Toronto, Ontario — June 22, 2018 — In today’s Friday Fun: beware of online parts deals in Saskatchewan, glass repairers in B.C. vent their anger, and much, much more.
An auto dealership in Wetaskiwin, Saskatchewan, recently suffered a theft of some $70,000 worth of tires and rims. The thieves struck over a recent weekend, hitting the Denham Ford dealership between Saturday evening and Monday morning. According to police someone out there is sitting on a stash of fifty-six tires and rims The local RCMP anticipates that these tires and rims may, “… surface on social network sites or in pawn shops. The public is reminded to be very cautious when any on-line deal appears ‘too good to be true’.” https://bit.ly/2lkTk0m
Believe it or not, but Korean built cars have the fewest glitches and flaws as they come off the assembly line. This is a remarkable change from the mid-1990s when Korean cars were a running joke in terms of quality. At that time the Japanese and German car makers led the quality control rankings. How times have changes. A vehicle quality tracking poll by J.D. Power, finds that, “Toyota and BMW and other stalwarts of quality and reputation are chasing Hyundai, Kia and Hyundai luxury brand Genesis for the fewest glitches and design flaws… The three Korean brands, which are all controlled by the Hyundai Motor Group, have the fewest problems per 100 new vehicles. The Genesis luxury brand, launched by Hyundai in 2016 topped the list with 68 problems per 100 cars. “Genesis–a lineup up of two cars with a third on the way– beat the previous top-ranked luxury brands Porsche (with 79 problems per 100) and Lexus… Earlier this year, Genesis also led Consumer Reports’ list of top-ten brand rankings,” according to a media report. https://bit.ly/2M7XKDf
Worries about Donald Trump-related economic chaos have broken out in the southern Ontario auto town of Windsor. There workers in the few remaining auto plants have concerns that a suggested 25 percent tariff on auto parts would be the death knell for the city. “I can’t even imagine what the city would look like without Chrysler in it,” said an auto worker in an interview in the Windsor Star. “This city would become a ghost town.” Chrysler still employs 6,000 people at its assembly plant, which is the single largest manufacturing workplace in Canada. GM shut its last plant in Windsor in 2010. But Ford still has two engine plants there. Each one of these jobs is said to support nine others in the city. If a Trump tariff trashes the cross-border trade in auto-parts the city is in trouble. https://bit.ly/2JSr6sJ
Glass repair shops in B.C. are outraged over the recent decision by the provincial auto insurer, ICBC, to apply a 14 percent reduction in the compensation for windshield replacements. A local newspaper contacted three local auto glass repairers to ask about the consequnces of the policy change. One owner of a South Surrey Broco Glass outlet says the change will cost individual shops, “… at least $50,000 per year.” Said the source, “It’s a huge, huge number.” He went on to say that the policy is, “… in direct conflict with the government’s position of supporting the working class.” According to the owner, “This doesn’t impact anybody but, actually, the business owners. This cut is directly impacting us as a business owner and we have to look at it. Are we going to have enough money to pay the rent? To pay the employees?” The ICBC released a statement June 7 saying that “… glass repair and replacements have increased by 140 per cent over the past 10 years, to $96 million from $40 million.” According to the media report, “… the reason, ICBC says, is because of an increase in both the number of claims being made and the average cost of those claims.” The shop owner goes on to make an important point, explaining that claims are, “… more expensive because of advancements in technology, including displays that project on glass, cameras, lane departure warnings, rain sensors, heating devices…” That is, the increasing complexity of vehicles is a big reason for the increase in claims cost. Every car has sensors and cameras hanging off it now. And all the electronics used to operate those have to be repaired now as well. “And with that, our requirements have changed with training and expertise that we need to have, but our rate — our door rate that we’ve had for 15 years went up by $1,” said the source. “If you look at what has happened in the last 15 years in this area. What was the price of property 15 years ago? What was the average income 15 years ago? What was the average rent 15 years ago? Everything went up exponentially, while our labour rate with ICBC basically stayed the same… It went up from $53.04 to $54.03, that was two years ago,” he was quoted as saying.
Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) just submitted its general rate application to the Public Utilities Board (PUB). MPI is calling for a “modest” 2.2 percent increase in auto insurance rates next year according to a local news report. The average passenger vehicle owner could see their premiums bumped up by $27 if MPI’s request is greenlighted according to the report. For some reason MPI recommends that trailers and off-road vehicles see a reduction in their premiums. Off-road vehicles could see a reduction of 20% in their insurance costs. This year’s rate increase is much less than the 3.7 percent increase last year.
