And the U.S. isn't? Minnesota and North Dakota aren't exactly balmy in the winter. If the GTO is "good enough" for them, it should be able to handle our winters without difficulty. I seem to recall GM doing some C5 HVAC (mostly heating ) development in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

 

Actually, there is truth to that. In Quebec, you see TONS of small cars , whereas in Ontario, you see lots more full size cars, suvs, etc. $$$ is the deciding factor. Gas is on average .10$ cents more per liter in Quebec than Ontario . Then, there is also the wages, jobs pay less in Quebec.

But yeah, like you said, it costs more here....

 

I have to chime in here with my fellow canucks here. Yes we as a collective seem to gravitiate towards smaller cars than US consumers, but there is an audience north of the 49th for horsepower. I feel that the GTO, if offered in Canada would indeed have it's fans and would sell. I'd take one. It would probably fair no better but certainly no worse than it does in the US. I still can't see why the car is seen as a sales flop by some. Yes the volumes are low, but it was destined to be that way anyway given the 18,000 unit ceiling but I digress.

As far as I know, temp issues are not what keeps the car off-limits it's the 5 mph bumper standards used in Canada. And no, Redzed, you can't simply import them into Canada as a used vehicle - something you suggested in another GTO thread some months ago - the car would have to be modified to conform to Canadian standards and since there are no such modification kits available, the car remains off-limits to any potential Canadian customers.

I live on the east coast, and our weather doesn't differ much from the NE US ie. things are fairly moderate, not so cold in the winter, not so hot in the summer. Well within the normal range of temperature extremes endured on this continent.

I for one would love to see the GTO offered here, hopefully without the pricing premium built in by GM as with the CTS-v and Corvette, for example where pricing differentials between US dollars, straight US to Cdn dollars and what GM actually sets as MSRP can widely vary. We are expected to pay as much as 20-26% more for a v car or a vette than a straight US to Cdn dollar conversion would imply. For some vehicles however, the differential applied makes the car cheaper here than in the US - Cobalt sedans for instance. Go figure.

 

Can't US bought used cars be registered in Canada?

 

You could, but if the car doesnt meet Canadian regulations, i could only imagine itll be a BIG headache.......kinda like importing Skylines to teh US used to be.....

 

Nothing can be further from the truth. Speaking for Alberta, the preferred powerplant in most vehicles are V8s. Full size SUVs, Trucks, and big cars are the mainstay here. After all, this is oil country! The new Hemi powered Chrysler 300 is selling like hot cakes, as is the new Mustang GT.

Alot of prairie dwellers purchase RVs (travel trailers, 5th wheels, etc) for summer vacationing, which requires big power to pull. I personally drive a 2004 GMC 1500/Z71 with a 5.3L.

 

Not if they don't meet our specs. When you import a car into Canada they'll look it up to see if it meets Canadian specs and if not, you won't be able to licence it and get plates. Transport Canada maintains a list of cars that are allowed pretty much without modification (most late-model cars), those that require certain things be done, and those that you just won't be able to get licensed at all, such as the GTO.

As to the mix of cars purchased in Canada, yes on average we tend to buy smaller, cheaper cars. This is due to a combination of lower wages, higher taxes, higher fuel prices, and a lower Canadian dollar (which makes imports more expensive). Put all that together and we simply have less disposable income to spend on cars.

Like Sharpshooter, I also lament the premium GM places on higher end cars like Vettes. However that is balanced somewhat by our lower end cars being cheaper than they are in the US on a straight dollar exchange. We've been able to buy Cavaliers for $12,000 for a few years now, even when the Loonie was only worth 65¢. In a way, since we build twice as many cars as we buy, a lower dollar should be a net benefit to GM Canada and therefore they should be able to sell their cars even cheaper when our dollar is lower. Well, I wish it would work that way anyhow .

 

Yep. What R377 said. The list of what vehicles are and conversely, aren't legal in Canada, what modifications are necessary to legalize a vehicle and time limits, inspection process etc is available from the Transport Canada website. 2004-05 GTO is off limits.

 

From what I've read on the RIV (Registrar of imported vehicles) site once a vehicle is more the 15 years old it automatically becomes "admissible".

I'm hoping GM replaces the current GTO with one that is Canada compliant before 2019.

 

Don't think so.

 

Redzed you are wrong yet again about Canada...
You really can't post information based off stereotypes Redzed. I live in Edmonton Alberta, in the middle of Canada and 300km north of Calgary.
Just to let you know, most of the populated areas in Canada aren't antartica.
It is only in northern Canada, where no one lives anyways, that there are these extreme temperatures. (Well of course some people live there but nothing compared to the populated areas.)
I am writing from Edmonton here and the weather is quite nice.
Canada's weather has nothing to do with bringing the GTO here.

Also Redzed you overlooked the fact that the US is full of places that get pretty cold too.