Re: Manual or Automatic in Canada?
 

My pickup has 5 speed manual transmission. It's a Mazda B4000. A great workhorse.

Re: Manual or Automatic in Canada?
 

is it more expensive to buy cars that arnt made in Canada or the US? people talking about VW's and your mazda i would have thought were difficult to get hold of

Re: Manual or Automatic in Canada?
 

Yes and No. "Imports" sell at a slight price premium I guess, but in many cases the waters are very clouded, with many GMs made in the Far east, and some "imports" made in Canada and the US.

VWs here tend to be made in Mexico, and the B4000 is a Ford Ranger by any other name.

Re: Manual or Automatic in Canada?
 

Too add to Iaink's comments the term "Imports" is more often these days directed at Car's of foreign ownership rather that the actual place of manufacture as many are bulit these days in North America

Although "Domestics" does still mean built localy, it can also be used to imply "Union Built" and to some extent poor build quality as well

The term Reliable Domestic is not a term you find in common use, as opposed to Reliable Import, same can be said to a degree for Luxury Domestic and Luxury import

Re: Manual or Automatic in Canada?
 

My Mercedes was built in Alabama
My Golf in Germany
My Subaru, Japan, though many are built in the US

You need to check out individual models, rather than assume a foreign brand is manufactured abroad.

Re: Manual or Automatic in Canada?
 

I dont think there is a lot of difference in quality / reliability now between "Domestic" and "Imports"


Maybe 10, 15 years ago that was true, but the likes of GM and Ford have come on in leaps and bounds in the last 5-10 years. The main differences I guess are in how brands are perceived, and in more intangible things like interior materials and environment.


There are very few lemons of any variety nowadays.

Re: Manual or Automatic in Canada?
 

True, but more tangible aspects such as NVH, ride, handling, economy etc are big differentiators too.

Re: Manual or Automatic in Canada?
 

I'd beg to differ, the local brands have not put the attention to detail and overall build quality in to their models that many of the Asian and European brands have. Yes the domestic manufactures have come on leaps and bounds, but so have their competition and they had a head start ,
To me after the big crunch it’s interesting that both Ford and GM have started to use their European connections to improve there imagery when appealing to the customer..

I d liken it to saying domestics having gone from Bad to Good, you have to acknowledge their competitors were already at good and have moved to better

FWIM I own two Domestic Fords!

Re: Manual or Automatic in Canada?
 

Some of the materials and build quality of the interiors of the domestic cars are very bad. I used to own a 2000 Ford focus in the UK, lovely car. I sat in a 2008 Ford Focus in Canada and oh my god. The centre console was wobbling. The glove compartment was made out of paper. The build quality of the interior was so bad and it only came in a 2.5 engine. How do you take a good car and make it bad..? :blink:

I think the jury is still out on Domestic vehicles. Have a look at simple components, i.e look at a door hinge on a Cadillac Escalade and on a Golf. The difference in engineering is quite big. The door hing on the golf is the same you would get on a Bentley. I recall the door seizing up on my bro in laws Cadillac, it was down to it poor engineering.

Re: Manual or Automatic in Canada?
 

My point was they are just as well screwed together and just as unlikely to fail in service as the imports. Relatively speaking German and Japanese reliability is no longer a sales advantage for them, if anything as systems have become more complex, the rate of niggly failures for VW, BWM et al seems to have gone up relative to the domestic competition.

Domestics tend not to be tuned for a sporty ride, but the roads here are straight and pothole strewn, so maybe its horses for courses to some extent. I would agree that interiors here tend to the cheap and nasty, on the other hand my 1.8 Civic (CAnada built) cost me $20k, the UK Civic would start around £18k, so its not hard to see something had to give.

Re: Manual or Automatic in Canada?
 

You can buy certain models and makes.
Look on Kijji and you can select by manufacturer and make.
Im currently researching the market as Im moving back over to Canada in a few months.
The market is a bit different. I found German vehicles very very expensive. I had problems with electrics on my golf, but I found that related to the weather (wires hardening up in -30 and poor connectors used in manufacture).

Domestics like Ford, GM etc are cheaper, but I found they depreciate a lot quicker, interior builds are cheaper. But parts/service wise they are much much cheaper.
A lot of people tend to go Japanese in terms of reliability. But as Honda, Toyota have upscaled a little. Companies like Hyundai and Kia have moved in at the smaller end of the market.

There is not much variety in terms of models in comparison to the UK. You can go German, Japanese(or Korean) or American. Not much else really. All three have pros and cons depending on your needs.

Re: Manual or Automatic in Canada?
 

I'd factor in quality of steel, quality of rust proofing, coatings..
Domestics rust faster, have less protection in susceptible areas..
There's good reasons why they depreciate a lot quicker (or in my case require more fixing up)

The engine might be just as well screwed together, but the bodywork and or the transmission will fail much sooner than its "import" equivalent

Re: Manual or Automatic in Canada?
 

I have a 2007 VW. The hinges in both doors are loose so you have to lift the door in order to close it on to the latch. The retaining straps on both doors broke off long ago. And while we're on apertures, the struts that used to hold bonnet and boot open no longer have any thrust. I don't think one can say that the design and construction quality of the 2007 VW is an improvement on, say, the 1966 Ford Cortina. At no time in the life of the car have all the electrical components worked at the same time, even under warranty one headlamp was always dark because the wire fell off. Poor engineering. Maybe also poor build quality but it's not a vehicle that seems to have been designed by someone who had previously been in a car.

Re: Manual or Automatic in Canada?
 

I've got one of each but as soon as my Son passes his driving test (in my manual) then I'll be flogging it. I now prefer left foot braking with an automatic.

Re: Manual or Automatic in Canada?
 

I have never attempted to use it - just another thing to help lose concentration when driving imo.