Volkswagen Canada's 'Goodwill' Program Started, Damn Exchange Rate

This is Canada, not Mexico. Toyotas aren't considered desirable in Canada; they rust too fast, spare parts are too expensive, and their "big car handling" is downright dangerous in the snow. Volkswagens are a bit boring, but at least the paint stays on them and they can handle weather.

@heavy handle Interesting... whatever the reason, US buyers yearly account for roughly 9X the Canadian Toyota brand sales per Tim Cain's data. That's awesome to me! What's wrong with you people?! Now I have to see if this self-harm afflicts all the Commonwealth countries. Bet it does.

@RideHeight It took us a while to figure it out, mind you. I remember visiting a friend's shop about ten years ago. He had two cars on his hoists, a Camry and a Jetta, both around 4 years old, similar mileage. The Camry was in much worse shape. The paint was barely holding on, every fastener was rusted, the suspension was shot (shocks, front end), the interior was worn-out (collapsed seat foam, delaminated steering wheel). Worse of all (in his eyes), the camshaft showed considerable wear and some flaking even though the car had never skipped an oil change. By comparison, the VW looked and drove like new. That was the last straw, as far as he was concerned. The oil sludge debacle made him doubt Toyota, but this made him stop recommending them. As far as he's concerned, Toyota put-out a few good cars in the mid-90s that used thick steel and high-quality components, but they haven't done anything worthwhile before or since. Next thing you know, Toyota doubled parts prices in Canada to pay for their recall crisis. I think the sales figure show that Canadians have sussed-out that Toyota's legendary durability is just that, legendary. At least in our conditions.

@heavy handle Your account is so polar opposite to what I've experienced and observed with J-cars (and why wouldn't they all be in lockstep treating their sheet metal?) built after, say, 1984 that I almost suspect some special line for Canada-destined products where they skip the zinc bath. And we typically get clear-weather roads in Jan & Feb that while dry and clean are still white from embedded salt. Me got cognitive dissonance here.

@heavy handle The "problem," as it were, may be that you are comparing Toyotas to themselves, and not to competitive cars. When Japanese cars first became popular in Canada, everyone was amazed that their engines would still be running fine by the time their bodies rusted away. Now it's 40 years later and the observation is subtly different: the bodies rust away before the engines have worn-out. Everyone else has upped their game, but they've stood still. Add to that the fact that they charge a premium (if not in list price, then in equipment level); that they don't drive all that well (their vague front-end feel may explain why you see so many Toyotas with delaminated steering wheels, it's a white knuckle experience in the snow); that they are subjectively ugly on the outside and drab on the inside. It's really no wonder that they are less popular with value-conscious Canadians. We get cognitive dissonance from the fact that the Camry is consistently the top-selling sedan in the US, when it barely cracks the top 10 in Canada.

@RideHeight So far this year, the Toyota brand is the #3 best seller in the US. In Canada, it's #2. Toyota does have higher market share in the US, with 12.2% vs. 9.7% in Canada. As the US has a population that is nine times higher than Canada's, I would expect just about every automaker to sell far more cars south of the 49th parallel.

@heavy handle VW does have excellent corrosion prevention techniques during assembly along with the 12 year/144000 mile rust through warranty in the USA. In 2013 the shop I took my wife's 2000 Jetta to said the underbody was in remarkably good shape compared to a 2009 Equinox he had seen recently. Apparently GM was cheaping out on corrosion prevention at least on 2009 Equinoxes. All I know is that despite VW's other problems, the bodies last on them. And if something does start rusting, they'll generally cover it.

@Pch101 "As the US has a population that is nine times higher than Canada’s.." Can white-flight leave them undisturbed? By God, move over, Johnny Canuck! And we're bringing our guns!

@Pch101 The Toyota brand is #2, but they drop down in the list if you consider automotive groups. FCA, GM and Hyundai/Kia sell more. VW and Audi stand around half of Toyota/Lexus/Scion's numbers, which is mind-blowing if one considers how those two groups sell a few miles south in the US. VW/Audi's US volume is less than a quarter of Toyota's.

@Pch101 Toyota is the #2 badge in Canada TMC is the #4 largest automaker in Canada, selling one out of every nine new vehicles there. You can't possibly be serious when you try to argue that Canadians aren't buying Toyota brand or TMC vehicles when the numbers are that unambiguous. You obviously don't like it, but the facts are what they are.