Automotive News Canada - June 2021 - 34

34
06.21
34
FINAL ASSEMBLY
* JUNE 2021
LETTING LOOSE A BIT ON THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF AUTOMOTIVE
SAY WHAT?
It's more
important to
me than money,
status or ego.
Retiring auto industry analyst
Dennis DesRosiers
on mentoring
young people
and leaving
his business
on a firm
footing
On YouTube, Sophia Gosselin pitched the Dodge Challenger, undeterred that
she isn't a salesperson by training. SCREEN GRAB
A REVIEW WITH HEART
11-year-old says she
doesn't know much
about cars, but she
knows what she likes
Hall of
Fame for
'Superfan'
Nav Bhatia scored from
the seats with
his Raptor rapture
JOHN STOCKTON, KARL MALONE
and, now, Nav Bhatia.
All three are car dealers who
also happen to be members of the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall
of Fame in Springfield, Mass.
But unlike Stockton and Malone,
Bhatia has never
actually played
in a National
Basketball
Bhatia: In the
Hall of Fame,
although he
never played
the game
PHOTO VIA
TWITTER
Association game.
He is, rather,
the first fan to be
inducted, in recognition
of his attendance
at every
Toronto Raptors
home game -
before coronavirus
restrictions broke
that streak - since
the team began
playing in 1995.
Bhatia owns two Hyundai dealerships
and a Genesis store in the
Toronto area.
" Today was a dream, " Bhatia
tweeted after the induction ceremony
in mid-May.
Bhatia, who is Sikh, immigrated
from India in 1984 and worked his
way up from car salesman to dealership
owner. His Nav Bhatia Superfan
Foundation builds basketball courts
for kids across Canada and uses the
sport to unite people of different ages
and backgrounds to help them avoid
the discrimination that Bhatia says
he has faced as a member of a minority
group. - ANC
AN IMPROMPTU, UNSCRIPTED
review of a new Dodge Challenger,
filmed and posted to YouTube by an
11-year-old Windsor, Ont., girl, has
melted the heart of Stellantis North
America COO Mark Stewart.
Sophia Gosselin, daughter of
Stellantis Canada spokeswoman
LouAnn Gosselin, posted the video
to her YouTube channel - Double
Trouble Alex and Sophia - without
her mother knowing.
She takes a little over eight minutes
describing the merits of the car,
highlighting her favourite features.
But the review comes with the
most genuine caveat.
" I don't really study cars, " Sophia
says, before cutely proving her point.
" My favourite part is probably the
muffler right here, " she says as she
points to the air intake on the hood.
And then it's quickly around to
the back, to tell viewers what it is her
twin brother, Alex, loves.
" Honestly, I don't know much
about cars, " Sophia says as she points
to the tailpipe, adding that her brother
" loves this part where all the
smoke comes out. "
And there's plenty of room for storage.
" It
doesn't look like there's a lot
of room in there, " Sophia says as she
pops the trunk, " but me and Alex
actually fit in there. I'll get in and
show you. "
And she does.
All of it left Stellantis' Stewart
enamoured. So much so that he played
Sophia's video for all salaried employers
in North America at a recent virtual
town hall meeting.
" When I saw the video, I knew it
would be great to share with the entire
Stellantis family, " he said in a statement.
" It proves that car enthusiasts
exist at all ages. I loved it! " - ANC
Have shots, will travel
Mobile vaccination
units hit the streets
in Nova Scotia, Toronto
FIFTEEN MONTHS AFTER
COVID-19 arrived in Canada, the auto
industry continues to fight the deadly
virus, this time with wheels on the
ground.
In Nova Scotia, Tri-Star Industries
in Yarmouth, which has been building
emergency vehicles since 1973, has converted
ProMaster 3500 vans into mobile
vaccination clinics for the Nova Scotia
Health Authority. And in Toronto,
Downtown Auto Group's Downtown
Toyota dealership has provided three
2021 Toyota Sienna hybrid minivans to
Women's College Hospital for its Mobile
COVID-19 initiatives around the city,
the dealership group said.
Tri-Star recently began outfitting
the ProMaster 3500 vans with immunization
supplies, storage and network
capabilities to document the administration
of vaccines. The company
worked with Ram's fleet department to
source the vans, Postmedia reported.
In Toronto, Downtown Toyota is
Downtown Toyota donated Sienna
hybrid minivans to bring a Toronto
hospital's COVID-19 services to
residents throughout the city.
PHOTO: TOYOTA CANADA
supplying drivers - retired employees
who have been vaccinated - to
chauffeur the mobile vaccination
teams and will sanitize the vehicles
between shifts.
The minivans will be used to help
vaccinate residents who might have
difficulty travelling.
" When we heard that Women's
College Hospital's vaccination teams
were relying on taxis and car-sharing
services to move around the city
to administer health care for our communities,
friends and peers, we realized
we could help them, " said Shahin
Alizadeh, president of Downtown
Auto Group. - ANC
'
Tay-can
heat for
tax break
Ottawa gives
dealership $2.9 million
in relief, gets grief
A PROPOSED PORSCHE
dealership in Ottawa is getting a big
break on its property taxes in an
effort to tie future property-tax revenue
to affordable housing.
Ottawa City Council passed the
$2.9 million, 15-9, but not without
raising the ire of some councillors
and residents.
Under the plan, the Porsche store
would generate $3.88 million in
property taxes over 10 years once it
opens, according to
the Ottawa Citizen
newspaper.
Mayor Jim
Watson proposed
using $6 million in
increased property
taxes over 20 years
to build affordable
housing.
Not everyone is
on board.
" It will do
nothing for
urban renewal, "
Councillor
Catherine
McKenney:
$2.9-million
property-tax
break " will
do nothing
for urban
renewal. "
McKenney told the newspaper.
On May 25, the day before the
vote, a small group of protesters
gathered outside Mark Motors'
Audi dealership, the CBC reported.
Mark Motors applied for
the break through Ottawa's
Community Improvement Plan,
something a number of businesses
have accessed. It's a program that
exists in several Ontario cities and
is designed to spur investment.
Councillor Eli El-Chantiry told
the Citizen it was unfortunate that
Mark Motors was being dragged
into a controversy for simply
applying for something that's available
to any qualified business.
" They've been through the
mud on this file only because
they're requesting something we
already give to other businesses, "
El-Chantiry said. - ANC
THIS NUMBER
57%
According to a CADA survey, the
percentage of Canadian dealers
who think their automakers are
favouring U.S. retailers for vehicle
allocation during the global
microchip shortage.
'
Automotive News Canada - June 2021

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