There’s no doubt the market is polarizing into luxury (via Audi/M-B and to a lesser extent, BMW), and “value” brands. Everyone in-between is treading water or worse.

It’s an interesting situation to watch because “domestic” (US) badges typicaly outsell imports even in Canada, but not this year.

Happy 4th of July weekend to my American friends…

“Other are “trading up” the reason BMW and M-B are doing very well …”

Don’t forget Audi. June ‘09 was their best month ever in the Canadian market.

Heavy handed government regulation would be government run Fannie and Freddie. The ultimate government regulation. Fannie and Freddie were the instrument used to put the junk loans on the market. And at AIG the government replaced all the top management clearing the way for them to insure all of F and F’s junk. And the government encouraged and even sued and forced banks to make the bad loans. Some lack of regulation.

*Exatly* what I was saying pre-bailout. If the market needs 10M cars a year (down from 15M), and two manufacturers stop producing some of those, *other* manufacturers will obviously fill in that need.

I want my $(how much is it now?) billion back.

Three or four Canadian winters and you will understand what “trading down is all about”

I truthfully haven’t seen that kind of rot on a Kia or Hyundai since 2000 or so; even then, they’re no better or worse than any other marque, and I can’t think I’ve seen an Accent or Elantra that’s any worse than the average Cavalier, Civic or Neon**.

In the salt belt (which I’m blissfully north of, now) any car will start rusting out in a few years if you a) park it in a heated garage and/or b) don’t wash the undercarriage. Bathe any car that isn’t wrought from aluminum or carbon fibre in electrolyte and let it sit above zero and the results will be the same.

The whole “Asian cars rust” thing is kind of bogus. Outside of the Tacoma and Tundra (which rust not because of bad steel, but because salt pools on the frame) it’s a carry-over stereotyping from the 1980s that isn’t real.

** original Focuses, though, seem to be the only modern car that I see with significant, regular rusting.

Chrysler -12,887
Ford +5,414
GM -9,853

Ford is picking up business at the expense of Chrysler and GM.

Honda -2,976
Hyundai +2,055
Kia +1,428
Mazda -1,799
Nissan +255
Toyota -3,673

Hyundai and Kia are offering an exceptional value package with all their vehicles.

Three or four Canadian winters and you will understand what “trading down is all about”

While there’s definitely truth to that, I think Hyundai’s products are much more competitive these days, making people think twice before buying a Toyota or Honda. I, for one, am seriously considering a Genesis Coupe as an alternative to the G37 I’ve been setting my sights on. Nothing to do with trading down – it’s just a good alternative.

Now where’s that EVO?

What really makes the difference, quite frankly, is that Canada had perhaps the best financial discipline (at a business, not personal) level of any G8 nation going into the recession, and thusly hasn’t seen the credit to businesses dry up nearly to the degree the US or parts of Europe have.

Let’s hear it for heavy-handed government regulation of the financial sector!

That, perhaps, and also that the recession hasn’t hit nearly as bad here. In fact, in my jurisdiction (Saskatchewan) they’re still projecting positive GDP growth in ‘09.

Manufacturers in the “middle of the market” are struggling in Canada. Chrysler and GM are “walking business” to the competition.

Canadians love their CUV’s and perhaps even SUV’s must be the climate.

YTD June Canadian sales are down 18.3% compared to 2008, US sales are down 35.1% for the same time frames.

How much of a factor is the strong lease penetration in Canada in upholding sales momentum?

Exactly. By the time GM and Chrysler emerge from bankrupcy they will be so far back of their rivals in terms of customer awareness they’ll have to park their cars on potential customers lawns to get noticed.

I can just see my fellow Moparites and their Chevy rivals nursing their Molson Canadians and muttering about the injustice of it all.

It’s that way down here too. Okies love trucks. Twenty years ago I used to say Oklahoma is a place where “compact sports car” means Japanese pickup.

Well it’s summertime here in Kelowna, BC which means we can now qualify as a suburb of Calgary (anybody who has been to the Okanagan in the summer knows exactly what I mean). And yes, practically every chrome rimmed F-350, Silverado, Escalade, Hummer, Land Rover and Cayenne in town has Alberta plates. And an $80,000 (or more) ski-boat towed behind it.

While we’re on the subject of Canada and cars, here’s some rather depressing news for everyone:

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1908205,00.html

I would say once a car guy always a car guy.

You can take the trucks out of Alberta, but you can’t take the Albertans out of their trucks

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That’s something I am very troubled by. My cross-street neighbor always buy older trucks and flip them. The worst thing is that he parks them along the street and not on his own driveway.

I mean, this is Edmonton, Alberta. Get a life. Flip a house, not a truck.

I work for a private leasing company that does commercial leases specifically targeting fleet business. Happily, I do extremely little retail.

My life is all about depreciation and future residuals.