You actually got everything backwards.

The US dollar has dropped in relation to the Canadian dollar. That leaves 2 possibilities:

1. If US prices rise to make up for the falling dollar (which it will eventially) that's inflation for us in the US.

2. If prices here in the US stay the same despite the falling dollar, then the price difference between us and Canada becomes greater.

There's no "Canadian Markup" as you call it. GM is simply not cutting prices for Canada... and neither is any other automaker from the US, Europe, or the other side of the pacific.

If GM is making less money (using global currency) on a car sold in the US, why would they cut the prices on that same car sold outside the US, and make even less money???

 

Well...wouldn't be the first time...

1/ Yes, but unlikely, you guys are not that far down the drain...I do not see inflation going very high in the short term for the US

2/ The price difference (currency adjusted!!!) has been historically over 20% on a wide range of items including cars...if that gap continues to widen you will see Canadians react negatively (I Hope)...and I expect GM to see the error of their ways before other car companies do...remember GM has everything to lose (including market share)

There is a "Canadian Markup" - many businesses have been taking advantage of Canadians for years - remember I am talking about currency adjusted prices (and before sales taxes)...so even when the Canadian dollar was less valuable the adjusted prices for lots of items (CDs, books, cars) has always been higher in Canada. The currency difference "hid" this fact for a long time but it is now coming to light.

There are reasons for this...

1/ Canadians are a laid back people and we don't complain much (as a whole - I bitch and moan every chance I get)

2/ Yes, the smaller market here does affect pricing...but come on we are talking 25%+...

I am not sure about how NAFTA fits in...I do not know if Canada puts tariffs on US cars...can someone answer that?

The bottom line is this: GM needs the market share and goodwill of as many customers as possible...if I see someone buying the same car for 25% less (and it's not like I am in Siberia...I am a 1 hour drive to the border) AND it is made here (with our tax dollars funding the production to a certain extent - Ontario gave GM millions in tax breaks and incentives) AND our dollar is at par for so long a time (which kills the inventory argument & the cost of raw materials argument) then I am gonna get mad...and then I am gonna take my money elsewhere.

Or get a broker to import one (back ) IF GM doesn't try to make it difficult. That way I do pay a bit of a premium for the brokerage and import but not the full hit, if I bought down the street.

 

I'm sure the first year (at least) GM will do the same thing they did with the '08 Corvettes. Claim the bumpers did not meet Canadian standards and mark the cars unable to be modified to meet the standard so you can't import them. We're going to get screwed, don't worry... I'm sure it's already in the master plan.

Love GM, like the Camaro (so far, we'll see at release), hate the crap they pull.

PS-> Here's a link to an importing cars Wiki I noticed posted here in another thread. Doubt we'll get to use it though: http://www.carburner.com/index.php?title=Main_Page

In response to the question and Nafta, here it is:
NAFTA cars are vehicles that have been manufactured or have been assembled in Canada/US/Mexico with a minimum of 55% content. A "NAFTA" vehicle is exempt of ANY tariffs, duties or taxes when sold in Canada/US/Mexico.

 

I priced out a 2008 Silverado LTZ on GM Canada and GM USA and right away, there are significant price differences. Examples are the EZ lift tailgate being $95 for the US Silverado and $125 for the Canadian, or the Safety package being $715 US and $1270 Canadian. Base price for an extended cab 4x4 short box Silverado LTZ is $35,940.00 US, while it is $43,775 Canadian. Toss in a feature or two for the sake of argument and, optioned exactly the same, the trucks come out to $37,750.00 US and $48,850 Canadian...

The Canadian dollar has been on par with the American dollar since before October. Yes, the CAD took a 2 cent slide last week, but it is still around 99 cents US mark and was as high as $1.10 at one point, versus the US dollar. This looks to be the trend. Now... 10 thousand dollars is a lot of money. Don't get me wrong, I would love more than anything to buy this car, but given that it is being built in Canada, given that, barring anything disastrous, the dollars will stay relatively equal, I see no reason to charge $10,000 more for an equally optioned vehicle simply because it is being sold north of the 49th parallel.

I have faith in the car. That being said, Pricing is the biggest concern I have and I hope that the right people are reading this and taking it into consideration because that will be a dealbreaker for many potential buyers.

 

Actually, many foreign manufacturers are lowering the prices of their cars in Canada. Most of the German companies have this year (Mercedes, Audi and VW).

Cutting prices? When GM builds a car, it's costs are calculated in US dollars. If the Canadian dollar is stronger than it was when the Canadian MSRP was set for a particular vehicle (which obviously they took into account the exchange rate) then it means that they would make more money on the sale of that car after the Canadian dollar was exchanged back into US currency.

With respect to making less money in the US, there is no such thing as a global currency and so the cost of any imported material to develop a car would obviously raise the price of the car up in the US (exchange rate not withstanding). You can't expect one country's sales to support the sales of another. Each market must stand on it's own.

 

A base Z06 currently lists at $91,685 in Canada. There is also an $11,000 "price adjustment" from GM as a result of our dollar being at par with the US dollar... bring the list on a base Z06 down to $80,685.
That being said, one of our local Chevy dealers here in the Toronto had a new '08 Jetstream Blue Z06 (base car with competition grey wheels) advertised at $72.995 + all taxes and destination charge of $1495.

Les Stanford Chevrolet in Detroit shows a new Z06 (base) listed at $72,125 which includes the $850 destination charge.

It appears that actual transaction prices for this car are substantially below list in both countries... although still approx. $10G less in the US.
http://www.chirpthird.com/vb/showthread.php?t=10547

... couple of the Canadian posters did not take into consideration the $11G "price adjustment as noted on the chevrolet.ca website...

Best regardSS,

Elie

 

But the Camaro is going to be manufactured in Canada.

 

Ya but don't ask me how they do it, but the car will still be sold cheaper in the states then here. That is what they are doing now with the Silverados and Impalas which are built up here.

 

Well the drivetrains are still assembled in the US, so maybe... but with the weak US dollar, it should still be cheaper building them here and sending them to Canada. Hmmm... just how good is that CAW contract?

 

A lot can happen in the next year or two which would affect the price of the US dollar. GM probably doesn't want to be in a situation where they cut prices only to have to raise them the next model year.

 

So, which American G.M. dealer is going to come to rescue us " Canadian Camaro Enthusiasts " ? There must be some way for us Canucks to do a mass purchase south of the border ?? Think of the guaranteed sales !!

 

As a fellow Canuck I'm also very interested in what the $C pricing will eventually be.
I'm optimistic for a few reasons. Overall, prices are slowly coming down as manufacturers get used to the idea of our dollar being at par and I checked out the Mustang Canada prices and they are only a few thousand above the US price so I'm dure GM will have to price the Camaro in Canada competitively.
I imported this C2 from the US last fall so if the price is too high I will look at other choices out there both in Canada and US imports.

 

If it the car is not priced similarly to what it is in the states, I am going to support our US brothers economy and buying down there.
If they say doing that will void the warranty, I will buy down there anyways. I am done with being screwed up here. It's the same for everything. Price out stuff at Lowe's for example and compare to a Lowe's store up here.

 

This is not correct. Virtually all manufacturers are lowering prices in Canada. Porsche dropped their's 9%. As somebody else mentioned there are rebates on GM cars now. $10,000 on a Vette as mentioned. In most cases they are still higher than the US but at least they are getting closer. There are a lot of US imports coming across the border now and this only adds more pressure on them to bring their prices in line.
I think most Canadians can accept the fact that cars should be a little more expensive here, smaller market etc. but differences of 25% or higher are ridiculous.

 

IDK, maybe the west coast is different, but I just checked the the difference in price for the Mustang GT..... Can MSRP = $35,349..... US MSRP $26,240..... $9109. Even if I get a friend/relative to buy the car, and then transfer to me ( they'll pay the state tax ), I'll still be ahead by $7000 ( Imagine the upgrades you can get )