Alabama is a strange place. Where else in the world would the promise of a free gun, a Bible and American flag be used to sell cars so effectively that the actual automaker would have to step in to put a stop to it? Because we’re not making this up. It’s happening. Now. In Alabama. Down in the town of Chatom, the local dealership, Chatom Ford, thought it’d honour America’s upcoming independence celebration with a special promotion it called “God, Guns and Freedom.” The promo offered anyone buying a car at the dealership a free Bible, a U.S. flag and a certificate good for a 12-gauge shotgun wherever shotguns are sold. “I guess it went viral, as the kids say,” said Koby Palmer, general sales manager at the dealership, in an interview with USA Today, referencing a Facebook video advertising the special, which got over 60,000 views in three days. “We live in a small town of 1,200 people. It’s a very small, rural area. They lean on their religious beliefs, their pride in America and they love to hunt.”Palmer says the dealership sold five vehicles in those three days thanks to the special. The deal was supposed to run until the end of July, but was cut short once Ford caught wind of what was going on. The Facebook post was replaced with a statement that reads, “Ford Motor Company has asked us to stop running the advertisement. They manufacture the products we are franchised to sell, so we are complying with their request.” However, the dealer and automaker must’ve worked something out, because as of June 27, Chatom Ford is promoting a variation on the “God and Glory” sale once again — no “guns.” Now the voucher for a shotgun is instead a certificate for “whatever you want.” That points to Ford’s hang-up quite possibly being on that particular part of the promotion.Well, Happy Independence Day, Murica. Please celebrate
Origin: Ford shuts down Alabama dealership’s ‘shotgun, Bible and flag’ sales incentive
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B.C. government steps in to recharge EV incentive program
Blair Qualey, president and CEO of the New Car Dealers Association of B.C., plugs in a Chevrolet Volt at the Vancouver International Auto Show.Ric Ernst/Postmedia You’ve heard of range anxiety. How about grant anxiety? Two days ago, on May 15th, the B.C. electric vehicle rebate program’s cupboard was bare. “We ran out of money,” said Blair Qualey, president and CEO of the New Car Dealers Association of British Columbia, the group that manages the CEVforBC rebate program. Yesterday, the province recharged the EV incentive program with a $10 million infusion. “We’ve been talking with government since May 1st encouraging them to be prepared to move money quickly,” Qualey explained. “You can never really exactly gauge what day (we’d run out of money), but we guestimated Wednesday of this week and as it turned out we were right on.” On May 1 there was $6.5 million in the fund; two weeks later it was empty. Qualey says the average grant is in the $4,700 range, meaning approximately 1,382 new qualifying vehicles have been purchased through the program in that time. So why the massive uptake in EV sales in the past two weeks? Call it a perfect storm of the federal incentive program kicking in on May 1, record-setting high gas prices in B.C., and an increasing number of new EV models coming to Canadian showrooms. Qualey explained that when the federal incentive program was first announced in April, EV sales across the country essentially stopped as consumers waited for that funding to take affect. “Between then and May 1, everybody was sitting on their hands waiting. People were still putting deposits down for EVs but were waiting until May 1 so they could get the federal grant,” he said. “So there was this huge bubble of demand building and building, so that when May 1 came there was a huge rush.” The B.C. government allocated $42 million to the CEVforBC program in their annual budget announcement back in February, meaning there is still $32 million available. Said Qualey: “I think things will slow down a little bit as we’re through that initial bubble, but people are paying attention to this, and gas prices are certainly hurting people’s pocketbooks these days.” He added he’s been getting calls from dealer principals in the past couple of weeks saying 80 per cent of their recent sales have been
Origin: B.C. government steps in to recharge EV incentive program
Canadian gov’t outlines EV incentive details, list of 27 eligible models and trims
Charging an electric carGetty The Canadian federal government April 17 released details regarding the incentives it plans to roll out to buyers of zero-emissions vehicles across the country. The incentives, worth either $2,500 and $5,000 depending on the vehicle’s range, will be drawn from a pool of $300 million over three years, Transport Canada said in a release, and apply to a list of new vehicles purchased or leased on or after May 1, 2019. The release also listed new zero-emissions vehicle sales targets for the country of 10 percent of new light-duty vehicle sales by 2025; 30 percent by 2030; and 100 percent by 2040. To be eligible for incentives, a vehicle must have a base-model manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of less than $45,000 for passenger vehicles with six or fewer seats, and less than $55,000 for vehicles with seven or more seats, the ministry explained. For eligible vehicles with six or fewer seats, higher-priced versions (trims) are eligible as long as the final manufacturer’s suggested retail price is $55,000 or less, and for vehicles with seven or more seats, trims with a price up to $60,000 will qualify. Vehicles can still qualify even if delivery, freight and other fees, such as vehicle colour and add-on accessories push the sale price above those limits. That added window makes eligible many more vehicles than critics first assumed when the $45,000-MSRP threshold was first announced. The rebate will be $5,000 for battery electric, hydrogen fuel cell, or longer range plug-in hybrid vehicles with a range of 50 km or better per single charge; and $2,500 for shorter-range plug-in hybrid vehicles with a range under that distance. The list of eligible vehicles currently includes some 27 models and trims, including the Audi A3 e-tron; Chevrolet Bolt and Volt; Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrid; Ford Fusion Energi and Focus Electric; Honda Clarity plug-in hybrid; Hyundai Ioniq, Kona and Sonata EVs and hybrids; Kia Niro, Optima and Soul EVs and hybrids; Mini Cooper Countryman plug-in hybrid; Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV; Nissan Leaf Plus; Toyota Prius Prime; VW e-Golf; and smart fortwo. “We are working with Canadians across the country to support practical and affordable solutions to fight climate change, Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, was quoted. The transportation sector is key to Canada’s economy—but it also accounts for a quarter of our emissions. Making sure Canadians have access to options to get where they need to go in a cleaner, cheaper, faster way will protect our environment and grow our economy.” The new federal program will also fund continued expansion of electric vehicle charging stations. The incentive program was rolled out as part of Budget 2019, and is still subject to Parliamentary
Origin: Canadian gov’t outlines EV incentive details, list of 27 eligible models and trims
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