Lots of little things going on in the auto industry this week, and here's a recap of some of them.
ECHO TO STAY IN CANADA: Toyota Motor Sales in the U.S. recently announced that it was going to drop the sub-compact Echo from its lineup next year, but that's not likely to happen here in Canada.
While the Echo has been a sales disappointment in America, it's the biggest selling model (at 36.3 percent share) of its segment in Canada. In 2004, Toyota Canada sold 31,252 units of Echo, which is nearly eight times as many as were sold south of the border.
Wes Pratt of Toyota Canada says Echo sales were ''were propelled particularly by the made-for-Canada hatchback model'' and that that is an example of how the two markets determine their own product lineup.
''We have no plans to stop selling this vehicle in Canada,'' Pratt says, ''and we will continue to participate aggressively in this extremely important segment in Canada.''
HONDA PRICES RIDGELINE PICKUP: Honda Canada says it will sell three versions of the mid-size Ridgeline pickup it will build at its Alliston plant north of Toronto, and that they will carry MSRPs from the mid-$30,000s to the mid-$40,000s.
The trim levels will be LX, EX-L and EX-L Navi. Standard features on all models will include all-wheel-drive, Vehicle Stability Assist with rollover sensor; side curtain airbags, ABS, power windows, mirrors and locks, air conditioning, cruise control, the In-Bed Trunk, and the towing package.
Ridgeline goes on sale in April, and Honda Canada expects to sell about 3,000 units. Overall, the plant expects to build 50,000 units a year, mostly for the U.S. market.
STILL NO LOTUS ELISE: Officials at Lotus Cars USA recently announced a change in pricing for their 2005 Elise model, but there is still no change regarding the car's future in Canada.
Official word from Duluth, Georgia, is that they're still working on a business plan for getting the two-seat sportscar (which now costs US$42,990 south of the border) into Canada.
It is also not possible to bring a used version of the Elise into Canada, at least according to the folks at Transport Canada, who decide these things.
Lotus puts responsibility for the price increase right at the door of the current exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the British pound.
Lotus Cars USA CEO John English says, ''In light of the continued erosion of the U.S dollar versus the pound sterling and the resulting pressure on our costs, we have no choice at this time but to make an adjustment in the Elise price structure."
This is the first price hike to be blamed on the currency shifts, but it probably won't be the last as car makers in Britain and mainland Europe struggle to cope with the new exchange reality.
BMW TO FACELIFT 7-SERIES THIS YEAR: If you're been thinking about a BMW 7-series in the near future, you may want to hold fire a while until you see the details of the upgrade the Munich firm is planning for later this year.
Apparently there will be a simpler iDrive system and some exterior changes, though it's not likely they'll do anything with the controversial Bangle Butt rear end. That would be like admitting that the lumpy posterior design was a mistake, you see, and that's not a popular attitude inside the famous four-cylinder building.
The new version of the uber-luxury sedan should be on the road in a couple of months, though details on its changes should come sooner than that.
MAZDA PRICES MAZDASPEED6: Mazda Canada will charge $35,995 for the ''highest performing, best-handling sedan Mazda has ever built.''
That would be the Mazdaspeed6, which goes on sale ''later this spring.''
The base car is obviously well equipped, since it only costs $800 more to get the ''fully loaded version.''
TWO NEW SMALL NISSANS: A North American version of Nissan's Cube vehicle from Japan has been widely expected for some time, but now it looks like the Japanese firm will launch two of its subcompact models in Canada and the U.S. in the next couple of years.
This was made clear at the Detroit auto show by Carlos Ghosn, who should know since he runs the firm from Renault's office in France. He declined to give details of what the second model would be, but there are several B-class units available to speculate on.
TWO MORE ULTRA-LUX CARS: It's increasingly likely that GM will approve an ultra-luxury sedan for its flagship Cadillac brand, and now here comes Toyota with a similar plan for its Lexus brand.
Cadillac's plan is a direct result of the popularity of its Sixteen concept car of 2003, and Toyota's giving some idea of where it wants to go with the LF-A concept car from this year's Detroit auto show.
The cars won't be directly competitive, since Caddy's looking at a sedan and Lexus is thinking about a coupe.
If the cars are approved, it's not likely that we'll see them until 2007 or 2008.
NISSAN QUEST INTERIOR CHANGES: Nissan will overhaul the interior of its slow-selling Quest minivan as soon as possible, likely for the 2007 model year.
The minivan's pod-like instrument panel has been the subject of considerable irritation for owners because of poor build quality that caused many squeaks and vibrations. Nissan says it's fixed those problems, but the redesign will address the fact that many North Americans simply don't care for the Quest's interior design.
Quest sales are only about half of what was expected in the U.S., but Canadians have been more receptive.
VOLVO GOING DOWN-MARKET: Not so many years ago, Volvo declined to bring the S40 model to North America because it was too small and too down-market for the brand.
Well, get ready for something even smaller and cheaper, since the Swedish arm of the Ford Motor Company has decided it will give the world a C30 model late in 2006 as a 2007 model.
Like the S40, the hatchback C30 will use the Ford Focus platform but will be about 200-mm shorter.
ECHO TO STAY IN CANADA: Toyota Motor Sales in the U.S. recently announced that it was going to drop the sub-compact Echo from its lineup next year, but that's not likely to happen here in Canada.
While the Echo has been a sales disappointment in America, it's the biggest selling model (at 36.3 percent share) of its segment in Canada. In 2004, Toyota Canada sold 31,252 units of Echo, which is nearly eight times as many as were sold south of the border.
Wes Pratt of Toyota Canada says Echo sales were ''were propelled particularly by the made-for-Canada hatchback model'' and that that is an example of how the two markets determine their own product lineup.
''We have no plans to stop selling this vehicle in Canada,'' Pratt says, ''and we will continue to participate aggressively in this extremely important segment in Canada.''
HONDA PRICES RIDGELINE PICKUP: Honda Canada says it will sell three versions of the mid-size Ridgeline pickup it will build at its Alliston plant north of Toronto, and that they will carry MSRPs from the mid-$30,000s to the mid-$40,000s.
The trim levels will be LX, EX-L and EX-L Navi. Standard features on all models will include all-wheel-drive, Vehicle Stability Assist with rollover sensor; side curtain airbags, ABS, power windows, mirrors and locks, air conditioning, cruise control, the In-Bed Trunk, and the towing package.
Ridgeline goes on sale in April, and Honda Canada expects to sell about 3,000 units. Overall, the plant expects to build 50,000 units a year, mostly for the U.S. market.
STILL NO LOTUS ELISE: Officials at Lotus Cars USA recently announced a change in pricing for their 2005 Elise model, but there is still no change regarding the car's future in Canada.
Official word from Duluth, Georgia, is that they're still working on a business plan for getting the two-seat sportscar (which now costs US$42,990 south of the border) into Canada.
It is also not possible to bring a used version of the Elise into Canada, at least according to the folks at Transport Canada, who decide these things.
Lotus puts responsibility for the price increase right at the door of the current exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the British pound.
Lotus Cars USA CEO John English says, ''In light of the continued erosion of the U.S dollar versus the pound sterling and the resulting pressure on our costs, we have no choice at this time but to make an adjustment in the Elise price structure."
This is the first price hike to be blamed on the currency shifts, but it probably won't be the last as car makers in Britain and mainland Europe struggle to cope with the new exchange reality.
BMW TO FACELIFT 7-SERIES THIS YEAR: If you're been thinking about a BMW 7-series in the near future, you may want to hold fire a while until you see the details of the upgrade the Munich firm is planning for later this year.
Apparently there will be a simpler iDrive system and some exterior changes, though it's not likely they'll do anything with the controversial Bangle Butt rear end. That would be like admitting that the lumpy posterior design was a mistake, you see, and that's not a popular attitude inside the famous four-cylinder building.
The new version of the uber-luxury sedan should be on the road in a couple of months, though details on its changes should come sooner than that.
MAZDA PRICES MAZDASPEED6: Mazda Canada will charge $35,995 for the ''highest performing, best-handling sedan Mazda has ever built.''
That would be the Mazdaspeed6, which goes on sale ''later this spring.''
The base car is obviously well equipped, since it only costs $800 more to get the ''fully loaded version.''
TWO NEW SMALL NISSANS: A North American version of Nissan's Cube vehicle from Japan has been widely expected for some time, but now it looks like the Japanese firm will launch two of its subcompact models in Canada and the U.S. in the next couple of years.
This was made clear at the Detroit auto show by Carlos Ghosn, who should know since he runs the firm from Renault's office in France. He declined to give details of what the second model would be, but there are several B-class units available to speculate on.
TWO MORE ULTRA-LUX CARS: It's increasingly likely that GM will approve an ultra-luxury sedan for its flagship Cadillac brand, and now here comes Toyota with a similar plan for its Lexus brand.
Cadillac's plan is a direct result of the popularity of its Sixteen concept car of 2003, and Toyota's giving some idea of where it wants to go with the LF-A concept car from this year's Detroit auto show.
The cars won't be directly competitive, since Caddy's looking at a sedan and Lexus is thinking about a coupe.
If the cars are approved, it's not likely that we'll see them until 2007 or 2008.
NISSAN QUEST INTERIOR CHANGES: Nissan will overhaul the interior of its slow-selling Quest minivan as soon as possible, likely for the 2007 model year.
The minivan's pod-like instrument panel has been the subject of considerable irritation for owners because of poor build quality that caused many squeaks and vibrations. Nissan says it's fixed those problems, but the redesign will address the fact that many North Americans simply don't care for the Quest's interior design.
Quest sales are only about half of what was expected in the U.S., but Canadians have been more receptive.
VOLVO GOING DOWN-MARKET: Not so many years ago, Volvo declined to bring the S40 model to North America because it was too small and too down-market for the brand.
Well, get ready for something even smaller and cheaper, since the Swedish arm of the Ford Motor Company has decided it will give the world a C30 model late in 2006 as a 2007 model.
Like the S40, the hatchback C30 will use the Ford Focus platform but will be about 200-mm shorter.