An interesting article in todays National Pest Driving section about pricing. Here is part of it
"
...
According to OANDA.com's FX History, on Oct. 22, 2002, the euro/loonie exchange rate was exactly 0.65680. Almost five years later, that exchange rate stood at an all-but-identical 0.65660 (only in the last few months has the Canadian dollar risen against the euro). My rudimentary understanding of those numbers tells me that BMW Canada, for instance, paid relatively the same (adjusted, of course, for inflation) for a 7 Series in 2002 as it did this year. Ditto for Mercedes and its S-Class and Audi's A8, both of which are tens of thousands of dollars cheaper in the U.S.
During the same period, the U.S. dollar has dropped precipitously against the same European currency. The greenback that used to buy more than an entire euro now brings in less than ¤.70. At those exchange rates, an Audi A8 sold in the U.S. (currently US$70,690) would have generated approximately ¤72,600 in 2002 but only ¤49,130 last week. By comparison, the same car sold in Toronto (C$97,190) would have meant ¤63,700 in Audi AG's coffers in 2002, the same ¤63,700 earlier this year and ¤70,200 today. I did the calculation against the British pound and found much the same thing.
...
"
The suggestion is that the European ( aka luxury !) manufacturers may be making very close to zero profit on cars sold in the USA and thats why they don't want Canadians to buy their BMWs and M-Bs in America. This would hold for Volvo and VW ( for German built cars) as well.
Obviously this does not apply to the Big 3 although I wonder about the Korean currency wrt the US$ for GM's captive imports... or is the Won tied to the US$.
