Marketing U.S.Vehicles in Canada
No doubt www.carswithoutborders.com readers, and members, realize that many dealers across Canada import U.S vehicles and resell them to consumers. It is a well-documented fact!
What caught me by surprise is how different regions portray this fact. As some of you may know, I used to work for a company that assisted dealers in importing vehicles from the United States. We travelled between Toronto and Ottawa promoting our software to local automotive associations and dealerships. Dealers in both cities were intrigued with the software, but reacted differently.
Some dealers in the Ottawa area have been importing U.S vehicles for many months, if not years. They would even go to the extreme of proudly announcing low priced American vehicles in newspaper ads and radio commercials. The advertisements went out of their way to say how these dealers shopped for the best prices for their customers. Essentially, the consumer was getting what they asked for…fair pricing.
Toronto was a completely different story. Despite the fact that some dealers were importing U.S vehicles no one was supposed to know, especially the consumer. Our attempt to align ourselves with the local automotive association fell on deaf ears. No one wanted to admit that they imported American cars for resale. It was like an episode of the X-Files. Admit nothing!
Why did these Toronto dealers react that way? Did they get pressure from their automaker to remain quiet? If so, why were Ottawa dealers shouting vehicle importation from the rooftops? Do these Toronto dealers believe the less said about importation the better? Better for whom? I guess some things are done differently in Toronto when compared to other municipalities in Canada. I just can’t help wonder why?
To be sure my comments are only an observation and not an accusation of any kind. It just illustrated how the same subject, in this case U.S. vehicle importation, is handled in different markets. Perhaps, that is where the answer lays…different markets. No cover-ups, no conspiracies, just different markets. I guess Scully and Mulder will continue chasing aliens instead.
What caught me by surprise is how different regions portray this fact. As some of you may know, I used to work for a company that assisted dealers in importing vehicles from the United States. We travelled between Toronto and Ottawa promoting our software to local automotive associations and dealerships. Dealers in both cities were intrigued with the software, but reacted differently.
Some dealers in the Ottawa area have been importing U.S vehicles for many months, if not years. They would even go to the extreme of proudly announcing low priced American vehicles in newspaper ads and radio commercials. The advertisements went out of their way to say how these dealers shopped for the best prices for their customers. Essentially, the consumer was getting what they asked for…fair pricing.
Toronto was a completely different story. Despite the fact that some dealers were importing U.S vehicles no one was supposed to know, especially the consumer. Our attempt to align ourselves with the local automotive association fell on deaf ears. No one wanted to admit that they imported American cars for resale. It was like an episode of the X-Files. Admit nothing!
Why did these Toronto dealers react that way? Did they get pressure from their automaker to remain quiet? If so, why were Ottawa dealers shouting vehicle importation from the rooftops? Do these Toronto dealers believe the less said about importation the better? Better for whom? I guess some things are done differently in Toronto when compared to other municipalities in Canada. I just can’t help wonder why?
To be sure my comments are only an observation and not an accusation of any kind. It just illustrated how the same subject, in this case U.S. vehicle importation, is handled in different markets. Perhaps, that is where the answer lays…different markets. No cover-ups, no conspiracies, just different markets. I guess Scully and Mulder will continue chasing aliens instead.
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