New Ontario law targets drunk drivers

A new civil law that took effect in Ontario yesterday will mean that drivers who repeatedly drink and drive will risk losing their cars permanently. The legislation sets a new national standard for keeping Ontario's roads and families safe from repeat drinking and driving offenders. The new law allows the civil courts, at the request of the Attorney General, to impound and forfeit a vehicle if the court finds that the vehicle was involved in, or is likely to be involved in, a drinking and driving offense, and the vehicle is owned or driven by a person whose driver's license has been suspended for a drinking and driving offense two or more times in the preceding ten years. Forfeited vehicles will go to public auction, and victims of the activity which resulted in the forfeiture may apply for compensation from the proceeds of sale. The civil court will also have the power to release a vehicle from impound if the registered owner of the vehicle agrees to certain court-imposed terms and conditions, including fitting the vehicle with an ignition interlock device, or having the registered owner agree that the person whose actions resulted in the forfeiture application would not drive the vehicle. This protects the interests of responsible vehicle owners who do, or have done, all they can to ensure that the vehicle is not being driven, or will not be driven in the future, by the person who engaged in unlawful vehicular activities. The new law applies to automobiles, motorcycles, motor-assisted bicycles and snowmobiles. "Ontario takes impaired driving very seriously," said Attorney General Chris Bentley. "Repeat drinking drivers who aren't getting the message now run the risk of having the courts take their vehicles away forever." Ontario's civil forfeiture law already allowed for the forfeiture of vehicles used for dangerous driving behaviour, such as street racing. The new amendments to the Civil Remedies Act, included in the Safer Roads for a Safer Ontario Act 2007, set a new standard for road safety by targeting vehicles used by repeat drinking and driving offenders.

Honda Civic and Ford F-Series top January sales

The Honda Civic doubled its sales in January 2008 over the same period in 2007 and retained its status as Canada's top-selling car, while the Ford F-Series pickup remained at the top of truck sales last month, according to figures released by industry analyst Dennis DesRosiers. "Needless to say, Honda is sending a strong statement into the market that they want the Civic to remain the best-selling passenger car in Canada," DesRosiers said. "Second, GM places three vehicles into the top ten passenger cars and four vehicles into the top ten light trucks. Seven best selling products is a position that GM has not been in for a lengthy period. We have always said that in this industry, you get yourself into trouble and out of trouble with product, product and product. GM certainly understands this equation." DesRosiers also noted that the market for small, entry-level vehicles grew by 17.1 per cent in January, "which is clear evidence that the consumer 'gets it' when it comes to environmental issues," and that large pickup trucks were down 6.9 per cent, which he suggests could be an early sign of the U.S. housing correction migrating into Canada, as "it is the tradesmen who have backed out of the pickup truck market in the U.S. and this may also be happening in Canada." The top ten best-selling cars in Canada in January 2008, in order, were the Honda Civic, Chevrolet Cobalt, Mazda3, Pontiac G5, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Yaris, Pontiac G6, Honda Accord, Ford Focus and Toyota Camry. The top ten best-selling light trucks in Canada in January 2008, in order, were the Ford F-Series, Dodge Caravan, GMC Sierra, Dodge Ram, Chevrolet Silverado, Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Chevrolet Uplander, Ford Ranger, and Pontiac Montana SV6.

Volvo to build 15 millionth car today

Volvo will build its 15 millionth car today, a C70 convertible that will leave the factory in Uddevalla, Sweden, 81 years after the company produced its very first car on April 14, 1927. Volvo produced only 297 vehicles in its first year, and through a global economic depression and the Second World War, took 23 years to build its first 100,000 cars. Today, that number corresponds to about three months of production. Never a high-volume manufacturer, Volvo decided early in its history that the brand name should signify quality and safety. The company was the first to market a three-point safety belt as standard equipment in 1959, and the first with an environmentally-friendly three-way catalytic converter with Lambdasond in 1976. The 15 millionth car, like the very first one, will carry an "iron symbol" as its brand identification on its radiator grille.

Daughter ordered to pay Dad $3 million in dealership buy/sell dispute

Judge, jury penalize daughter for competing dealerships.The Macomb (MI) Daily reports that a jury ordered the daughter of the founder of the now defunct Jerome Duncan Ford dealership to pay her father slightly more than $3 million, mainly for opening three competing auto dealerships.The jury reached a verdict in the nearly two-week long civil trial that pitted Richard Duncan against his daughter, Gail, and her husband. The pair operated Jerome Duncan over its last five years before filing for bankruptcy in 2005, and opened three other dealerships. Despite the award, the attorney for Gail Duncan said he was somewhat pleased with the verdict because the jury and the judge rejected several claims by Richard Duncan regarding alleged pilfering of money and mismanagement at the business. The jury of seven men and one woman told Gail Duncan to pay $3 million for violating a non-compete clause that she signed in a contract with her father in 1993 when she took over majority control of Jerome Duncan. In the early 2000s, as president of the dealership she bought two Mazda dealerships - one across the street from Jerome Duncan and a former Mel Farr Hyundai/Kia dealership. The dealership went bankrupt after Ford Credit discovered the dealership was out-of-trust by $5.4 million. The entire award is against Gail Duncan as the jury released her husband from any claim. The bulk of the award was for violating the 1993 written contract, along with the small amount for shareholder oppression.