Automotive News Canada - September 2017 - v2 - 31

FINAL ASSEMBLY
Will Ford's winning ways rub off on the Maple Leafs?
* S E P T E M B E R 2017

31
09.17

LETTING LOOSE A BIT ON THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF AUTOMOTIVE

F-150 has been the
leader in its class for 51
straight years, unlike the
Toronto Maple Leafs

FORD MOTOR CO. SEEMS TO HAVE
a thing for losing sports franchises.
Ford owns the Detroit Lions, arguably the worst franchise in NFL history. The team has never won a Super
Bowl and hasn't won a conference
championship since 1957. It's also the

only team to go zero and 16.
Now, the automaker is turning to
Canada for its latest sports marketing
venture: a unique partnership with the
Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Ford F-150 is a perennial winner. It has been Canada's best-selling pickup for 51 consecutive years.
Meanwhile, the Leafs haven't won
the NHL's Stanley Cup since 1967, a
50-year-long drought.
But that fact didn't deter Ford from
partnering its popular pickup with
what is, regardless of their perfor-

AS CANADA CELEBRATES
being 150 years old, it seems
an appropriate time to revisit
a limited-edition car designed
to celebrate Canada's
Centennial 50 years ago.
Back in 1967, Canadians
were gripped with
Centennial fever. Even
Imperial Oil and its Esso
brand of gas stations were
whooping it up. They rolled
out a promotional contest
called Roadshow 67. To enter,
Canadians had to collect five
different "travel tips" only
available at Esso dealers.
Four eventual winners
of the contest each received
a car, complete with insurance and extra warranties.
They got their keys at the
big Centennial party and
"World's Fair" in Montreal,
otherwise known as Expo '67.
California designer
George Barris built four 67-X
models. Barris was the most
famous vehicle customiz-

er of the day, after creating
"TV star cars," such as the
Batmobile. Barris made an
additional 67-X for himself, to
use as a "tow car."
The only known surviving
Esso 67-X is owned by Trevor
Welfen of Chilliwack, B.C.
Weflen loaned the car to the
Royal B.C. Museum for a display earlier this year.
The basis of the 67-X was
the Oldsmobile Toronado,
complete with its 385-horsepower 7.0-litre V-8 engine.
The 67-X was billed as the
"ultimate in family travel,"
with emphasis on excitement, safety and comfort.
After the outrageously swoopy body, which
stretched more than 20 feet
in length, the most notable
feature of the 67-X was the
rear "lounge area," which
was essentially a small family room. "Mom" could
swivel the front passenger
seat around to play with
the kids on the lift-up table,
and everyone could grab
Twinkies from the portable
picnic cooler and groove to
The Monkees on the eighttrack tape player. - ANC

(PHOTO: FORD OF CANADA)

Dead zone

One Centennial Esso
car known to exist
Four customs
were given away
as part of Expo '67

The 2017 Toronto Maple Leafs
Centennial Edition F-150 XLT
Supercrew idea was borrowed from
the Dallas Cowboys football team
and Dallas-area Ford dealers.

mance, one of the country's most popular teams.
The 2017 Toronto Maple Leafs'
Centennial Edition F-150 XLT
Supercrew, limited to 400 units, became
available in August at Toronto-area
Ford dealerships.
Scott Kuzma, marketing manager
for Ford Canada's eastern market area,
said the concept was based on a package that the Dallas Ford Dealers served
up with the Dallas Cowboys, a team
that hasn't won the Super Bowl since
1996. - ANC

Parking lot replaces GM transmission plant;
Windsor councillor calls it 'horrible'
A FORMER GENERAL MOTORS
transmission plant in Windsor, Ont.,
has been razed and will be turned into a
parking lot.
There will be more parking spaces than
there were people who worked there at the
time the facility closed.
The transmission plant's final shift was
July 28, 2010. About 1,400 people lost their
jobs there.
Now, the 45-acre (18-hectare) property's
three plots of land will eventually accommodate 644, 742 and 4,436 parking spaces,
respectively, for a total of 5,822. The Essex
Terminal Railway, a small local rail switching company, will use the lot to store vehicles shipped by rail.
A spokeswoman for Dillon Consulting,
hired by Essex Terminal Railway, told
councillors that about 20 trucks a day
will come and go from the property and
between 150 and 175 cars will be driven
onto the property, according to the Windsor
Star daily newspaper.
GM sold the property years ago. The current registered owner is Orchard Heights
Properties Inc. of nearby Amherstburg, Ont.,
according to the newspaper.
Windsor Councillor Chris

The Oldsmobile Toronado was the platform used by automotive customizer George Barris for the five Esso 67-X contest promo cars built to celebrate Canada's 100th birthday
in 1967. ( P H O T O : A U T O M O T I V E N E W S )

Holt isn't pleased
with the new use.
"Back when General
Motors was there, it was
... an employment facility for
thousands of individuals," Holt
told the Star. "And those thousands
of individuals, they come into the neighbourhood, they bring economic activity
with them by eating at the various establishments and making purchases and that
type of thing. As far as industrial facilities
go, it wasn't a bad usage of that space."
"Parking is one of the lowest uses of
urban land. It doesn't generate economic
activity. It's a horrible use of that land."
The plant opened in 1963 and has assembled four-speed transmissions for Chevrolet
Malibu and Saturn Vue and Aura vehicles.
Windsor transmissions could also be found
in Pontiac G5 and G6 cars, and the Chevrolet
Cobalt and HHR vehicles.
At its peak, GM employed more than 7,000
people in Windsor. - ANC
( P H O T O : G R E G L AY S O N )

400

This is not a profit issue,
this is a moral issue as the
exploitation of workers continues.
Mexican workers deserve better.

THIS NUMBER
That's the number of employees General Motors will lay off
at its CAMI assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ont., if it and Unifor
can't find a way to save the jobs in a new contract.

SAY WHAT?

UAW President Dennis Williams
in a joint statement with Unifor
addressing Mexican wages
in NAFTA renegotiations.
( P H O T O : G R E G H O R VAT H )

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - September 2017 - v2