Automotive News Canada - October 2017 - 4

* OCTOBER 2017

CBC show tars
a whole industry,
dealer assn. says
Such a tiny
sampling is not
representative
of automotive
service, according
to Trillium

They're not going to
air a show that says
that everything in that
industry is perfect.

By ROBERT BOSTELAAR

TODD BOURGON

O T TAWA C O R R E S P O N D E N T

Trillium Automobile
Dealers Association

THE DIRECTOR OF ONE
they have found by looking
of Canada's largest dealer
at two out of 1,100 [TADA]
associations says he is disdealers."
appointed by the findings of
A story about the invesan undercover TV probe of
tigation posted on the CBC
service-counter sales pracwebsite said two other dealtices, but hardly surprised.
erships did not try to push
"I just think that when
unneeded repairs. That
you hear terminology like
same article said another
'bait cars' and things like
"trusted" mechanthat, that you're
ic who inspected the
already setting off
Honda after the dealwith a predeterership visit suggested
mined outcome," said
the brakes could be
Todd Bourgon of the
"serviced," or sanded.
Markam, Ont.-based
Bourgon also
Trillium Automobile
took issue with comDealers Association
ments by a former
Trilllium's
(TADA).
service adviser inter"They're not going Todd
viewed on camera
Bourgon
to air a show that
who said several of
says
the
says that everything
the seven dealerships
CBC
show
in that industry is
he worked at during a
had
a
"preperfect."
determined six-year span encourThe CBC
aged upselling. The
Marketplace episode outcome."
man said he was on
that aired Sept. 22
100-per-cent commission at
suggested that service advis- one shop.
ers routinely recommend
"I've never heard of orgaunnecessary work in order
nizations where the incento earn incentive bonuses.
tive side is so high that they
The program followed
need that to feed their fama time-tested formuily," Bourgon said. "I've
la in which cars already
heard it's very marginal if
checked out by an indeat all, and some organizapendent mechanic are
tions don't even offer it."
brought to service departBourgon said reports by
ments for inspection. A
Marketplace and, earlier,
Toronto Honda dealer said
CTV's W5, feed consumer
the rear brakes on a 2008
mistrust even as the indusCivic required replacement,
try works to improve serwhile a Chrysler dealer,
vice delivery through such
also in Toronto, warned that measures as customer sata low-kilometre 2013 Jeep
isfaction index (CSI) scores,
Wrangler needed new spark
which are closely watched
plugs and a power-steering
by automakers. TADA, he
flush.
noted, was among the orgaBourgon said that, based
nizations that pressed for
on a tiny sample size, the
improved consumer proshow unfairly tarred an
tection in Ontario's Motor
industry that does millions
Vehicles Dealer Act.
of dollars a year in sales and
Yet even as cars become
service transactions.
more complex, consumers
"I don't think it's right
today have more access to
for a media agency to paint
information about how the
an industry with that many
industry works and what
transactions with one painttheir vehicles require. This
brush for a conclusion that
"greater transparency"
works for both dealers and
consumers, Bourgon said.
- ANC

SOLO DRIVE
'My plan is to
have over a million
of these cars
built per year'
By STEVE MERTL

VA N C O U V E R C O R R E S P O N D E N T

VANCOUVER - JERRY
Kroll bristles at criticism of the
Electra Meccanica Vehicle's
electric commuter car call the
Solo.
The company co-founder
and CEO is an electric-vehicle
evangelist and relentless promoter of the single-seat concept
embodied by the tiny Solo EV,
which he believes is the right
vehicle in an increasingly densifying urban world.
The Solo that Automotive
News Canada test drove is a
pre-production model, he said,
and brushed aside suggestions
it falls short in any way.
As of September, the
Vancouver-based company had
built 16 Solo EVs at its small
facility run by co-founder and
COO Henry Reisner. Three
have been delivered to customers in British Columbia,
the only province in Canada

ABOUT THE SOLO
* Type: Single-seat three-wheel
electric vehicle
* MSRP: $19,888
* Range: 160 kilometres
* Top speed: 130 km/h
* Zero to 100-km/h:
About eight seconds
* Horsepower: 82
* Weight: 450 kilograms
* Battery: Lithium ion
* Charge time: Three hours at
220 volts
* Features: LCD digital instrument cluster, remote keyless
entry, power windows, AM/FM
audio with Bluetooth/CD/USB,
rear-view backup camera,
heated seat, 285 litres cargo
space in front and rear trunks,
two-year unlimited kilometres
warranty
* Dimensions (metres): 3.1
long, 1.34 wide, 1.33 tall

Electra Meccanica CEO Jerry Kroll is negotiating volume
production of the Solo EV in China, India, Europe, Mexico and
the United States. ( P H O T O : S T E V E M E R T L )

that the three-wheeled EV is
approved for sale right now.
Kroll said he is negotiating arrangements for volume
production in China, India,
Europe, Mexico and the United
States, either on a contract or
partnership basis.
In early October, Electra
Meccanica announced a manufacturing agreement with
Zongshen Industrial Group
Co. Ltd., based in Chongqing,
China, to produce 75,000 Solos
over the next three years,
beginning with 5,000 in 2018.
"My plan is to have over a
million of these cars built per
year," said Kroll, who recently returned from Chongqing,
China. "That's the goal."

ORDERS ROLL IN
Electra Meccanica reported recently that it had retail
orders for 579 Solos and 102
orders for the two-seat Tofino
sports EV, which is not scheduled for production until
2019. But the company, which
in September began trading
on the U.S. over-the-counter
stock market under the symbol ECCTF, also said it has
non-binding corporate orders
for more than 19,000 Solos and
some 24,000 Tofinos, worth
about $1.6 billion.
Meanwhile, Reisner and his
team are building Solos at their
suburban Vancouver facility at
a rate of about two a month.
"People who've received cars
are getting pre-production cars
that were hand-built by Henry,"
Kroll said. "We have no problem with our customers with
the quality."
But the test drive confirms
that the Solo, in development
for four years, is a work in
progress.

The interior is roomy enough, but the switchgear,
steering column and wheel seem like transplants
from the aftermarket. ( P H O T O : S T E V E M E R T L )

The 20-minute jaunt through
downtown Vancouver, accompanied by Electra Meccanica
President Mark West in another Solo, delivered on Kroll's
assertion the Solo is ideal for
congested city streets.
The Solo is sprightly in traffic, with decent acceleration
from a stop and excellent midrange pickup. The test loop did
not include freeway sections, so
sustained high-speed cruising
could not be assessed.
Steering is unassisted, which
means wrestling the wheel at
parking speeds, but it lightens
quickly and pays off with fine
steering feel. The three-wheel
disc brakes are also unboosted,
so drivers used to power brakes
must learn to push the pedal
firmly.
Kroll said plans call for
electric steering and braking to ready the Solo for eventual autonomous operation.
He would also like to replace
the rear-mounted charging
port with wireless inductive
charging, among other tweaks.

CONTINUED EVOLUTION
"The only thing I can promise is that the cars will continue
to evolve," he said.
That's good news. Even
allowing for an odometer reading of 4,900 kilometres, the test
Solo's dash switches lacked
sophistication and felt flimsy
for a vehicle with a near $20,000
asking price.
The electric motor's whine
intrudes noticeably into the
cabin compared with conventional EVs, especially on acceleration. It gives the Solo a
zoomy feel but some commuters
might tire of it. The ride is on
the firm side, but the suspension handles all but the worst
pavement without much jarring.
The low-slung cabin does not
feel cramped. There's plenty of
leg and shoulder room for taller
drivers, although the tilt steering wheel does not have an airbag. The Solo's high sills, which
house its lithium-ion battery
packs, make ingress and egress
awkward.
Kroll said federal certification for the Canada and Japan
is about half completed and he
expects to be delivering U.S.destined Solos by the end of this
year, once testing there is complete. - ANC

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - October 2017