Perhaps the Big Three domestic automakers should move their headquarters to Toronto.

The Canadian government reports that 2004 was the first time more vehicles were built in the province of Ontario than in the state of Michigan.

Thanks to DaimlerChrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda and Toyota plants, the Canadians built 2.6 million vehicles, the Michiganders 2.5 million.

And the vehicles built in Ontario that are among the most popular models bought by those living south of the border:

The Chrysler 300 and Pacifica; Dodge Magnum; Chrysler and Dodge minivans; Chevrolet Impala, Monte Carlo and Equinox; Pontiac Grand Prix; Buick LaCrosse; Ford Crown Victoria and Freestar; Mercury Grand Marquis and Monterey; Honda Civic, Odyssey and Pilot; Acura MDX; Toyota Corolla and Matrix; and Lexus RX330.

Soon Ontario plants will build the Dodge Charger sedan, Pontiac Torrent SUV and Honda Ridgeline pickup.

Lutz tells it like it is

When it comes to candor, few equal GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz.

For example, on the perception that U.S. automakers offer incentives while the Japanese don’t: “We put the money on the hood, they put the money in the trunk,” he said, meaning domestic automakers give incentives directly to the consumers and the Japanese give them to the dealers to use as they see fit.

On styling attracting buyers: “Styling is what you see 50 feet away. But attracting people to your vehicles goes beyond styling. Where we underperformed in past years was when people got 2 feet away and examined fit and finish.”

On higher resale values for Japanese cars: “It’s not a physical deterioration of our cars as it is when you put a $3,000 incentive on a domestic car the retained value goes down by $3,000.

We’ve destroyed residual values with incentives and selling (at discount) to daily rental companies.”

On domestic automakers burdened with excess production capacity: “There’s no such thing as excess capacity. It is misallocated capacity.”

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(Write to Jim Mateja, Chicago Tribune, 616 Atrium Drive, Vernon Hills, IL 60061-1523, or send e-mail, including name and hometown, to jmatejatribune.com.)

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(c) 2005, Chicago Tribune.

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Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

AP-NY-02-04-05 0622EST