The American Dollar is in the toilet....

[trinacriabob]

I just looked at the exchange rates this morning. It's sick. Bad for travel and bad for the balance of trade.

The Euro has broken the $ 1.40 mark...meaning you need that much in dollars to buy ONE Euro....theoretically, upon its introduction, is that it was to be 1:1 given that there is so much activity between the US and the EU. I've decided to cut back on trips to Europe anyway after I figured out how much less stressful it is to vacation in the US and Canada.

That being said, the US and Canadian dollar are TIED. Unbelievable. When I was living in Seattle from 97-00, the US dollar could buy 1.52 Canadian dollars (granted that was horrible for our Canuck friends). And, at least it was at 1.15 last December when I was taking a "Business Environment" class in my night program. Now, it's equal and I'm getting ready to go over there at the end of the week for fall colors (my last nonsense trip this year). Damn.

[Drew Dowdell]

The fed rate cut last week is only going to make things worse in that regard. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw an additional cut before Xmas.

[Z-06]

I just looked at the exchange rates this morning. It's sick. Bad for travel and bad for the balance of trade.

The Euro has broken the $ 1.40 mark...meaning you need that much in dollars to buy ONE Euro....theoretically, upon its introduction, is that it was to be 1:1 given that there is so much activity between the US and the EU. I've decided to cut back on trips to Europe anyway after I figured out how much less stressful it is to vacation in the US and Canada.

That being said, the US and Canadian dollar are TIED. Unbelievable. When I was living in Seattle from 97-00, the US dollar could buy 1.52 Canadian dollars (granted that was horrible for our Canuck friends). And, at least it was at 1.15 last December when I was taking a "Business Environment" class in my night program. Now, it's equal and I'm getting ready to go over there at the end of the week for fall colors (my last nonsense trip this year). Damn.

Honestly in the long run, it is not a bad thing. Short term, we will take a hit, but the exports will be pumped. $ is over valued today than it was 5 years ago. And mark this, that is one of the reasons why Bush went in Iraq, not oil, not WMD.

[trinacriabob]

And mark this, that is one of the reasons why Bush went in Iraq, not oil, not WMD.

While I don't want to derail and go political, I would like to say that one of the few positive things of the war, hopefully, is that, sooner than later, Iraq and that corner of the world could potentially look and act more like Turkey or Kuwait or some of the UAE where people are, yes, Muslim, but at the same time progressive and function like a more modern society. That would be ideal.

[Z-06]

While I don't want to derail and go political, I would like to say that one of the few positive things of the war, hopefully, is that, sooner than later, Iraq and that corner of the world could potentially look and act more like Turkey or Kuwait or some of the UAE where people are, yes, Muslim, but at the same time progressive and function like a more modern society. That would be ideal.

Neither do I want to dabble into getting political.

In aspects of $$ value war was a good thing. $$ would have been in toilet 4 years ago if Bush would not have had war in Iraq. Saddam wanted to make Euro as Iraq's main currency thus dumping $$ which meant US loosing a lot of revenue. Bush indirectly did a good thing, but did not have the balls to tell us one of the real reasons.

[ZL-1]

More USD for me when I visit!

[CARBIZ]

If the USD and Canadian dollar are the same now, why are Canadian cars still so much more expensive? Tariffs? Quotas? Border crossing issues?

Sidebar: I was digging through the backseat of my 98 regency the other day and found a Canadian dollar coin. Holy cow you Canadians have huge coins!

Plain and simple: we are being gouged. On a happier note, when I am in Vegas and LA next week, I intend to do lots and lots of shopping.

IT IS SO NICE TO BUY $1,000 U.S AND ONLY PAY $1,000 CANADIAN!!!!!!

The last time I travelled to the U.S., I had to got $650 U.S. for $1,000 Canadian.

[staceface]

Got the word in my dealer group last wednesday, that they are NOT going to reduce the price of Canadian cars, as we'd all hoped. They are going to try to offset the cost with cheaper financing, and better incentives. So, what we won't save in cost, we'll save in programs, which we'll waste in paper administering said programs.

[CARBIZ]

Got the word in my dealer group last wednesday, that they are NOT going to reduce the price of Canadian cars, as we'd all hoped. They are going to try to offset the cost with cheaper financing, and better incentives. So, what we won't save in cost, we'll save in programs, which we'll waste in paper administering said programs.

No, no - you have it all wrong. This justifies the jobs for those clowns at McClaren McCann, and whomever else is involved in such memorable marketing plans such as: 'Say Yes,' 'Let's Go,' and all those fantastic iPod and gas card giveaways that we still have trickling in. It helps keep all those Ryerson Marketing 101 kids in jobs!

[vonVeezelsnider]

Oh Puhlease!!

No Incentives... Cheaper Cars Please!

A base Acadia is 10K Dollars Cheaper in the USA for god's sake...

[thegriffon]

yeah, but what foes it do to resale if the car you bought last year is now 40% cheaper in $US? I pity the fool who paid sticker price for an Accord in Australia when they were $56K (now just over $30K new) ouch!

Edited September 24, 2007 by thegriffon

[loki]

i thought the $ was in the toilet partly because we keep borrowing billions from.. mainly china for the gov't to pay for "stuff" i won't get into because of "rule #2" on here

[frogger]

I'll be importing my next vehicle from the US if I can save 20%.

[Robert Hall]

I'll be importing my next vehicle from the US if I can save 20%.

I wonder how Canadian law works on buying cars in the US and taking them back..is that legal? I know my Canadian friends that came down here ended up taking their Canadian cars back to Canada to sell when they were ready to replace them..said they couldn't sell them in the US. I know a few still driving around here in Denver with Canadian cars, registered here, but still w/ metric speedometers, etc..

[frogger]

I wonder how Canadian law works on buying cars in the US and taking them back..is that legal? I know my Canadian friends that came down here ended up taking their Canadian cars back to Canada to sell when they were ready to replace them..said they couldn't sell them in the US. I know a few still driving around here in Denver with Canadian cars, registered here, but still w/ metric speedometers, etc..

Its legal, a bit of paperwork but nothing very difficult. As long as the car is on the RIV list of allowed vehicles. Many manufacturers won't honour the warranty though.

http://www.riv.ca/english/html/how_to_import.html

[trinacriabob]

If the USD and Canadian dollar are the same now, why are Canadian cars still so much more expensive? Tariffs? Quotas? Border crossing issues?

Prices are set independently of the exchange rates, reflecting what is going on in their country. Canadian wages and prices have always run at about 1.15 to 1.30 of what we pay/spend, that's why the $23K base price for the LaCrosse/Allure in the US is $27K in Canada. That our currency deflated against theirs is completely independent of that. It doesn't change what they pay/spend. It's just that it's a pain when you go over there and get the hotel/restaurant bills.

Same thing in Europe. A hotel room in Portugal that costs 60 Euro is supposed to more or less reflect a value of about 60 dollars, given the wage/price levels. However, currencies move independently. Take that "bad boy" and multiply it by 1.40. Right now, it will cost us Americans about 84 dollars. My last trip to Europe was a disaster because of the weak dollar.

Edited September 25, 2007 by trinacriabob

[CARBIZ]

Prices are set independently of the exchange rates, reflecting what is going on in their country. Canadian wages and prices have always run at about 1.15 to 1.30 of what we pay/spend, that's why the $23K base price for the LaCrosse/Allure in the US is $27K in Canada. That our currency deflated against theirs is completely independent of that. It doesn't change what they pay/spend. It's just that it's a pain when you go over there and get the hotel/restaurant bills.

Same thing in Europe. A hotel room in Portugal that costs 60 Euro is supposed to more or less reflect a value of about 60 dollars, given the wage/price levels. However, currencies move independently. Take that "bad boy" and multiply it by 1.40. Right now, it will cost us Americans about 84 dollars. My last trip to Europe was a disaster because of the weak dollar.

Yeah, that is why tourism in 'poorer' nations like Portugal and Greece have been hit since they converted to the Euro. However, manufactured goods that are from the States (like the Malibu or Colorado) that have had a 'sticker' of $C26k for, like, the past 4 years, should have dropped at least a bit! I understand that the 'sticker' wouldn't necessarily drop 50% (which is how much the Can. dollar has gone UP in the past 4 years, BTW) because, among other reasons, some of the parts are originally sourced from Canada - but c'mon: we're getting stiffed.