Automotive News Canada - March 2018 - v2 - 20

* MARCH 2018

Manufacturers can be fined if they don't comply with recalls
CONTINUED FROM PA GE 3

and reached a solution that I think
all stakeholders were satisfied
with," Fraser said.
Hatch said CADA sought to
bring fairness to the "fundamentally unbalanced" partnership
between small independent dealers

and multinational manufacturers.
"It's always going to be a David
and Goliath relationship, we
understand that. But we wanted
to rebalance that a little bit in the
bill."
The act will give the Canadian
government broad, U.S.-like powers to order recalls and fine manu-

facturers that don't comply. It will
also allow regulators to set strict
timetables for repairs.
Until now, Canada had to apply
public pressure or turn to the
courts to force a reluctant manufacturer to pay for recall repairs.
Such cases have been rare,
however. - ANC

Multimatic will focus
on high-tech components

Judge says the buyer
didn't look out for his
own financial well being

CONTINUED FROM PA GE 3

been unemployed for six months, went to
Sherwood Park-Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep "desperate to purchase a truck," which he needed for
a new job. He knew the sales manager, identified only as "the fraudster" in the decision.
They agreed on a $50,758 price for a Dodge
Ram and discussed a $20,000 down payment
and financing. Lepine completed a credit
application. Without consulting the finance
manager, the fraudster told Lepine that conventional financing was unavailable and
offered to arrange an interest-free loan from
a new subprime lender by increasing his
down payment to $25,000, with $650 monthly
payments.
Lepine gave the fraudster a $25,000 deposit
and 18 post-dated and signed checks for $650
each, all made payable to the fraudster. He
received a bogus bill of sale that didn't mention the deposit or the subprime lender, and
he received no financing documents.

DOCTORED RECORDS
The fraudster arranged for a salesman -
a "straw man" using his employee discount
- to appear as the buyer and borrower on
the paperwork. A legitimate lender, a bank,
paid the store the full purchase price and
the fraudster doctored the store's computer
records as a cover-up.
The fraudster cashed 13 pre-dated checks
and made 13 payments to the bank before
stopping. Lepine's "bliss ended" when the
straw man called to warn "there was a
problem and the truck could potentially be
seized" by the bank, the judge said. And it
was.
Lepine sued to recoup the down payment
and monthly payments.
Maher found Sherwood Park-DodgeChrysler-Jeep liable although it had been
unaware of the scams and had fired the
fraudster before the deception was discovered.
However, Maher allocated 15 percent of
the loss to Lepine for "failing in many ways
to attend to his own financial welfare."
He wrote that Lepine's "unbounded naivety, urgent desperation and high confidence"
in the dealership and the fraudster explains
in part why he acted as he did. - ANC

for its list of top-level clients.
"This commitment to confidentiality is pervasive within the culture of the company,"
Czapka told Automotive News
Canada in a rare interview. "We
typically get involved in customer projects well before they are
announced, and confidentiality
is imperative. In fact, due to confidentiality agreements, some
Multimatic projects can never be
revealed."
Czapka, now the sole owner
of the privately held Multimatic
corporation, recalls the early
days of producing door hinges
for Ford, Chrysler and General
Motors, as well as door checks
for Honda in its 50,000-squarefoot (4,600-square-metre) plant
in 1984. At that time, the company was a division of Magna
International, eventually
becoming a 50/50 joint venture
between Czapka and Magna
until Czapka's full acquisition
in 1991.
Multimatic has played its
part in assisting the development and engineering of
IndyCar and Formula One race
cars, as well as several Aston
Martin projects such as the
DB10, Vulcan and Lagonda
Taraf. But nothing has upped its
public image and portfolio more
than the production of low-volume super vehicles.
It started with the Aston
Martin One-77, but no other car
pushed the company outside its
comfort zone more than the road
and race versions of the 2018
Ford GT.
To achieve the annual goal set out by Ford, the
GT received its own dedicated factory, a 60,000-squarefoot (5,600-square-metre) space
called Mutlimatic Niche Vehicle
Assembly North America, in

TRANS-CANADA NEWS
5,000 KILOMETRES OF STORIES

CONTINUED FROM PA GE 3

and service the FCA products they represent.
New General Manager Kevin Mitchell's
goal is to sell 350 vehicles by Dec. 31. "If we
hit that 350 number, we have outgrown this
store," he said, at which point a new store,
"isn't a want anymore, it's a need."
Mitchell, who came to Twin Motors
after 12 years with the Winnipeg-based
Birchwood Automotive Group, will "keep
going forward" with the current dealership
team; he has just added a third salesperson and is seeking a sales manager, despite
space restrictions in the current location.
Among its features, the new store would
include a drive-through service area which
the current store lacks.

Dealer group CEO Hébert named
Member of the Order of Canada

About 85 workers at
Multimatic turn out one
Ford GT a day. ( P H O T O : F O R D )

its home-roots of Markham, Ont.
Each day, just one nearly US
$450,000 supercar is built by 85
workers and a total of 6,000 total
parts.
To be in charge of production for Ford's most sacred and
secretive project was "a proud
moment" for Czapka.

NEW PROJECTS
"Multimatic is currently
leveraging its recognized expertise and capabilities to develop and supply differentiated
products in three growth areas
addressing convenience, safety
and performance," said Czapka.
They are mechatronic
products, carbon-fibre structural products and Dynamic
Suspensions Spool Valve (DSSV)
damping technology.
Mechatronics, a combination
of mechanical, electronic, computer and software engineering
will integrate electronic sensing and controls with mechanical functions. As for carbon-fibre stuctures and DSSV technology, Multimatic will begin
to use advanced systems including its proprietary high-speed
production process called SPP
(Selective Pre-Preg) for its carbon-fibre products, as well as
make advancements in its DSSV
technology for race and road
applications. - ANC

OTTAWA, ONT. - NORMAN E. HÉBERT,
CEO of Park Avenue Group of Brossard,
Que., was named a
Member of the Order
of Canada in late
2017, recognizing his
leadership and community involvement
since joining the family business in 1981.
Hébert led the
group's growth from
Norman E. Hébert.
one to 23 dealerships ( P H O T O : PA R K
AV E N U E G R O U P )
and more than 1,000
employees today.
In addition to his entrepreneurial talent,
the businessman has always been involved,
whether as a member of various boards of
directors or by organizing the benefit event
at the Montreal Auto Show, which donated
close to $6 million over the years to major
hospital foundations in Montreal.

Knox brings broad skillset to
Alberta consumer-protection group
EDMONTON, ALTA. - MALCOLM
Knox has been named CEO of the Alberta
Motor Vehicle Industry Council.
Described as a strategic thinker, analytical problem solver, planner and project manager
experienced in the private and public sectors,
Knox brings "leadership
and effective operation of
administrative systems
and structures" to support AMVIC's consumMalcolm Knox
er-focused mission.
(FILE: PHOTO)
Knox has been charged
with emphasizing consumer protection
while implementing changes to the automotive industry through the Consumer
Protection Act and associated regulations,
said AMVIC Board of Directors Chairman
Bill Burnett. - ANC

Mexico company expanding into Canada? 'Never heard of such a thing'
CONTINUED FROM PA GE 1

London, Ont., and opening a $5-million
manufacturing and research-and-development facility there to better serve the
U.S. market.
It's so rare for a Mexican auto
company to expand into Canada that
Automotive Parts Manufacturers'
Association President Flavio Volpe
said he had "never heard of such a
thing" when Goss Global announced
the move.

PROJECT IN WATERLOO
Without revealing too many details,
Contreras also said a Mexico-based military contractor is opening a facility

near Waterloo, Ont., because the city is
such a hotbed for autonomous research
and development.
"Windsor is also a great community,
with a great deal of assets, that we need
to promote more."
"Canada is a safe location for more
Mexican business to come compared
to the current perception of Mexico in
the U.S.," Contreras said. "Canada also
has good relationships with other parts
of the world, and you have great talent
here."
Volpe thinks it's a good idea for
Canadian companies to work with and
accept support from Mexico.
"The milk will be in the coconut if
we go past anecdotal to 20 per cent of

Canada is a safe location for
more Mexican business to
come compared to the current
perception of Mexico in the U.S.
RODRIGO CONTRERAS

Investment commissioner of ProMexico
our investment capital coming from
Mexico," Volpe said. "The Chinese
have been offering all kinds of capital,
but I think it will be a more prudent

option locally [for Canadian companies] to stay within the continent."
For example, a Chinese consortium
in Shanghai in late 2016 bought the
Windsor-based Valiant Group, a global
supplier of tooling and equipment for
the vehicle manufacturing process.
There is some concern from Mexico
companies that Canada is too costly,
but Friesen doesn't see it that way.
"I wouldn't look at Canada as a highcost country, but rather [that] there
is a wealth of knowledge and experience here you won't find anywhere
else. If you can combine the ambition
of Mexico with expertise of Canadian
industry, imagine what you can do."
- ANC

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - March 2018 - v2