Ah, the irony. We are in the midst of a global respiratory-illness pandemic, the economic consequences of which will almost certainly lead to more respiratory illness. How so? Let’s start with the pandemic itself. COVID-19 is an often deadly and easily transmitted respiratory disease for which there is, at present, no cure, no defined treatment …
Economic fallout of pandemic eased for now by automakers, dealers
VANCOUVER, B.C. — Penny Hargraves’ thriving Pilates and yoga studio went dark on March 16, the day British Columbia’s Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, banned all gatherings of more than 50 people in the province – a prelude to a province-wide stay-at-home order intended to stop the spread of COVID-19. Then came the tricky …
Scenes from the pandemic: car dealers everywhere fielding calls for payment deferrals
Yes, the COVID-19 outbreak is a human tragedy unfolding in real tame on a global scale. It’s also triggered an economic mess. Among other things, global auto sales have collapsed and car companies have shifted to producing respirators, ventilators, masks and face shields. It’s wartime. We saw this coming in February. Scotia Economics notes that …
In a world rocked by a pandemic, is buying a new car an act of economic patriotism?
New car showrooms in February were empty right across the biggest vehicle market in the world. That’s China, not the United States. The result: sales plunged a staggering 80 per cent in February, according to preliminary numbers from the China Passenger Car Association. I was not surprised to see that car sales stall in China …
April 23, 2020 | Commentary, First on the Grid 1 Comments (0) |
Escape the lock down: a gearhead’s map to a virtual tour of the Mercedes Museum
Adolf Hitler championed the Peoples Car that became the iconic Volkswagen Beetle, but he had an even greater fondness for the various Mercedes-Benz 770 state cars he used for all occasions. He was not alone. Popes (Pope Pius XI), emperors (Japan’s Hirohito), kings (the King of Norway) and dictators from Italy’s Mussolini to Spain’s Franco …
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