HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1987-10-14, Page 36PAGE 36. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1987.
Sales show Canadians like Canadian-built cars
rv
Canadians seem to like Cana
dian-built cars, and most dealers
are taking advantage of the fact to
point out what lines and models
have been built exclusively in
Canada.
Since the new Honda plant
opened in Alliston a little more
than a year ago, the Accord built
there has moved from the position
of seventh most popular car in
Canada up to third place. The
birthplace of each Alliston car is
proudly proclaimed on a small
metal plate on the driver-side door
piller, and according tobuyers,
dealers make sure this is seen by
prospective purchasers. The com
pany further played up its Cana
dian connection recently by telling
journalists on a trip to Japan that
the Alliston Accords are tops for
quality in all Honda plants.
It is expected that the small
Canadian plant will soon begin
producing Honda Civics as well, in
an effort to improve that model’s
standing in the market. During the
first 11 months of the 1987 model
year (for which figures are avail
able), the Civic scraped back into
the top 10 selling cars in Canada,
up from the 11th spot the year
before.
For its part, Ford ofCanadais
also banking on its Canadian
connection to swell the number of
Canadian-built cars in the top 10
from four to five over the past year,
with the continued strength of its
Oakville-built Tempo and Topaz
models.
Sales of both were down slightly
from the first 11 months of the 1986
model year, but Tempo hung onto
You can install a
life-saving light
When you’ve pulled up behind a install the lamp in an hour;
stopped car lately, you may have mechanics will do it for you for $15
noticed an extra brake light right in to $25.
the top sales spot, and Topaz
climbed to seventh from 15th spot.
Other Canadian models among
the industry leaders were the
Pontiac 6000 and the Chevrolet
Celebrity, both built by General
Motors of Canada in Oshawa for at
least part of the year. The Celebrity
is now built in Ste.-Therese, P.Q.
Rank changes on the sales chart
resulted mainly from the dramatic
fall in popularity of the Hyundai
Pony, as well as more modest sales
decreases for the Chevrolet Chev
ette and the Oldsmobile Ciera.
The inexpensive Pony was Can
ada’s top-selling car in 1985 and
second in 1986, but this past year,
as complaints of poor quality
spread, itretreated to 14th spot
with 20,448 cars sold across the
country, less than half the total of
two years earlier.
The Pony will be discontinued as
inventories dwindle, and Hyundai
will try to get back on the chart with
its Excel model, which was in 16th
spot last year with 18,344 sales.
Before 1990, Hyundai hopes to
build a new front-wheel drive
replacement for its Stellar model at
a new plant in Bromont, P.Q.
The two newcomers in the top 10
this past year were the American-
built Ford Taurus and the Japa
nese-built Toyota Tercel, which
was redesigned for 1987.
The Taurus soared from 11,005
sales between October 1, 1985 and
August31,1986 to 24,085 in the
same period this past year. Sable,
the Mercury cousin of the Taurus,
rose from 6,631 sales to9,863 in the
same period.
Thes.e impressive gains came at
the expense of the popular A-body
family of GM cars, including the
Celebrity, 6000, Ciera and Buick
Century. The A-car family is still
the most popular as a group in
Canada, but sales for the entire
group fell from 102,134 in the 1986
model year to 89,316 in the past
year.
GM aims to beat back Ford’s
advance into the profitable mid
size marketwitha new family of
cars known as the W-body or
GM-10 program. The first of these
isthenewtwo-door Buick Regal
coupe, builtinOshawa. Pontiac
and Oldsmobile versions come
next spring, and sedans startto
arrive next fall.
A future Canadian-built car
which GM hopes will eventually
replace the.Chevette in the top 10 is
the Sprint model, based on the
Suzuki Forsa.
In the past model year, GM
dealers only managed to sell 8,213
Sprint models and 6,830 of the
similar Pontiac Firefly, but the
company was limited by export
limits set by Japan at Canada’s
request.
W ith the start of production at its
new plant in Ingersoll next year,
GManditspartner, Suzuki, will
havefar more cars withwhich to
supply its Canadian and U.S.
dealerships.
One more Canadian-built car
may be poised to break into the top
10, this one from Toyota Canada’s
new plant in Cambridge. Sales of
the Toyota Corolla this past year
put the car well down on the
top-seller list, but GM has helped
to establish the reputation of the
car by selling 8,305 Corolla clones
under the name of Chevrolet Nova.
Combined with Corolla’s total
sales of 14,822 in the past year, the
combined sales of Corolla and
Nova, at 23,127 would have put the
model in 11th place if Toyota had
sold all those cars itself. Sales
should soar once the Ingersoll
plant is opened.
front of you at eye level. The
federal government requires these
lights on all cars produced after
September 1985, and safety ex
perts recommend that other car
owners install them to.
Studies have shown that the
third light can dramatically reduce
the number of rear-end collisions,
one of the most common forms of
car accidents.
The lights in kit form for
do-it-yourself installation are dis
tributed nationally by several
manufacturers and sold through
local auto clubs as well as
auto-supply stores for between $10
and $25.
The type of light you should buy
depends on how your car is wired.
In most American cars with red
turn signals, the brake light and
turn signals are connected. To
prevent the third brake light from
lighting up when you use your turn
signals, buy a kit that includes a
module to filter out the brake light.
Cars with amber turn signals have
separate brake and turn-signal
wiring and do not present this
problem.
The government requires that a
light installed by auto manufactur
ers be red, measure at least 4 ‘/2
square inches and be located either
inside or outside the car, in the
centre between the roof and, at
most, 3 inches below the bottom of
the back window. The light must be
visible from a 45° angle; its
brightness cannot exceed that of
your other brake lights. Most kits
meet these standards, but owners
of pre-1986 models are not requir
ed to follow the regulations.
Manufacturers say a novice can
11,675
laSQ ON ALL 1987 MODELS
1987 CELEBRITY
2 tone paint, heavy duty suspension,
sport wheels, trunk carrier, pin stripes
^and mouldings
Reg. $13,675.
PRICE
SLASHEDAT...
PLUS MANY MORE
'87 MODELS A T SIMILAR SA VINGSI
ii
HEART
AND STROKE
FOUNDATION
OF ONTARIO
LA FONDATION
DE LONTARIO
DES MALADIES
DU COEUR
FALL
CAR CARE SPECIAL
Winterize Now!
1 - Test Antifreeze
2 - Test Rad Cap Pressure
3 - Check Rad & Heater Hoses
4 - Check for Radiator Leaks
5 - Check All Fan Belts
6 - Test and Fill Washer Fluid
7 - Check Wiper Blades & Washers
8 - Check Tire Wear and Air Pressure
9 - Check Thermostat Heat
10 - Check Heater and Defroster Blower
All replacement parts and installation extra
FREE
INSTALLATION
and
BALANCING
on all
TIRES
PURCHASED
DURING OCTOBER!!!
[Truck & Sport Wheels Not Included]
J * * Z - \
McCutcheon Motors
Your friendly Chev Olds Dealer
Serving Brussels and area for 38 years /
BRUSSELS 887-6856