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12 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday January 28, 2009 www.oakvillebeaver.com No Time Like the Present to Buy a New Car Forget the doom and gloom surrounding the auto industry ­ it's a buyer's market, and there's never been a better time to get a new car By Craig Ritchie With a record-high Canadian dollar, wildly fluctuating gas prices and a global economic slowdown, the year 2008 provided no shortage of headlines ­ especially relating to the auto industry. But with new economic stimulus packages rolling out in Canada and the United States, a new budget coming from Ottawa and a new president taking office south of the border, consumers are finding themselves squarely in the driver's seat. Rather than hitting the panic button, they're hitting the showroom floors, because where new cars are concerned, it's a buyer's market like never before. "The fundamentals of Canada's economy are still quite good," notes Don Romano, President of Mazda Canada. "We all know about the credit crisis in the United States, but that's just not the situation here. Just the other day I was walking through an airport and two gentlemen ahead of me were talking about the credit crisis. And as we walked to the gate we passed a lady at a kiosk trying to sign us up for new credit cards with a $10,000 limit. Credit crisis? Not really. Financing is available, Canadian banks are doing business and auto makers are selling wonderful cars. This is a great time to look at a new vehicle because the values out there for consumers are just tremendous." Low interest rates and aggressive factory incentives have made it less expensive to buy a new car. "People come into our showrooms and find out they can get into a brand new car for less money than they're paying for their existing, three-year old vehicle, or they find that they can drive a more upscale model for the same money they're paying now," says Lindsay Duffield, President and CEO for BMW Group of Canada. "Year-over-year prices for new cars have actually dropped by about nine percent, which is the most since 1954. From a value perspective, consumers can get more car for their money than ever before." But consumers who are out car shopping are clearly taking their time to check out all the options available to them. "People definitely are shopping around, where in the past they might have just automatically returned to the dealer where they got their previous vehicle," notes Bill Porter, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Suzuki Canada. "Automotive engineering has evolved dramatically, and consumers no longer need to purchase a full-size luxury car with all the bells and whistles just to get the options they want. It really is amazing to step from a 10-year old vehicle into a new 2009 model and see just how far things have come in such a short time." Perhaps the greatest advances have come in terms of fuel efficiency, as auto makers strive to lower overall ownership costs. Driven by record-high pump prices last summer, demand for small, economical cars has shot through the roof. "We're expecting that shift toward smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles to continue through 2009 in every category," says John Vernile, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Hyundai Canada. "Consumers are looking to maximize their fuel economy, even with the price of fuel having come down from the high levels we saw in the summer of 2008. We see a shift toward more four-cylinder cars and away from six-cylinder powertrains, and more widespread use of six-speed automatic transmissions, continuous variable valve timing and other engineering advances. These features may not be as high profile as something like an in-dash GPS system, for example, but they lower ownership costs while improving overall reliability, and in the real world, that counts for a lot." Vernile notes that consumers are shopping for higher value, as opposed to just a lower price tag. Michael Bartsch, interim CEO for Porsche Cars of Canada Ltd., would certainly agree. "In spite of the economic situation, Porsche Canada actually sold more units in November 2008 than it did in November 2007," he notes. "Cayenne sales, in particular, were up by almost one third. While these are premium-priced, high-performance products, Porsches offer great `bang for the buck' and represent good value when their performance, all-weather ability and resale value are taken into consideration." If bang-for-the-buck is represented by getting high tech features at lowball prices, then the situation for car buyers has never been better. Looking forward, that situation can only improve as auto manufacturers continue to use new technology to create even newer technologies. "There are so many new innovations coming down the pipeline it's hard to keep up, and these will bring consumers tremendous values by continuing to lower the cost of operating a vehicle," says David Paterson, Vice President of Corporate Affairs for General Motors of Canada. "Today we have a full range of hybrid vehicles that deliver exceptional fuel economy. Leapfrogging that technology is the electric car. The Chevrolet Volt generated enormous excitement when we unveiled it in 2008, and it will be a game-changer when it comes to market in 2010. We're also looking at hydrogen fuel stacks. Although the infrastructure to support it doesn't exist right now, GM has more than 100 Chevrolet Equinox hydrogen-powered vehicles, which were produced in Oshawa, on the road right now. They burn hydrogen and produce nothing but water, while offering a range comparable to the best cars on the road today." Paterson notes, however, that consumers are in a great place right now with respect to getting tremendous value for their dollar. He agrees this is very much a buyer's market, and consumers who take advantage will enjoy opportunities not likely to be repeated. www.volvoofoakville.com SERVICE DEPARTMENT OPEN SATURDAYS Phone: (905) 825-8088