CALL it the case of duelling press releases.
No sooner had SIRIUS Satellite Radio announced it will be offered as a dealer installed option for all 2008 model year Lexus IS, ES, GS, RX, and GX models, rival satellite radio provider XM Canada rushed out a press release "clarifying" that XM continues to be the only factory-installed satellite radio option available on select Lexus vehicles, and is a standard feature in the LS460 and LS600h flagship luxury vehicles. XM Canada also offers dealer installed satellite radio receivers on nine other Lexus models. XM Canada also markets dealer-installed satellite radio receivers for several Toyota Canada vehicles, including Solara, Camry, Avalon, 4Runner and the FJ Cruiser. It would appear the consumer is the winner in this one, as both companies are now offering a variety of contract packages at reduced pricing.
SIRIUS Canada's partnership with Toyota and Lexus was first announced in February, 2007 and since that time SIRIUS Satellite Radio has been available as a dealer installed option on the Toyota FJ Cruiser, Camry, and Tundra.
If anything, it appears the consumer will be the winner in this battle, as both providers are offering a variety of service packages at reduced pricing.
--Paul Williamson
Vanity plates popular
MORE than 9.7 million U.S. and Canadian vehicles sport vanity plates, according to a study by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators and author Stefan Lonce, with more than 440,000 Canadian vanity plates registered. Lonce, author of LCNS2ROM -- License to Roam: Vanity License Plates and the Stories They Tell, uses the term "vanitize" to describe the act of customizing vehicle plates. "Vanity plates are minimalist poetry in motion," he says.
The survey shows the "vanity plate penetration rate" across the country is far from consistent. Ontario has the highest rate of vanity plate registrations (4.55 per cent), followed by Saskatchewan (2.69 per cent), Manitoba (1.96 per cent) and the Yukon (1.79 per cent). At the bottom end is British Columbia (0.59 per cent).
In the United States, Virginia leads at more than 16 per cent, while Texas trails at 0.56 per cent.
--CanWest News Service
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