU  wide.

[PJungnitsch]

Going by the history of list price differences, it doesn't look like the EU could shut anybody down either (strangely enough). Otherwise they wouldn't have bothered publishing lists for the last fifteen years, they just would have forced the automakers to comply in year 1 and the issue would have been over.

It appears that the reason the lists were published was to make the pricing differences in various countries more visible to the public, who could then more easily punish (if they so chose) the offending automakers by purchasing those who were pricing more fairly (or whatever else).

Nothing like having a recently updated, official list of the pricing differences of various makes and models before going car shopping. Something to smack down on the salesman's desk, give some teeth to the angry letter to the newspaper, etc. Seems like eventually it worked.