Chrysler Surpasses Ford as Canada’s Biggest Seller of Light Trucks

Canada’s economy seems unaffected by most of the Western World’s woes, where markets are struggling and unemployment is booming. In fact, Canada’s economy is growing and as a result, unemployment is falling and people are getting jobs. Therefore, they have money to buy cars, or light trucks, pickups and SUVs.

“People who are getting jobs are opting for practical vehicles such as a crossover to get better mileage than a traditional SUV”, said Carlos Gomes, an economist at Scotia Capital. “You have the construction sector holding up very well, and that is positive for the pickup segment.”

This has worked very well for Chrysler, which in the first half of the year has overtaken Ford in light truck segment. That is because, with oil prices rising, new truck buyers are opting for more fuel-efficient models.

For instance, Chrysler’s Dodge Journey sales increased more than the SUVs of rivaling carmakers Ford and GM, the Escape and the Chevrolet Equinox respectively.

However, in total vehicles sales including cars, Ford still leads the market with a 17.4% share, having also beaten GM in 2010 for the first time in many decades. GM is second, with a 15.5% market share, but it can feel Chrysler breathing down its neck with 15.0% and only 4,000 vehicles difference in the first half of the year.

Via Bloomberg

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It Came From eBay Hell: Custom Made Canadian “Woodie”

One of my all-time favourite cars is the 1948 Ford Super Deluxe. The station wagon and Sportsman convertible variants were the last true “woodies” and in my mind the best looking of the bunch.

On the opposite end of the scale is this hand-built woodie pick-up from Quebec, Canada. It’s like a child’s drawing of a pick-up truck come to life or maybe the first car designed and built exclusively by the Amish.

It was intended as a static display / parade float / advertising showpiece, though personally I think it’d be better suited as kindling or beaver food.

Underneath that svelte body is the engine, transmission, chassis and suspension of a 1993 Chevrolet S10. With a 2.8 L V6 and manual transmission, you couldn’t pay me to drive this thing.

The body is roasted grey pine and the hubcaps are Russian plywood.

The Buy It Now price on eBay, for what the seller describes as a, “Unique, original and certainly an excellent advertising tool for your business,” is CA$16,000 (US$16,726 / €11,834 at the time this article was written).

Unsurprisingly, no one has made an offer on it yet. The seller is keen the point out that this car cannot be exported to the United States due to its hand-built body and recent vintage.

You can check out our full gallery below and leave a comment if you wish.

By Tristan Hankins

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GM Recalling 47,401 Cadillac SRX Crossovers Over Airbag Software Issue

A potential issue with an air-curtain air bag that may not deploy during a crash has prompted the U.S. recall of 47,401 Cadillac SRX crossovers from the 2011 model year. For the same reason, 3,099 vehicles are being recalled in Mexico and Canada, with GM stating that the problem is only in North America.

The Detroit automaker said the car’s computer is programmed to turn off the right side roof-rail airbag if someone is not sitting in the front passenger seat thus not protecting the rear occupants in the event of a crash. GM said it will reprogramme the system to allow the air-curtain to open even if the front passenger seat is not occupied. The company added that it is not aware of any injuries or complaints related to this issue.

As expected, GM’s dealers will reprogram the sensing and diagnostic module free of charge. The safety recall is expected to begin on or about June 17, 2011

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Bright colorful tattoos from Ian Preeper at Classy Tattoo Company in Nova Scotia

free handed this on with sharpie, about 2 1/2 hours







plastic rotary machine haha...pic on the right is a bit blurry...i'll get a better one later
See more at http://classytattooco.yolasite.com/
Come get some color! Classy Tattoo Co. 6100 Young St, Halifax! Nova Scotia