[llama66]

There is another place north of Hull that was good, it was in Sainte-Cecile-de-Masham, I just can't remember the name of it, and it was like 12 years ago...

[stemmer]

I wonder IF we started an auto company in Canada would Japan allow us as easy access to their markets as we allow them?

Probably NOT!!! Japan is one of the most protectionist nations in the free world...

[bootlegga]

stemmer stemmer:

I wonder IF we started an auto company in Canada would Japan allow us as easy access to their markets as we allow them?

Probably NOT!!! Japan is one of the most protectionist nations in the free world...

Sure they would. BMWs, Mercedes Benz, Audi, Peugot and other car manufacturers sell plenty there.

Odds are though, we'd try to foist off product designed for a NA market and expect them to buy it, when it is totally unsuited for their needs (which is what the big 3 did). Plenty of NA companies make lots of money in Japan. The key is selling a product that works in Japan. Giant, gas guzzlers that are impossible to park/drive on narrow Japanese roads and cost $200 to fill will never succeed. But what do you expect in a country 1/27th the size of Canada with four times our population?

[mtbr]

bootlegga bootlegga:

stemmer stemmer:

I wonder IF we started an auto company in Canada would Japan allow us as easy access to their markets as we allow them?

Probably NOT!!! Japan is one of the most protectionist nations in the free world...

Sure they would. BMWs, Mercedes Benz, Audi, Peugot and other car manufacturers sell plenty there.

Odds are though, we'd try to foist off product designed for a NA market and expect them to buy it, when it is totally unsuited for their needs (which is what the big 3 did). Plenty of NA companies make lots of money in Japan. The key is selling a product that works in Japan. Giant, gas guzzlers that are impossible to park/drive on narrow Japanese roads and cost $200 to fill will never succeed. But what do you expect in a country 1/27th the size of Canada with four times our population?

Honda is guilty of making that same mistake (NA thinking gone wrong) . They designed the Honda Element in California , built it in Ohio and tried to sell it in Japan in 03, after 2 years they gave up on the Japan market. It was too big and used too much gas for their market. They tried selling it in a few other countries as well but gave up.

[Choban]

martin14 martin14:

Choban Choban:

OK. We have assembly plants in Canada, we have skilled workers, engeneers, managers and executives. We have entrepreneurs.
We have everything we need in place to start up a Canadian owned and operated motor company. So instead of bailing out American companies to keep them operating in Canada why don't we give the money to Canadians to start a Canadian company, give Canadians tax breaks or incentives to buy these vehicles and market them out of the country as well?
If anyone can poke holes in my logic then feel free, but I think this is a viable solution to 1. Keep Canadians in the auto sector working, 2. bolster the Canadian economy without kneebending to American interests, and 3. Put our country on the map for something more than peackeeping and hockey.

Its a great idea Choban.......... but



the reason the auto companies got so big was due to economies of scale.
cheaper to arrange 1 million units rather than 1,000 or 10,000.

Its also why you saw mergers like Chrysler and DB,
other joint projects you usually dont even hear about.

We could do it, but with limited production possibilities, any Canadian
company would have to start with a very limited range, and a very simple car...

like a Tata $2500 retail.


I dont know if that could be commercially viable.
One would hope a surge of Canadian patriotism could drive things until
the company got itself sorted.... but


I really wish I was wrong, I would love to see a Canadian auto maker..

Your right of course, I'm just ashamed to admit what all of us are thinking, Why should Canadian $$$ go to bailout America companies. I know the employ Canadians in Ontario.
Theres gotta be a solution that doesn't involve throwing money at the US.
Personally the big 3 would be better off to claim bankrupcy. Their union contracts would be null and void, they could stop paying exhorberent pensions and benifits to retired employees and they could get rid of all their overpaid executives. The only ones I would feel sorry for is the retirees.

[sargentstadanko]

llama66: Whatever happened to the AutoPact?

The Auto Pact was replaced by that BS Free Trade Agreement many years ago, just before they started closing plants to move to Mexico

[Proculation]

what's the problem with NAFTA ?

[stemmer]

Choban Choban:

Your right of course, I'm just ashamed to admit what all of us are thinking, Why should Canadian $$$ go to bailout America companies. I know the employ Canadians in Ontario.

Typical liberal anti-American BS...BUT it's OK for Canadians to give money to any multi-national corporation that is not American (Sony, BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, etc)...

So what you are telling me is IF your brother ran a bakery in your community rather then support his business you would drive 60 miles to the nearest town to purchase your bread...

Family, relatives, friends, community, province, nation, allies to my nation is my order of allegiance... IF Canada was down on it's knees do you really believe China, India, Brazil, Japan, etc would be running to assist us...? Our only true allies in this world are the USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand and a few other ex Commonwealth nations...

I have very little time or patience for the feeble minded, anti-American bigotry of these "liberal intellectuals"...

In the 1930's & 40's people in baseball believed negroes could not play major league ball, women could not compete with men in the workplace, Jews were evil and could not be trusted... Now a new liberal Canadian myth has arisen, "To be a loyal Canadian you must be anti-American" or the liberal consumer myth "North Americans are inferior and can not manufacture cars"...

I'm disgusted by this mindset... We are engaged in a new war front, a war of economies and you abandon our nation and it's allies when they could use you the most... Shame on you, the good Canadians who died alongside our Allies in Normandy must be really ashamed for giving up their lives for those who are so uncaring about Canada & it's allies....

So continue to place consumer greed before nation need and we will not have a sovereign nation left... I hope the souls of those WWI & WWII vets haunt you for the rest of your lives as you gleefully fork over hard earned Canadian cash to countries who could not care less about Canada, USA, UK, etc...

[stemmer]

bootlegga bootlegga:

It's also incredibly hypocritical of you to insist US automakers get loans from US and Canadian governments, yet you raise a stink when a Japanese company wants a loan from the Japanese government.

And exactly where did I say Toyota should not be asking the Japanese government for money? I've never posted anything to that effect...

I was merely pointing out that IF other nations are going to assist their manufacturer's we must also do so to be competitive on the global stage... The very global stage all of these liberal trade policies have placed our manufacturers...

$1:

I wonder if you railed in the late 80s and 90s about the collapse of NA electronics companies, or were just happy that the price of your VCR, PC, and cell phone dropped. The dominance of foreign companies in the semi-conductor industry is far more worrisome from a national defence/patriotism POV than the car industry. Don't you think that if we ever went to war with Japan/Germany/whoever, that we'd simply nationalize their assets here?

Agreed. I am very worried about this as well and have always purchased North American made over import when I had that option. Sadly today among many product lines I no longer have this option....

[poquas]

stemmer stemmer:

I'm disgusted by this mindset... We are engaged in a new war front, a war of economies and you abandon our nation and it's allies when they could use you the most... Shame on you, the good Canadians who died alongside our Allies in Normandy must be really ashamed for giving up their lives for those who are so uncaring about Canada & it's allies....

So continue to place consumer greed before nation need and we will not have a sovereign nation left... I hope the souls of those WWI & WWII vets haunt you for the rest of your lives as you gleefully fork over hard earned Canadian cash to countries who could not care less about Canada, USA, UK, etc...

Pompous Asinine Bullshit!

We were talking about businesses that screwed up so badly they can’t survive anymore.

When the ghosts of these vets come to haunt, I’ll be sure give them your regards.

Idiot.

[stemmer]

You need to stop getting your news from the liberal propaganda network, the CBC and tune in to reporters like Lou Dobbs, Glenn Beck who are not so shackled by liberal political correctness... However you much prefer to be sheltered from the truth and live the liberal lie...

[MacDonaill]

If they think they are going to blackmail the Canadian government into giving them one red cent, they can go to hell. That's the new era: State sovereignty being challenged at every turn. 30 years ago, no company would ever dare threaten any government, let alone the Dominion of Canada!

Screw these assholes. Let them crash and burn... they've been on life support for years anyway. I'd rather the government wrote a million EI cheques before giving them a dime!

[MacDonaill]

stemmer stemmer:

You need to stop getting your news from the liberal propaganda network, the CBC and tune in to reporters like Lou Dobbs, Glenn Beck who are not so shackled by liberal political correctness... However you much prefer to be sheltered from the truth and live the liberal lie...

I am astonished that anyone could hand their conscience over to any single media outlet, including Lou Dobbs.

[poquas]

stemmer stemmer:

You need to stop getting your news from the liberal propaganda network, the CBC and tune in to reporters like Lou Dobbs, Glenn Beck who are not so shackled by liberal political correctness... However you much prefer to be sheltered from the truth and live the liberal lie...

Delusional - a persistent false belief held in the face of strong contradictory evidence, especially as a symptom of a psychiatric condition

...and I'd put money on it.

[herbie]

How about getting a few things straight here: Ford, GM and Dodge are so fucking intertwined with Canada economically and historically don't even think the USA is going to bear the biggest hurt. The US is big enough to replace that manufacturing sector. You're dreaming if you think Canada could.
Second if you don't believe they make a car as good as anyone else's, your just showing your damned ignorance. Especially by bringing $2500 Tatas into the picture.

This bullshit threat from Chrysler deserves a Danny Williams response not fucking collusion from a gov't minister. Fuck 'em, you want a loan put up the collateral. Jeep or Dodge brand name full rights, and I'll stick with my original idea to seize the plants, run them and flog 'em off to Magna, Bombardier or even the Russian Mob if they keep production in Canada.