Automotive News Canada - February 2017 - 3

SECOND FRONT

02.17

ASBESTOS
BAN
Why it took
Canada
so long,
who's
affected
and how
serious the
problem is

WRAPPED IN MONEY
Dealerships
add service by
partnering with
skilled applicators
By MICHAEL GOETZ
TORONTO CORRESPONDENT

SELLING AND APPLYING
vinyl wraps is not a core
dealership business because
of the complex and tricky
nature of applying the product, but it's a profit centre that shouldn't be overlooked.
"It doesn't make sense
to bring this in-house,"
says Jeff Uzbalis of 3M
Commercial Graphics
(Canada). Skilled installers take years to hone their
craft.
All dealerships have to do

is partner up.
Like other suppliers, 3M
has an accreditation program for shops and installers to help consumers and
auto-industry players sort
the wheat from the chaff.
Auto Trim Design and Signs
of London, Ont., is accredited by 3M as a graphic provider, installer and warranty provider.
Owner-operator David
Kompelien says his shop
has relationships with many
London-area dealerships
that in most cases were initiated at their request to wrap
shuttle and service vehicles,
parts and loaner cars, and to
complete signage projects.
Many dealerships refer
customers to their preferred
wrap suppliers; others subcontract it out and roll the
paint protection or wrap

Ontario, B.C. boost
EV-buying incentives
Privately funded
BC SCRAP-IT
program doubles
incentives
to buy new EVs
By STEVEN MERTL
TORONTO CORRESPONDENT

VANCOUVER, B.C. - With
a provincial election looming, the B.C. government has
topped up the fund that provides incentives for those
who buy zero-emission vehi-

cles. Just one day earlier,
Ontario's government-subsidized program made a similar move.
Both programs announced
upgrades on the heels of the
privately funded BC SCRAPIT program, which doubled
incentives for drivers to
scrap their older vehicles in
favour of buying new electric
vehicles.
Ontario Energy and
Mines Minister Bill Bennett
announced Feb. 3 the Liberal
government would spend $40

SEE ONTARIO PAGE 24

into the sales deal.
One dealership that does
the latter, and has taken
the paint-protection-product offering to a new level is
Grand Touring Automobiles
(GTA), purveyors of many
high-end brands at its locations in Toronto and Maple,
Ont.
The Maple location sells
and services Lamborghini
and Aston Martin vehicles,
and, says general sales manager James Davidson, "100
per cent" of its new-vehicle
buyers get the pitch on paint
protection film (PPF).
"We feel we are providing good advice when we
encourage clients to protect
their new vehicles with the
film."
The film, usually

SEE WRAPS PAGE 24

By ROBERT BOSTELAAR
VA N C O U V E R C O R R E S P O N D E N T

CANADA'S NEW
asbestos ban isn't expected to come into full effect
until late 2018, meaning that
brake pads and linings that
contain the toxic material
could continue to be imported until then.
Carmakers and domestic
parts manufacturers stopped
using the silicate mineral in
brake pads and linings years
ago. Asbestos mining ended
in Canada in 2011.
"Some people really
thought it was something
we had moved past," says
Jean-François Champagne,
president of the Automotive
Industries Association of
Canada.
Yet asbestos-as-automotive-component has
remained stubbornly, silently persistent. It comes
from offshore manufacturers, mainly in brake parts:
between 2005 and 2015

Canada imported more than
$100 million in asbestos pads
and linings, according to one
estimate.
In December, after years
of pressure from Canadian
manufacturer ABS Friction,
trade groups and the Unifor
union that represents
autoworkers, the federal government announced
a comprehensive ban on
asbestos imports and use by
2018.
What took so long? In a
word, money. As a world
leader in its production,
Canada was a prime promoter of the strong, fire-resistant material for products
from insulation to gaskets
to floor tiles. Even as other
countries acknowledged that

SEE BIGGEST PAGE 25

TRANS-CANADA NEWS 5,000 KILOMETRES OF STORIES
Lexus outlet raises
the hospitality bar
AJAX, Ont. - Lexus of
Lakeridge has opened a
new 73,000 square-foot
(6,800-square-metre) facility in this community east of
Toronto.
The airy structure includes
three glass showroom areas
for 35 vehicles, a living green
roof, radiant-heated ramps
and surfaces, 90-seat café with
full-time chef and advanced
wireless technology to recognize and welcome guests.
"Our goal is to exceed
our customers' expectations
and this exceptional facility enables us to do that in so
many different ways," said

Lexus of Lakeridge will have a living green roof, heated
flooring and a full-time chef.

Christopher Endras, dealer
principal.

'Supercentres'
will create 100 jobs
LAVAL, Que. - HGrégoire,
known mainly for its presence in Canada's used-vehicle

industry, is building two new
Nissan dealerships in Québec,
totalling $20 million.
The dealer's current
Vimont and Chomedey
Nissan locations in Laval will

SEE TRANS-CANADA PAGE 24

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - February 2017