Automotive News Canada - January 2023 - 30

30
01.23
30
FINAL ASSEMBLY
* JANUARY 2023
LETTING LOOSE A BIT ON THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF AUTOMOTIVE
Buyers searching for a bargain
Autotrader traffic shows
shoppers are looking to
save money at the pumps
INFLATION, INVENTORY
shortages and high pump prices
changed how Canadians shop for vehicles,
according to data released Dec. 9
by the online automotive marketplace
Autotrader.com Inc.
" Twenty twenty-two has been exceptionally
different to previous years,
with higher costs of living, vehicle
shortages and economic pressures
top of mind, " said Ian MacDonald,
Autotrader's chief marketing officer.
The Ford F-150 remains the mostsearched
vehicle on Autotrader.com,
while the Honda Civic moved up four
places to take second.
SUPPLIED PHOTO
For the eighth year in a row, topping
the search list was the Ford F-150. The
Honda Civic surged ahead four spots
to move into second place, followed by
the BMW 3 Series and Ford Mustang.
The Toyota Corolla rose to 15th most
searched from Jan. 1 to Dec. 9, 2022,
from 23rd in 2021.
Utility vehicles dominated searches
in Alberta and Manitoba, while pickups
stayed strong in Saskatchewan. Ontario
shifted to more economical vehicles,
with eight cars making the top-10
searches.
In Quebec, the Honda Civic took the
top spot, displacing the Porsche 911.
In Atlantic Canada, searches indicated
downsizing. The Toyota Highlander fell
from the top 10 and cars made up half the
list. Only the first-place F-150 countered
the trend, Autotrader said. - ANC
A study of 11.2 million Ontario drivers
linked the personality traits of vaccine
hesitancy to an increased likelihood of
vehicle crashes.
PHOTO: DANIEL SCHLUDI ON UNSPLASH
'
SAY WHAT?
What this
regulation does is
regulate Canadians
to buy vehicles
they can't charge
or can't afford.
That's a problem.
Brian Kingston,
president of the Canadian
Vehicle Manufacturers'
Association, on Ottawa's
plan to mandate electric
vehicle sales.
CONVOY
OF CARING
THIS NUMBER
1,505,268
Total new-vehicle sales in
2022, down 8.8 per cent from
the 1,651,273 sold in 2021
But one politician says
Windsorites need to
adopt the mantra that
the battery plant is
good for the economy
IT'S TOUTED AS THE SECOND
coming of the auto industry, but
the massive battery facility being
built by Stellantis and the South
Korea-based technology company
LG Energy Solution is a noise
nightmare for some residents of
Windsor, Ont.
GM Canada
carries on
a colleague's
50-plus-year
tradition
of helping
children
A CONVOY OF
Chevrolet Silverado
pickups delivered
$313,000 in toys, gifts and
monetary donations to
the Durham Children's
Aid Foundation on
behalf of GM Canada
and its dealers.
In a LinkedIn post,
GM Canada President
Marissa West thanked
staff and dealers " who
gave to a great cause. "
West said the donations
continue the legacy
of Sharon Clark, a former
GM employee who
died in April 2020. Clark
founded Sharon's Kids
at the Oshawa Assembly
Plant in 1968, according
to a bio on the Durham
foundation's website.
The plant builds the
Silverado.
While working as a
file clerk in the engineering
department, Clark
proposed that funds
from a Christmas gift
exchange - for which
co-workers contributed
$2 each - be directed
to people in need. Clark
celebrated a 50-year relationship
with the foundation
in 2018. - ANC
And there are many more
such days ahead: The $5-billion
NextStar Energy Inc. facility is
expected to open in 2025 to supply
batteries for Stellantis vehicles.
Construction is at the foundation
stage, with workers installing
1,000 steel piles. Resident Jerry
Taylor said the constant banging
of the piles being driven into the
ground lasts 12 hours a day and is
so pervasive, he " hears " it even
when the site is shut down, CBC
News reported Dec. 19.
" When it's running, it's so
annoying, " Taylor said. " And like
I say, after a while, it's just like
it's on your nerves; you think you
hear it even in the middle of the
night. "
City officials and Stellantis said
they are reviewing the noise complaints
and are considering additional
sound-deadening materials,
such as soil berms, and a revised
construction schedule to help
mitigate the noise. Windsor City
Councillor Angelo Marignani told
CBC News that he sympathizes
with residents but said construction
is a necessary evil behind economic
growth.
The plant is expected to employ
2,500 workers. - ANC
GM Canada employees delivered
$313,000 in toys, gifts and
monetary donations to the Durham
Children's Aid Foundation.
PHOTO: MARISSA WEST/LINKEDIN
COVID-19 risks
tied to risky
driving behavior
Ontarians who threw
caution to the jab were
also more likely to flout
the rules of the road
A REPORT BY A TRIO OF TORONTObased
researchers who studied Ontario
traffic and vaccination data from 2021 concluded
that drivers who did not receive the
COVID-19 vaccine were 72 per cent more
at risk of crashing than those who got the
jab, driving.ca reported.
The study, published Dec. 2 in The
American Journal of Medicine, reviewed
the records of more than 11.2 million
Ontario residents, 84 per cent of whom
were vaccinated. Researchers then linked
the residents to 6,682 traffic crashes during
August 2021, that resulted in emergency
care for either driver, passenger or
pedestrian. That month was chosen after
researchers determined that by then, all
drivers studied were eligible to be vaccinated.
Unvaccinated
drivers accounted for 16
per cent of residents in the study, but 25
per cent of the incidents.
Researchers did not tie having the vaccine
to greater safety but concluded that
the personality traits that lead to vaccine
hesitancy might also lead to the risky
behaviours associated with many crashes,
such as speeding, being inattentive, tailgating,
disobeying signals, passing improperly,
failing to yield the right of way or
driving while impaired. - ANC
The bang, bang, bang of construction: Deaf by a thousand piles
Government and industry officials celebrate the
groundbreaking of the NextStar Energy battery plant,
but for some Windsor residents the party is over.
PHOTO: STELLANTIS
'
http://www.Autotrader.com http://www.Autotrader.com http://www.driving.ca
Automotive News Canada - January 2023

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