2008 has been a crazy rollercoaster ride for the world. This year we saw oil prices reach nearly $150 per barrel and matching prices at the pump. Sales for sub compact cars like the Smart Car and Prius jumped while truck sales took a huge nosedive. Now, just on the eve of 2009 oil prices have retreated by over $100 and gas prices are at the lowest point in recent memory as the world enters a recession. The world financial machine has ground to a halt despite the efforts of various Governments around the world pumping in financial aid.
This year we saw China host the Olympics which many people saw as China’s chance to step onto the world stage and be recognized as a world leader ahead of the almighty United States of America. Speaking of the USA, they elected the first Black President, Barack Obama. Obama will be taking over a nation in desperate need of change in early January. 2009 will be an interesting year indeed.
Beyond has also gone through a lot of changes this year and we’re looking forward to 2009 as we continue to build and add services for all of our members. Despite a lot of rumors on the site, perhaps fueled by a few of the moderators and administrators, Beyond has NOT been sold to anybody. We have entered into an agreement for content sharing and advertising sales with Canwest. What this means for us is that we will be able to provide the latest automotive news to you in a more timely fashion, create a large video library with the latest car reviews and previews and some other treats we can’t share until they are ready. The user experience both on our blog and forums will be improved with our increased access to fresh content from the Canwest network. At the very least, we’ll see less ads for breast augmentation and more automotive related advertising.
Way too many hilarious moments occured in 2008 and it simply would have been impossible to do a thorough review of 2008 so with that, I’m off to get ready for New Years celebrations and I hope everyone has a great night ringing in the new year by celebrating with friends and family and look forward to a great 2009! Happy New Year!
In this weekly segment, we cover the top discussions going on in the automotive forums. These threads may be the most recent hot topics, or epic threads that we just wanted to dig up and feature.
If you have a suggestion for a thread to be included on the forum weekly review, e-mail it to info@beyond.ca. If you have not joined our forums, register today its free!
The Official How Are You Saving Money Thread
The economy is going down the drain, and the sky is falling. Banks are dropping like flies and the TSX has dropped below 11,000 points for the first time in a couple years. What are you doing as the economy slows down? Are you putting more money away into a savings account? Do you have a rainy day fund? Have you changed your spending habits? Sold that new BMW? Share what you’ve done to save money!
National Do Not Call List Registration / Complaint Website Launched
The Canadian National Do Not Call List was officially launched this week. About 75 - 80% of Canadians are expected to register their numbers for inclusion on the list and if the traffic volumes to the website on the first day were any indication, that number looks to be about right. For most of the day the website could not handle the amount of traffic hitting it, but eventually it became functional again and I was able to register all my numbers. Unfortunately, the list does have too many exceptions by allowing charities, political parties, newspapers, companies you’ve done business with and companies you’ve given written permission allowing them to do so will still be able to call you.
The Other Debate… yeah, the Canadian Leaders Debate
Most televisions (even Canadian) were tuned into the VP debate on most US networks when the English Canadian Leaders Debate was televised. I’ll admit, the US election is far more interesting than the Canadian one. So here I am doing my part to draw attention to the election here in Canada by devoting one of the weekly threads to the Canadian Leader Debate.
Wow, this guy must be the cheapest Lamborghini owner on the planet! It doesn’t really cost much to goto a car wash to rinse off your car but this fellow decided against spending a few bucks and bucket washes his yellow Gallardo using water from a city fountain. To make matters worse, he does an entire wipe down of the car after splashing the water on it too just to make sure that paint gets all scratched up. What an idiot!
With the Canadian dollar surpassing the value of the US dollar, thousands of Canadians flocked south to pick up their new vehicles often saving thousands, and in some cases tens of thousands of dollars.
Canadian car dealers are fighting back by offering incentives to buy locally through cash back, rebates, and reduced financing rates. While the price gap remains, many shoppers are being swayed back to the local dealerships as the complications of importing a vehicle are no longer worth it.
Nissan Canada Inc. has now given [dealerships] the tools needed to be a bit more competitive, in the form of manufacturer-to-dealer purchase incentives. Those incentives translate into customer savings, anywhere from $1,000 to $8,000 — depending on the model.
For example, $1,000 will be cut from the price of a 2008 Nissan Sentra, while $8,000 is trimmed from a 2008 Nissan Armada.
Even with these incentives, some consumers are still heading south of the border as prices are still cheaper with the rebates applied, especially on models where the rebates are slim. Dealerships caution consumers who are heading south to look carefully at all the details when purchasing a US vehicle as vehicle models are not the same across the border.
Hyatt’s Itzcovitch, whose dealerships include Hyatt Auto Gallery (Mercedes-Benz and Smart), Hyatt Infiniti and Fish Creek Nissan, adds that it’s important to note that cars equipped for the Canadian market often don’t carry the same content as their U.S. equivalents. Mercedes-Benz vehicles sold in Canada all have factory undercoating applied, and he says U.S. cars don’t come so equipped.
“That could be a big issue if you’re planning on keeping the car long term,” Itzcovitch says. He adds items that come standard in a Canadian Mercedes-Benz, such as heated seats and bi-xenon headlights, are optional equipment in the U.S. Buyers looking to the U.S., Itzcovitch contends, “are not comparing the same apples,” and there can be thousands of dollars difference in equipment alone.
If these rebates are not enough to keep you from heading south to pick up your new vehicle, the automotive industry has one final trick up their sleeves to try to keep you from purchasing a cheaper vehicle from the United States. By utilizing a loophole, the manufacturers have essentially stopped the flow of brand new vehicles (2008 model year) into Canada with the help of RIV (Registrar of Imported Vehicles). In short, many 2008 US vehicles do not have the proper immobolizer required by the Canadian Government.
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