| Subject: Re: Hypothetical... Purely Canadian Car Industry |
Author:
Dennis Laurie
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Date Posted: 16:36:00 03/13/03 Thu
Author Host/IP: 098.216-123-194-0.interbaun.com/216.123.194.98
In reply to:
Greg Moors
's message, "Re: Hypothetical... Purely Canadian Car Industry" on 10:16:09 03/13/03 Thu
You make some good points, but you didn't actually address many of my original concerns.
You may gleefully buy a new CCC car out of your patriotism, which is great, but most people I know make their choice of car based on financial concerns. You have not touched on the point I raised about the higher cost of a CCC car; I outlined many costs that would be sure to shoot the price of a CCC car above the price of most other vehicles, likely on a vehicle class by class basis. I'd love to buy a CCC car if it was top quality and stylish, but only if it was affordable... more affordable than an American or European car. All the factors embedded in starting our own car industry makes it highly unlikely that a CCC car could compete pricewise with established and dominant car companies.
And perhaps your prediction is true, and the Canadian market flocks to the CCC products. Our country alone will not sustain a car company. We would need to break into the American market, or others. As I asked before, do you really think we could compete native car companies like the big three in the states, or any of the Asian or European companies on their turf? I don't believe so.
And in case you argue that our company would be small and serve only really the Canadian market, and that our country could sustain the CCC, why should the Federal Government go through all the trade trouble and capital costs of starting and establishing a Canadian Car Company if it will be such a minor player in the car industry as a whole anyway? Why would we not simply let or promote a private consortium do this?
Then that brings us to this question: If it is desirable and economical, even profitable, to start and maintain a Canadian Car Company, why has no private firm even tried? Why has our "Canadian Identity" obsessed Liberal government not floated the idea before or tried to implement it? I think there are good reasons for this. Patriotic feelings and environmentally concious sentiments are are fine and dandy, but it will be businessmen or the Federal government who has to live with the economic realities of this venture. Busnessmen haven't even touched this issue, for good reason I believe, and I sense that the people of this country would not be supportive of an effort by the Federal gov't to pursue this course in the face of the prohibitive economic realities.
It's not all about economics, but it's also not all about patriotism or environmentalism. There is a balance. Sometimes one comes out on top. In this case, most people I know, the "regular" Canadians, will buy what is safe, attractive, and most importantly, cheaper. I think the cost of a CCC car would fail the last criteria badly. Even if this was only for a few years, and the CCC cars became cheaper than most after 4 or 5 years, the fact that the Federal government, and thus taxpayers, would be footing the bill for an visible, uneconomical industry that is sure to be up against fierce opposition would grate on public opinion and would likely doom the industry before it ever became economical, or profitable, or affordable.
If you feel I'm out to lunch on this, feel free to challenge me assertions. I look forward to it.
Dennis Laurie
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