Resurgent Detroit gives cause for optimism
It had a totally different vibe… Y ou can’t guage what’s going to happen during the year from the mood at one auto show. Or even two or three. If you recall the shows early in 2008, including the NADA …
Category: Opinion
It’s the little things…
A bit of extra time and effort can help set you apart Like many people, I keep my car clean. Don’t even think about bringing fast food into my car, and sorry kids, no peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on …
Business in a time of austerity
Moving beyond temporary stimulus A new year is upon us and with it has come the annual tendency to reflect on the past and look with optimism to the future. The days are finally getting longer and soon the consumer …
Welcome the New Year with optimism
And make sure you’ve got a ‘Plan B’ As you read through this magazine, you’ll no doubt recognize that its overriding theme is ‘the year ahead’. Nothing unusual about that. The New Year is a natural time to reflect on …
A new beginning for us in 2011
But most of the players remain the same By the time this magazine lands in your hands, the smell of paint in our new offices will be gone. For now, as I type this out, it is still very much …
AJAC awards benefit both consumers and dealers
Published test data are a treasure of useful information As I write this note, I’ve just returned from spending the better part of a week at the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada’s (AJAC) annual TestFest in Niagara on the Lake, …
Is the future of the automobile really electric?
Not everybody is a believer After more than a century of domination by the internal combustion engine, the age of the electric automobile is now upon us. Or so politicians and the mass media would have us believe. Increasingly stringent …
Who are you really competing against?
The local independent may go away, but you won’t necessarily benefit. It is often suggested that the increased technological complexity of modern vehicles will drive the service business back to the dealer, away from an aftermarket that can’t keep up …
Double dip?
Is Canada’s future V- or W-shaped? To many, the term “double-dip” brings to mind nothing more sinister than a breach of snacking etiquette from a long-lost episode of Seinfeld. For others it’s a tasty treat from Tim Horton’s. Recently, however, …
Words of wisdom
From somebody who really knows This summer, I had the privilege of sitting down with Marcus Breitschwedt, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Canada, for an in-depth chat about that company’s phenomenal success in recent years, and the reasons behind it. …
Regionalism – a strength and a weakness
It’s time to deconstruct some of the walls that constrain us Canada is a vast country – the world’s second largest by land mass. Though sparsely populated, it spans six time zones and is made up of regions that are …
CADEX is cancelled
As you likely know by now, I decided to cancel the CADEX event. As a final point of closure, I thought I would use this column to share some of the feedback I’ve received since making that decision. For those …
