Auto Events

My wife recently bought a new car for the first time in 11 years, but though she was excited about the end result, she was considerably less enthusiastic about the actual process.

Most people are generally unaware that wipers, headlights, and batteries are among the most vital parts of their vehicles and, as such, that they need to be replaced regularly. Each of these components will wear with constant use, and, with the colder weather now on the way, they should all be checked around this time of year.

TORONTO - Canadian auto sales rose only marginally in January to 95,639 vehicles from 95,306 in the same month in 2013, according to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants.

But the meagre 0.3 per cent increase masked big gains by many import brands, which overall saw January sales increase 8.5 per cent year over year. That compared with an overall 8.1 per cent decrease for the so-called Detroit brands, DesRosiers said.

"January is always a troubling month for vehicle sales and not necessarily just because of the weather," the consultancy said in a commentary.

It noted that companies can be under tremendous pressure in December to meet specific sales targets and will often go to extraordinary lengths, including the use of aggressive dealer and consumer incentives to bring sales forward.

"We often see double-digit increases in December as sales are pulled forward followed by double-digit decreases in January when reality sets in," it said.

Among the Big Three, General Motors of Canada sales was hurt the most, down 20.1 per cent to 10,991 cars and light trucks from 13,761, followed by Ford of Canada, whose January sales were off 10.1 per cent at 14,526 compared with 16,193 last year.

Chrysler Canada, meanwhile, enjoyed a 3.9 per cent increase to 17,589 vehicles from 16,928, DesRosiers said.

It was the 50th consecutive month of year-over-year sales growth for Chrysler's Canadian subsidiary, the longest streak in its history.

Toyota Canada was among the import makes that experienced a big improvement, with overall sales across its three brands up 10.6 per cent for the month to 10,439 vehicles, including 3,981 Toyota cars and 5,347 Toyota trucks.

Sales of Toyota's luxury Lexus brand were up 12.1 per cent at 914, compared with 815 a year ago, while Scion sales totalled 197, down from 290 a year ago.

Honda Canada reported overall sales of 7,732 vehicles, up 7.1 per cent from 7,220 a year ago.

Sales of Honda brand vehicles increased 9.8 per cent to 6,820 vehicles from 6,211 last year, while its luxury Acura division saw sales fall 9.6 per cent to 912 vehicles from 1,009.

Nissan sales rose a whopping 37.1 per cent to 5,624 from 4,101 a year ago, while its luxury Infiniti brand saw sales rise 41.3 per cent to 736 vehicles from 521.

Also doing well was Volkswagen, up 9.2 per cent to 3,683 vehicles from 3,373 and Subaru, up 27.9 per cent at 2,319 from 1,813, while Mazda sales were virtually unchanged, up 0.1 per cent at 3,754 vehicles compared with 3,752 last year.

By contrast, Hyundai sales were off 8.8 per cent at 6,704 from 7,349, although its Kia affiliate saw sales increase 5.7 per cent to 3,883 from 3,673 vehicles.

When Canadian Tire invited me to take a look at the upcoming spring/summer products showcase, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. Being an automotive writer, we usually don’t cover topics that aren’t directly related to the industry.

However, the nice folks at Canadian Tire decided that they would be more than happy to show-off some of their latest automotive products to be released in the spring.  

So without further ado, here are my top five new automotive products coming to a Canadian Tire near you (in no particular order)

Turtle Wax has a long-standing reputation in the auto industry as one of the premier companies for supplying and manufacturing paint waxes and protectors. This year they have launched the “Black Tire Coat” which promises to shine for months without leaving an oily texture on the surface of the tire. The spray is designed to handle all weather conditions and even survive through those summer hand washes.  

Okay, so not necessarily something revolutionary but how could any car obsessed dad resist having their child sit safely in a booster seat that boasts one of the fastest logos on the planet? This booster seat is designed for a child between 40-100 pounds and features a removable back portion that can convert it from a child seat to a booster seat in mere seconds. 

Much like Turtle Wax, 3M is highly respected among automotive enthusiasts and is used extensively in the detailing industry for its polishes, waxes and paint films. 3M has released a spray on film that aims to extend the life of your vehicles’ appearance by absorbing pebble chips and paint scratches. This easy to apply, spray on film lasts for months and easily peels off in sheets when expired. 

Everyone loves watching a good Russian dash cam montage on YouTube but what happens when you find yourself in such a situation like the people featured in those infamous compilations? 

HP has you covered with the f210 Car Camcorder. Capable of “locking down” in the event of an accident, this dash cam can also give GPS locations at the time of the accident and features a wide-angle lens in the front of the vehicle to help capture everything that transpired.  It also features micro-sd storage up to 32GB and can record on a continuous basis by looping into old, uninteresting footage that has been previously captured.