🇨🇦 The Canadians are Not Happy

In partnership with

A few weeks ago, I penned an open letter on these very pages to the automakers who produce in the United States asking them to band together and push back against the Trump tariff nonsense. Based on the amount of feedback I received, I know that many friends of this newsletter shared that letter with their management — perhaps at a personal risk — and I appreciate every one of you who did that. Sharing the content means more people read it, but it’s also important that for things like that the right people also see it. I’m not sure it worked, though.

Table of Contents

• Tariffs Lead Nowhere Good

• The Juice is Gone

• Grifters Gonna Grift

• Toyota Updates the Fax Machine (bZ4X)

Tariffs Lead Nowhere Good

Now that there’s a new tax on steel and aluminum (plus apparently champagne now), and threats of no-exception tariffs coming soon on automakers, we know that Donald Trump and his cabinet of goons are content with destroying our economy. The Treasury Secretary has told us to focus on the “real economy,” whatever the fuck that is, and Trump has even yelled at us to stop talking about eggs.

The White House continues to gaslight what a tariff is, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt even pretending to be insulted when a reporter asked her if she’s ever paid a tariff. As an aside, she’s the best secretary I’ve seen in years in terms of feigning anger and being insulted. I’m sure the president is thrilled with her performance in the briefing room.

In some cases, tariffs make sense, but when you’ve lost The Wall Street Journal you’ve done fucked up good.

More importantly for the automotive executives and representatives that do read this newsletter, the world hates us. And they’re demonstrating that. Canadians aren’t just avoiding coming to the U.S. — and for good reason — they’re also boycotting American-made goods.

Canadians are going through the grocery store, and anything from the United States they’re turning upside down so other shoppers know not to buy it. Tesla sales are tanking globally. The Europeans are pushing back and not buying American-made goods.

At some point, they’re going to stop buying American-made cars or from companies that are American-based. How far that boycott will go remains to be seen, because right now the supply chain is so interconnected. But at the very least they’re going to see a Ford or GM brand badge on the hood and opt to look at something else.

You know it’s going to happen. I know it’s going to happen. It’s happening in other segments, so why wouldn’t it happen in automotive? It’d be naive to assume otherwise.

I wouldn’t even be surprised if guides start popping up showing people how to buy the least American-made vehicles as possible. Does the car you’re looking at have a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) starting with a 1 or a 5? Don’t buy it.

Sites like AutoTrader.ca (shoutout to my favorite editor ever who works there) could do a Not Made In America index like how Cars.com does its Made in America Index. I’m just spitballing here, but there’s going to be a market for this type of stuff if America keeps waging this stupid trade war.

(Editor’s note: Hold on, I have a new website idea I need to spin up.)

If I were BYD, for example, I’d be lobbying the Canadian and Mexican governments HARD right now to build manufacturing in each of those countries. If the U.S. automakers who build in those countries repatriate production to the United States, those countries will want to make up for the loss in manufacturing.

If I were Nissan, who appears to be teetering financially according to reporting, I’d simply pull out of the United States. I’d run an ad campaign throughout Europe, Canada, and Mexico that if you buy a Nissan, you aren’t buying American.

And if I were GM and Ford, I’d be putting up a fight and not trying to make a deal. Trump doesn’t honor his deals. Can GM or Ford survive if the rest of the world boycotts its products? Maybe. It seems like a silly fight though, especially when these companies are making some pretty good products.

Plus, latching on to someone like Trump now also doesn’t make sense because he no longer has the juice…

Cut Through Noise with The Flyover!

The Flyover offers a refreshing alternative to traditional news.

We deliver quick-to-read, informative content across sports, business, tech, science, and more that cuts through the noise of mainstream media.

The Flyover's talented team of editors meticulously collects the day's most important news, ensuring you stay informed on top stories and equipped to win your day.

Join over 950,000 savvy readers and leaders who trust The Flyover to provide unbiased insights, sourced from hundreds of outlets!

Subscribe with One Click!

The Juice is Gone

As I write this, Tesla stock (TSLA) is down around 4% from the open. While it’s still early, this downward trend continues as CEO Elon Musk suffers big financial losses based on his political choices. He almost started crying in an interview when asked about Tesla because things are so bad.