How come Canadians are more like Americans rather than Europeans in the automotive culture?

Question

Gas in Canada is expensive!! Yet they still drive big suv's and big cars like we Americans. They're not like Europeans where they drive a lot of small cars. Gas prices doesn't seem to hurt Canadians.

Answer 1

In addition to the above, Canada is a h**l of a lot more like the US, culture wise.  SUV-loving soccer moms exist here too.

Answer 2

Gas is now 1.30 per litre in Quebec (or roughly $5.20 a gallon) so the price is still lower than Europe, but higher than USA.

Car manufacturers in USA and Canada have always been hyping their SUV, 4X4, and AWD vehicles here in Canada, and many people buy them because they are worried about getting stuck in the snow and want to be safe in winter weather.

Oddly enough, I have always driven compact to midsize cars and never got stuck as long as I was using winter tires.

One interesting fact about cars here now with gas prices going up. GM and other car manufacturers have seen a 10% drop in their SUV sales in the last quarter, while Toyota reports a 69% increase in their sales of the Prius hybrid model. That suggests people are starting to be concerned about the costs and think about these factors now as opposed to just buying the SUV.

And really, how many of us need the SUV anyway? How many times are you going camping, offroad, or having to tow a heavy trailer or large boat?

Answer 3

Because Canada is more like the US (culture,life style, housing,cars etc) and yes it's true that the gas is expensive in Canada than US but cheaper than Europe....price doesn't hurt us cause we have a higher income

Answer 4

I don't think it has struck home yet for Canadians that high fuel prices are likely here to stay.

People do complain, and the number of commuters taking public transport seems to be rising. But there are still expectations that high fuel prices are a temporary phenomena, or that the government will do something about it if things get much worse.

(Indeed, politicians' recent statements have placed more emphasis on lowering prices than on improving efficiency. This is not surprising, given that some of the country's most competitive electoral districts are in the suburbs.)

Answer 5

The quick answer is that the Canadian market isn't big enough to support a seperate market so we are lumped in with the Americans.  All of the car makers make small fuel efficient cars but we can't get them here because the Americans are told that they don't like them.  And the US government has rules to keep out small diesel cars.  I wanted to buy a small pickup truck but they don't make them anymore here and they won't bring them in.

The other thing is gas is cheap here $1.20 a litre seems steep to us but last summer I was paying $2.20 ish a litre for gas in the UK

Answer 6

I find small cars so annoying when semi trucks are throwing muck all over your windshield in bad weather - I once went through a gallon aka 4 litres of windshield washer between Edmonton and before getting to Lac LaBiche !!!

Also for those of you who are ALWAYS posting that Canada is snow covered and icy most of the year I would like to remind you once again, that the climate in Southern areas and the southern interior of BC (semi arid) is far far far more temperate than anything found outside of Seattle in the Northern USA.

The lower mainland and Vancouver island in BC have a  climate that it is very mild though with global warming they are now seeing snow in the winter --

Some ares in Canada see on an average no more than 3 1/2 months of "winter weather" and that is mild compared to other areas.

Answer 7

canada is mostly in the cold snow and the like.  some need these large trucks to help them get around.

remember that canada is HUGE, england, italy and austria are small.  besides, the roads in some of these european cities just cant fit large cars down them.

England is now having bigger and bigger vehicles on the road tho.