crisco

My impression from following the message boards is that sales in the US are greatly outpacing those in Canada. There seems to be waiting lists for the TSX in the states, while in Canada, there are many cars sitting on the lots. Do you guys agree? If so, what do you think are the reasons for this? I'm curious ....

fdl

Keep in mind that canada is getting more cars per capita than the US.

dom

I only saw about 20 or so TSX's sitting over at Acura 2000

bob shiftright

Canada has an unemployment rate of 8% and a per-capita GDP of $29,400.

The US has an unemployment rate of 6.1% and a per-capita GDP of $37,600.

That might explain the demand side of the equation.

A few years ago Honda Oddys were being discounted in Canada and selling above sticker price in the US.

If anyone is thinking of exporting Canadian TSXs to the USA, when this was done with the Oddy, Honda wouldn't honor the warranty south of the Canadian border.

dom

Your stats I'm sure are correct and I completely agree with your theory. But its a theory. We'll see how TL sales do in comparison. That will be the measuring stick to the TSX's success. The TL's are more expensive and have higher production numbers. Its entirely possible the TSX just is'nt a big hit in Canada.

fdl

per capita gdp? This hardly tells the whole story. The US has a much higher poverty rate, but more ultra rich. Besides I dont see the TSX as a car for very high income earners anyways.

Like I said previously...the most obvious reason is that we have more TSX's shipped to Canada (per capita) so there is more to go around.

Spud

Worth noting that Canada and US use different methodologies for calculating national unemployment. Also, Canada's wealth is more evenly distributed (i.e. the poor not as poor and the rich not as rich) than in the US, which implies a marginally larger "middle class" (for want of a better term) than in the US.

But I can't see minor differences the the macroeconomic profile of each country explaining variances in sales of what is essentially a sporty mid-priced family car.

Spud

I agree with fdl's point.

But, also, maybe higher end cars (BMW, Mercedes, Cadillac, etc...) are more competetive in the US vis-à-vis TSX and other mid-priced cars...

Brad

That's been true of other makes of cars too.

Oddly, my US-bought TSX's warranty includes coverage in Canada and the US.

Question: If a Canadian who bought their TSX in Canada and drives it for a visit or trip to the USA requires warranty service, will the US Acura dealers refuse honoring warranty coverage?

At first glance, the automakers set themselves up for the problem when the same car may cost thousands less in Canada than in the USA. The same issue shows up in comparing Australian and New Zealand car prices. It's not uncommon for the same car in New Zealand to cost less than in Oz, partly due to the weaker Kiwi currency as well as market conditions (which also is a reflection of lower wages, etc.).

Spud

Canadian TSXs come with a North American warranty, so same coverage in US as in Canada for a Canadian TSX...

Brad

Therefore, someone could buy a Canadian TSX, bring it to the US and visit or reside, and take it to a US Acura dealer for warranty issues. That makes sense. Thanks.

I read that some Chryzler or Ford dealers are upset about people buying less expensive Canadian-market vehicles and bringing those vehicles back to the US. The article mentioned a number of makes of cars that are cheaper in Canada, including Honda and Toyota, if I'm not mistaken.

Of course, the latest controversy concerns prescription drugs, which cost a LOT less in Canada than in the USA. In the US, we cannot even buy over-the-counter Tylenol-Codiene without a prescription and corresponding sky-rocket prices.

Spud

Wouldn't there be massive duties if a US resident bought a car in Canada for import to the US?

dom

Yes, but the car would still be cheaper even after paying duties.
I was out renting a limo for my wedding and the limo place was on some sort of holding yard. There were about 40 or 50 Jeep Liberty's parked there. I asked waht they were doing there and the guy told me they were all waiting for shipping down to the US. The guy doing it was making a 2K CAD profit on each apparently. Wheather the laws have changed? I don't know but most cars with very few exceptions are cheaper in Canada.

Then again out dollar is hovering around 0.75 cents US right now
so it does'nt make much sense at the moment.

fdl

Yup, this is common practice. I think there are some rules now that say the vehicle has to be driven for 6 months or a year before it can be sold down south (or something like that).

So what these guys do is lease the car for a few months and then sell, and they still make a profit (although I dont know about now with the bad US $). I know a guy who goes for these leases all the time. They are VERY cheap and hes got a new car ever few months.

Brad

That's the irony of it all. With a (relatively) weak currency in Canada, imported goods should be more expensive in Canada as the theory goes.

On the other hand, if a Canadian and an American each went to Japan or Oz or NZ, for example, with a $1000 of their country's respective currency, then the two travellers would realize a difference in their converted currencies.

But manufacturers commonly resort to absorbing currency shortcomings, knowing that they still face the reality of market conditions (demand, competition, taxes, customs duties, weaker wages, different standards of living, disposable income, cost of debt, and many many other factors).

If manufacturers (or distributors or retailers) did not absorb currency weaknesses, then goods in Canada or New Zealand or Australia--all of whose dollars are worth less than the Yankee dollar--might price themselves out of the market.

That's the weird thing about the US market. It's a real sweet spot for car manufacturers, and they simply know they can milk more $ from the US consumer...due to that all-encompasing vaguely defined notion of market conditions.

There was a time when Detroit's Big Three consistently jockeyed the pricing of their cars above that of the Japanese competition. My, how times have changed!

tgrundke

Actually, the expected demographic includes income earners in the $80,000 (US) and up bracket. Pretty high income, if you ask me.

fdl

I guess thats high, but still very middle class. Maybe they even meant household income. But anyways, my point is that the TSX is not a car for the rich.