交易倍增 约千部没防盗装置难领牌
(多伦多21日加新社电)强势加币促使加拿大人南下购车，民众今年10月从美国购买将近2.5万辆汽车，比去年同月劲升100%，但大约1,000辆没有防盗装置，不合新法规，它们或无法领取加拿大车牌。
加拿大运输部指出，24,873辆汽车10月从美国进口，比去年同月进口12,289辆加倍有多。同期加国新车销量下跌，从8月的158,394辆降至10月121,000辆。
国内新车销量相应下跌
专家指出，加拿大汽车滞销，很多加拿大人采取观望态度，暂时不买汽车，期待加拿大车价进一步下降。有人因而警告，加元稳定升值对经济有害。
这个说法无法阻止数以万计加拿大人南下，每周跨越美国边境寻找平货。
加拿大人要省钱，最大的节省要算汽车，许多人到边境南方买车，说他们节省最多2万元。
但不是所有购买平车的人，都能将新车开上路。
加拿大运输部最新法例，规定所有汽车安装电子熄火防盗系统，大约1,000辆进口美国汽车没有这种防盗装置，或无法领取牌照。
尽管加拿大运输部说新法继续有效，它也承认有些车辆购买时间，介于新法生效的9月1日和法规贴上网站的日期。
但主要的混淆在于，不是所有汽车和型号都能安装这类防盗装置。
为了避免那些车辆押在边境，加拿大运输部授权加拿大边境服务局官员，允许车主将车子开回家，同时给了一张盖上“未批准”印记的文件。
运输部发言人沙雷特(Patrick Charette)说：“没有保证这辆汽车获准，或最终获发加拿大车牌和执照。”
Canadians bought 25,000 cars in U.S. in October
Nov 21, 2007 06:20 PM
THE CANADIAN PRESS
A soaring loonie pushed the number of cars Canadians purchased south of the border in October to nearly 25,000 – an increase of more than 100 per cent over the same month last year.
“We have been seeing a steady increase throughout 2007 and it really reflects the fact that the Canadian dollar has been appreciating against the U.S. greenback, making it more attractive for Canadians to go down into the U.S. and pick up a vehicle,” said Carlos Gomes, senior economist with Scotia Economics.
According to Transport Canada, 24,873 cars were imported from the United States in October, more than double the number of cars – 12,289 – imported in the same month last year.
Simultaneously, the number of new car sales in Canada has declined from 158,394 in August to 121,000 in October.
Some experts say the number of Canadians who are holding off making purchases hoping to see lower vehicle prices here in Canada has added to that decline, which has prompted warnings that a steady rise of the loonie is hurting the economy.
However, that argument does not seem to stop tens of thousands of Canadians who cross the U.S. border every week looking for bargains.
And savings can be nowhere more significant than when purchasing a car. Many motorists who have purchased a car south of the border say they’ve saved in some cases up to $20,000.
But not all car bargain hunters have been able to take their newly bought wheels for a drive.
A new regulation by Transport Canada that requires that all vehicles be equipped with an electronic immobilization system means about a thousand cars without the anti-theft device purchased by Canadians in the U.S. may never be licensed.
While Transport Canada says the new regulation is here to stay, it admits some of those cars may have been purchased between Sept. 1, when the new regulation came into effect, and the time when the agency posted it on its website.
“There was a delay before the website was updated,” Patrick Charette, a spokesman for Transport Canada admitted in an interview with The Canadian Press.
“I know that people clicked on the website and the car wasn’t listed as not admissible. They bought the car and by the time they came back they said `Oops, now it’s listed as not admissible.”
The confusion arises from the fact that not all cars and models can be equipped with the anti-theft device.
To avoid having those cars held at the border, Transport Canada has authorized Canada Border Service Agency agents to allow owners to drive their cars home with a form clearly marked “not admissible.”
“There’s no guarantee that this car will ever be admissible and will ever be allowed to stay in Canada with plate and license,” said Charette.
However, he said authorities were working to find a temporary solution.
” We want to make sure that we can get a balance between our safety approach and the situation obviously consumers are facing,” Charette said.
But experts are looking for a long-term solution, which would be same vehicle standards in the U.S. and Canada.
“Most of the cars that we produce here in Canada are sent to the United States, so it would make sense that we would have a uniform standard . . . so that when you are assembling a vehicle you don’t have to be putting in certain technical requirements for the Canadian markets as opposed to the U.S.,” said Gomes.
“You would be able to produce the same vehicle for both markets.”
