Built in Ingersoll at CAMI, improved Equinox details announced in Chicago
RAV4 from Woodstock's TMMC continues to compete with GM product
By
Mark Schadenberg
A
friendly rivalry exists in Oxford County . . . as friendly as a competition can
be between two giant automobile manufacturers.
This
week, CAMI in Ingersoll is receiving lots of positive press as its Equinox
sports-utility has been the subject of a re-introduction of a popular car
as built in Oxford County at the Ingersoll facility of General Motors.
London
Free Press report Norman DeBono reported the Equinox new look in Monday’s
edition. The new look compact SUV was actually unveiled in Chicago for the 2017
model year. The story notes that CAMI is currently perfecting the assembly line
process with test models.
Unifor
Local 88 chair Mike VanBoekel at CAMI notes the plant continues to be in hiring
mode and current workers on the floor have overtime hours scheduled. There are
currently about 3,000 employees, so the CAMI effect on the local economy is
astounding.
Look at the graphic below, which explains many of the upgrades or differences planned for the Equinox.
The
new Equinox is the first major shift in design since 2006, noted the LFP piece.
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The new look crossover
is about 180 kilograms lighter and 10 centimetres shorter, while adding
0.1 cubic metres of interior space.
The Equinox will offer
buyers a choice of a 1.5-litre turbo, a two-litre turbo with a nine-speed
automatic transmission or a 1.6-litre turbo diesel that GM estimates will
achieve 5.8 litres per 100 kilometres in highway driving. No other crossover
offers a turbo diesel.
“It is an all-new SUV
from the ground up and one that takes on the industry’s biggest competitors
with a stronger architecture, greater efficiency and more technology,” Rick
Spina, the vehicle’s executive chief engineer, said in a statement.
GM unveiled the new
look in Chicago this week, at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.
Equinox sales so far
this year have totalled 158,475, down 17.7 per cent from a year ago.
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CAMI in satellite photo from Mapquest
CAMI makes huge donation to United Way (of Oxford and London region) in 2014.
Mike VanBoekel is wearing the blue Maple Leafs jersey.
(Sentinel-Review photo)
GM overall sales total
indicate the only model which outsells the Equinox is the Chevrolet Silverado.
The competition in
dealership showrooms for the Equinox is the Toyota RAV4 built in Woodstock,
along with the Honda CRV and Ford Escape.
The additional news
from GM is negotiations for a new contract with Unifor. The key to the deal
would be GM’s investment of about $550 million in Canadian operations,
including Ingersoll, but creating a stability and confidence in the Oshawa
facility.
For the local economy
of Oxford, there was also good news for the parts distribution centre in
Woodstock as improvements are planned locally.
See the two links
below, but the synopsis includes 700 new full-time positions as many temporary
workers will be elevated to full-time team status.
As I have written
about previously (link below), the GM Canada present is Steve Carlisle, who is
originally from Woodstock.
One more item I
noticed is that Unifor was able to also negotiate a one-time $1,500 for GM
employees who retired prior to 1987.
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From Oshawa This Week
story online:
Unifor President Jerry Dias visited Oshawa early Sunday to
encourage his membership to accept the agreement before hitting the road to St.
Catharines and Woodstock.
"The gains made in this agreement are historic and more
than what has been achieved in the past 10 years. Unifor has shown what is
possible when workers have a union, and a united bargaining committee to speak
on their behalf," Dias said.
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RAV4
As someone who calls
Woodstock home, I must say that I love the RAV4 marketing commercials from
Toyota.
While the word
‘status’ might be used for some luxury high-end cars, status quo is seldomly
used by auto manufacturers as they constantly seek improvements -- tweeking and refining.
The RAV4 is no
different. This below – from www.autotrader.com, including graphic.
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The compact-crossover segment is growing, and the 2016 Toyota RAV4 continually seems to have no trouble
taking on its ever-increasing list of rivals. No, it doesn't stand out from the
crowd in terms of equipment or styling, but the RAV4 boasts reasonable pricing,
impressive fuel economy, high resale values, a roomy interior and a strong
reliability record. For 2016, it also boasts a new hybrid model, covered in a
separate review, with a fuel-efficient new powertrain.
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As
someone who just turned 50 last month, I find it difficult to understand how
technology has (seemingly) existed for decades to create hybrid and/or electric cars, but
they are only consuming chunks of the market share now.
With
safety improvements noted in all Toyota publications, it would appear the 2017
models will be even better. The ‘Toyota Safety Sense P’ system not only
includes pre-collision braking, but all knows when people (pedestrians) are too
close to a moving vehicle.
One
chart I found online, which compares the sales of all cars on the market, had
the RAV4 at No. 9 on the July list and second overall sales for Toyota behind
only the Camry (5th) and just ahead of the Corolla (10th).
Ingersoll’s
Chevrolet Equinox – on this particular list – was an impressive 15th
and its July 2016 numbers surpassed July of 2015 so the trend is upward.
CAMI
opened in 1989 to produce cars for Suzuki and GM in a unique ‘cooperative’, but
by 2009 it was solely a GM facility. The plant had previously produced
Sidekick, Vitara and XL7 for Suzuki, along with the Geo Metro, Geo Tracker and
Pontiac Firefly.
LINKS:
Full-Time Oxford County Realtor
Call me today to discuss your residential needs
Mark Schadenberg, Sales
Representative
Senior Real Estate Specialist
(SRES designation)
Royal LePage Triland Realty
Independently Owned & Operated, Brokerage
757 Dundas St, Woodstock
(519) 537-1553, cell or text
Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com
Twitter: markroyallepage
Facebook: Mark Schadenberg, Royal LePage Triland
Discussion . . . Direction . . . Determination . . .
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