The cheaply priced cars that drew North Dakotans to Canada in 1979
Americans could drive home with a bargain due to the exchange rate and other factors
It was a buyer's market and it was also a seller's market — though the buyers and sellers lived in different countries.
In 1979, Americans were heading to Canada to purchase new cars, as it was cheaper for them to acquire a vehicle north of the border due to a series of factors.
"The state of the Canadian dollar and some quirks in tax laws has a strange effect on the new car market," the CBC's George McLean explained to viewers on The National on Feb. 2, 1979.
"Right now, the best deal in North America can be made by an American living near the border. He can buy a new car in Canada cheaper than he can at home and cheaper than a Canadian buying the same car in Canada."
Bargains bring buyers north
The National's Terry Matte introduced viewers to people on the two sides of the bargain that was driving business north of the border.
Brian Jones, a Winnipeg car salesman, had been placing ads in a newspaper across the border in Grand Forks, N.D.
"Up to this point, I've had a fairly good response," he said.
Jones told The National that advertising had yielded 25 to 30 calls from interested customers, which prompted him to make the drive down from Manitoba to follow up on some sales leads.
Low prices that went even lower
His first U.S. customer was Ivan Widhalm, a North Dakotan who had ordered a Mercury Zephyr.
Widhalm believed he'd be saving around $370 US by buying the vehicle in Canada, a not insubstantial fraction of a car that Matte said would end up costing $4,350 US.
The savings resulted from a lower relative price of the vehicle in Canada, as well as the fact Widhalm would have a built-in federal sales tax refunded as it did not apply to Americans.
"He's not only paying less than he would in the U.S., but because of the sales tax rebate, he's paying less than a Canadian would have to pay in Canada," said Matte.
Additionally, Matte said Americans did not have to pay a duty on cars imported from Canada, as long as they had been assembled in either country.
