Importing a Prius Hybrid to Canada – Conclusion

Yesterday I had my new Prius inspected and licensed. Here is the remainder of the process (it’s BC specific, but should apply elsewhere in Canada).

(you can read the entire thread by following these posts: US/Canada Prius price comparison; US Customs forms; Step by step guide)

After coming home with the new car, I scanned and emailed the required documents (which included the Recall Letter AND printouts from Toyota’s recall database (provided by the US dealer) to RIV. About three business days later I called them up, and they emailed me my inspection form.

Just about the only modification required are daytime running lights.

I then got a temporary permit from ICBC for one day, and was off to Canadian Tire – I had them do the Federal & Provincial inspections, as well as installing DRL.

Even though they sell a DRL kit (which turns on ALL lights at 100%), this is NOT what they use when they install DRL themselves. On my (non-HID) Prius they installed DRL that run off the signal lights, not the main lights.

Costs:
Federal exam: free (included in RIV fee)
Provincial (BC) exam: $89.95
DRL parts: $40.93
DRL labor: $133.50
Gov’t inspection decal: $10

Once done with Canadian Tire, it was off to ICBC, and voila – it’s done.

Don’t forget, when you’re done with ICBC, to claim your PST refund. Here are detailed instructions (which were emailed to me by Ministry of Small Business and Revenue):

“To claim a PST refund complete and submit an Application of Refund for Social Service Tax Paid on a Vehicle form (FIN 413MV), which is available on our website at: www.sbr.gov.bc.ca/ctb/forms/0413MVFILL.pdf. For more information on the refund process, see GEN 008, Refunds of Overpayments of Tax, available on our website at: www.sbr.gov.bc.ca/ctb/publications/bulletins/gen_008.pdf.

When submitting the form, please remember to attach the relevant documentation including:

a) a copy of this email;

b) a copy of the registration certificate showing the make, model, year, and fuel type of the vehicle.

c) a copy of the bill of sale that indicates the date of purchase;

d) a copy of the ICBC receipt indicating the amount of PST that was paid when the vehicle was registered.

For more information see Bulletin SST 085, Alternative Fuel Vehicles and Alternative Motor Fuel Tax Concessions, available on our website at: http://www.sbr.gov.bc.ca/ctb/publications/bulletins/sst_085.pdf.”

That’s it! I’ll be happy to answer any questions regarding the import process. I highly recommend it.

— Oren

Importing a Prius hybrid to Canada – Step by Step Guide

Just got back a couple of hours ago from WA state with my brand new Prius.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to import your Prius, based on my experience:

(a) Find a Toyota dealer who’ll deal with you. This is a lot more difficult than it sounds, since Toyota does not allow its US dealers to sell to Canadians.

(b) Finalize the deal.

(c) Send all the required info to US Customs (see my previous post) at least 72 hours before your pick-up time.

(d) On the day before you pick the car up, get a temporary insurance binder from ICBC (or your provincial authority). This will allow you to drive the car home, provided the dealer set you up with temporary US permits.

(e) Go across the border.

(f) Pick up your car.

(g) Go back to the border crossing. Present your MSO to US Customs. They’ll compare it against the information you had sent them, and then they’ll stamp your MSO. This took about 45 seconds.

(h) Go to Canada customs. They’ll fill out RIV Form 1 for you. You’ll pay $206 RIV fee + duty + GST. All can be put on a credit card.

(i) Go home (don’t collect $200…)

I picked it up from the dealer just in time – they told me that Toyota is applying more and more pressure, and that they (the dealer) have now suspended sales to Canadians. Up until now they were just about the only dealer in WA state to sell to Canadians.

— Oren

Importing a Prius hybrid to Canada – US Customs forms

I went ahead and bought a Toyota Prius in the US. As part of the import (or export, depending on your point of view), you are required to provide information to US Customs at least 72 hours prior to taking the car out of the US.

For those of you who are based in BC, here are the instructions from Blaine / Pacific Highway US Customs:

(1) – Information packet

(2) – Worksheet

(3) – Status Form

Make sure to use these documents when submitting your vehicle’s information.

By the way, I was unable to fax the forms over to the Customs office – it was constantly busy. Instead, I scanned them all and emailed them to the email address listed in the Packet. Within an hour I had received an email confirmation, with the date on which I’ll be able to export the car from the US.

I’ll be picking up my new car next week, as which point I’ll post all about the actual border crossing experience.

— Oren

Importing a Prius hybrid to Canada

BC Business Magazine posted an article on the economics involved in importing vehicles from the US to Canada. As I’m currently researching the very same topic, here are some cost comparisons, for those of you who are looking to import a Toyota Prius.

It is almost impossible to compare apples to apples when looking at importing a Prius. The reason is quite simple – Canadian consumers have a smaller selection of packages and options to choose from. As such, a consumer looking as specific functionality may be required to pay for additional features, simply because they’ve been bundled into an expensive package.

Here are the features I was looking for:

- Prius ‘07

- VSC (Vehicle Stability Control)

- Backup camera

- Audio system /w MP3 support and aux input

In the US, this feature set is called Package #2. In Canada these features are part of Package B, which also includes premium audio, Bluetooth support, and many other features I don’t care for. However, since I won’t consider buying the car without the features I am looking for, the effective Canadian price becomes that of Package B.

Now for the cost comparison – US Prius ‘07 package 2 vs. Canada Prius ‘07 package B. Although the CAD is trading today at 1.056 CAD per USD, I’ll use the conservative 1.07 exchange rate. The results (in Canadian dollars) are astounding:

- MSRP:

• Canada: $35,360 (includes package B)
• US: $23,727.25

- US Package 2: $615.25

- Accessories (high-end cabin+cargo mats, first aid kit):

• Canada: $300 (not all accessories are available)
• US: $365.94 (for all desired accessories)

- Destination charge (note that in both cases the vehicle comes directly from Japan to the west coast):

• Canada: $1,240
• US: $663.4

- Levies (A/C, battery, tires): $125 in both cases.

- Additional fees (est.): $66 in both cases.

- Duty:

• Canada: $0
• US: $1551.76 (at a rate of 6.1%)

- PST (BC, 7%):

• Canada: $2,596.3
• US: $1898.08

- GST (6%):

• Canada: $2,225.4
• US: $1,626.93

- RIV fee (for importing a vehicle into Canada):

• US: $195

- Installing daytime running lights on imported vehicle:

• US: $150 ($40 parts + $85 labor, USD)

- Vehicle inspection for imported vehicle:

• US:~$150 (est.)

- BC PST refund (up to $2,000):

• Canada: $2,000
• US: $1,898.08

Total price, Canada: $39,911

Total price, US: $29,221

Price difference: $10,690

All I can say is “wow”. You can save +$10k by driving south for 90 minutes. And before you ask, Toyota’s warranty covers North America – Canada included.

Of course Toyota isn’t making this easy – they try and prevent US dealers from selling to Canadians. But some dealers will take your money – do your research.

More to follow…

— Oren

Degardener on mobile content adoption

Aner @ Degardener wrote about his impressions from MEM 2007.  First of all, I’m envious of Aner for being able to attend.   I’ve been debating whether or not I should go, and decided against it (too early for BUZmob).

 Aner’s findings re: mobile content adoption fit perfectly with our own research.  Mobile users are willing to pay for content (or to accept advertising) provided that:

(a) They can easily discover content - open-ended search may not be enough.  A combination of push-pull (recommendations, push-from-web, etc.) is needed.

(b) They can easily access the content on their device – no client downloads, no complex URLs to type, no hundreds of bookmarks to manage.

(c) The experience is useful – don’t crash my phone, don’t make me scroll through endless menus, don’t make me consume useless content (and pay for it), don’t push me files my handset cannot handle, etc.

Degardener is alluding to the invisible elephent sitting in the room - the cost of accessing the mobile internet must make sense.  Aner writes: “It was great to hear executives from operators presenting plans to further breakdown their walled gardens and push flat data rates. It seems like it’s only a question of price points now.”  – I wish.

Depending on where you are from, you may be shocked to learn that here, in Canada, Telus is charging $0.05 cents PER PAGE BROWSED. <click> $ <click> $ <click> $ – you get the picture.  My monthly bills easily hit $200.  No matter how great the mobile content is, the cost of accessing the network is prohibitive (why won’t I switch to Fido/Rogers, where one pays by traffic and not by page?  Because they’re on EDGE, and I want my EV-DO).

Prices in the UK are also very high, and some operators in Europe and in the US are now cutting back their so-called “unlimited” traffic plans.

Moreover, I advise that the genocide in Darfur must be stopped. 

— Oren

BUZmob mobile feed publishing service is now in open beta

Wow, it’s been a busy few months here at Contec Innovations.   Today we announced the immediate availability of our mobile feed publishing service, BUZmob.

 BUZmob is a web-based service which allows content publishers – bloggers, media sites, social networks, business websites – to instantly make their RSS/Atom based content available to all of their mobile readers.  Mobile users need not download anything to their phones, and don’t even have to subscribe to a web-based service in order to access mobile content.  The service combines text messaging, on-the-fly content adaptation, personalization, automatic bookmark generation and universal access to go beyond technophiles, and to enable even first time mobile-Internet users to easily interact with the content they regularly consume on the web.

You can read all about BUZmob on our official BUZmob blog.   You can also experience it yourself by clicking on the BUZme button – – on this page.  This will enable you to read my blog on your mobile, anywhere, anytime.

Most importantly, BUZmob also allows mobile end users to add any RSS/Atom feedto their BUZmob mobile bookmarks, even if the feed’s publisher has not implemented BUZmob.  You can check this out by visiting http://www.buzmob.com/buzme.php.

I am very excited about BUZmob.  It allows content publishers and bloggers to communicate with all their mobile users without having to consider which device they are using, which network, etc.  No longer are mobile solutions limited to early adopters and smart phone users.

BUZmob is in open beta – it is open, but it is still in beta.  You can expect lots of new features and changes in the near future, including content monetizing for publishers.

To learn more, visit our blog and check out http://www.buzmob.com.

Moreover, I advise that the genocide in Darfur must be stopped. 

— Oren

The Genocide in Darfur – Blog Awareness Campaign

The folks at Degardener have initiated a blog-awareness campaign, to increase awareness of the genocide taking place in Darfur (Sudan).

The campaign calls for each post to be signed-off with this sentence: “Moreover, I advise that the genocide in Darfur must be stopped”.

I know there are plenty of cynics out there who would surely point out that

(a) the web is a poor vehicle for effecting policy and social change at the macro-level (as opposed to focused micro-level campaigns) and that

 (b) this type of involvement allows us to easily feel “we’re doing something” without taking to the streets or applying more effective methods to protest or to call for change (such as writing your Congressman)-  it makes us “feel good” while at the same time further weakening the more effective democratic process (you can read more about how these “do good” initiatives actually serve to make us complacent in David Harvey’s seminal book A Brief History of Neoliberalism) .

But this is really not the case here.  In the case of the Darfur genocide the biggest problem is ignorance.  This is about awareness, as a first step towards action.  Most people in the West have no idea where Darfur is, what is this all about, and why they should be doing something about it.

The genocide in Darfur is a tough story to “sell”.  It is taking place on a continent which has long been neglected in the media, it involves people who have no political or economic clout (no oil, no “war on terror”) and its misery is entirely hidden from mainstream media consumers.

With that in mind, I think the Web is a strong vehicle for increasing awareness, especially if we harness the power of our social networks.  I do not expect this to be “effective”, but I do see it as a small step towards raising awareness, and perhaps towards getting more people thinking about this issue, and taking some form of action.

Moreover, I advise that the genocide in Darfur must be stopped.

— Oren

Web 2.0 Expo – Are We There Yet?

I finally got back from Web2.0 Expo in SF.  It was one of those events which attract all sorts of exhibitors, attendees and speakers.  With more than 10,000 attendees (rumor has it at 16,000), it was packed (to the point where, as always, the wireless network was a joke).

 My personal experience at the Expo was mixed.  I spent most of the time at the expo-hall, mingling and talking to exhibitors and attendees.

If the exhibitors reflect existing/upcoming trends, then overall the message is, well, grim.  Of the +100 exhibitors at the conference, I only found a handful few to be exciting and innovative.  As one was cruising from one booth to the next, a feeling “me too” was in the air.  In many cases, when I asked “how are you different from that guy across the hall?”, the reply was “we are better”.  Hmm.

Trend-wise, there were several companies built around mash-up/API/data-extraction tools and services.  From the simple to the complex, from the smallest start up to AOL/MSFT/IBM.  My favorite one in that group is Dapper.  It is so simple to use, it makes some of the more “developer-oriented” solutions seem old and clunky.

Then we had the enterprise wiki companies.  Lots of them.  All were peddling, well, wikis.  Not much differentiation there, no matter what they say.

And of course, social networks.  In all shapes and colors.

Many of the exhibitors were very early stage, to the point where it was unclear to me (and to them) what their conference goals were.  When asked “what are you looking to achieve here” they could not come up with an answer.  Considering how much it costs to participate in one of these events, this is definitely odd (and something their investors should be worried about).

Others could not answer the “what is your business model” question, always going back to features and technology.   Call me a traditionalist, but where I come from (telecom), business models are somewhat important.  Look at it this way – am I likely to incorporate into my application some 3rd party service which has no business model (here today, gone tomorrow)?

Don’t get me wrong, there were some great products and services out there, but I did not sense real excitement.  In most cases it was a clear case of a pure Insider play – Web2.0 companies pitching to other Web2.0 fans, with very few ideas that can become main-stream.

Some of the companies/products I really liked:

Etelos - wow, they made a huge splash.  Applications, development, enterprise. 

G.ho.st - Very cool virtual computer service, one which utilizes Amazon’s S3 storage service.  And it’s an Israeli/Palestinian company, something you don’t see much these days (or ever).

Zude - They’re not an exhibitor, but I did run into their CTO/founder.  Just go to the site.  It defies easy definition.  Going live next month, but lots of info on the site.  Check out ZDNet coverage.

All in all, this was a “business as usual” type event.  Which probably bodes well to the Web2.0 industry as a whole.  See you next time around!

— Oren

p.s.:  Conference presentations (some of them) should be made available, over time, here.

Web 2.0 Expo – Nokia S60 Widgets – Are we making any progress?

Nokia announced its S60 Widget platform – Web Runtime at the Web2.0 Expo yesterday.  I attended their presentation, which was given by a marketing person.

 When you do away with the hype and the (really) cool demos, what you end up with is this:

- Users (who must have up-to-date S60 phones) can download “widgets” to their phones,

- These widgets deliver “point” solutions for specific use cases (weather, ebay, etc.).

Hmm… let me see… if we use the term “application” instead of “widget”, we end up with this model:  User downloads application to his phone, and uses it to access web-based information.

Wow!  True innovation.   Not. 

Can anyones say “Java apps”?  The Nokia presenter failed to explain why adoption would be higher for “widgets” than for “applications”.   The fact is that most users simply do not download/install stuff on their phones.

The presenter also used some (IMHO) misleading stats to enhance the appeal of the solution.  Even though it targets only S60 devices, which currently command a very low market share, Nokia used stats which show global mobile phone penetration (billions of devices).  When challenged by the audience, the presented acknowledged that the stats were irrelevant for the topic at hand.

Worst, the presenter acknowledged (only when asked) that even current S60 phones will not be able to support this new functionality (which has not yet been launched, and is still in beta). 

In other words, no one, right now, can use S60 widgets.

The pitch at Web2.0 Expo was clearly for developers – attracting widget developers in order to enhance the value of the S60 OS.  But attracting developers will depend on commercial availability, marketing channels, business models and adoption rates.  On all these issues Nokia is silent.

What is the role of the carrier in the seemingly open S60 widget world?  We don’t know.

What are the expected business models?  We don’t know.

How will it be any different than the Java model?  We don’t know.

Finally, a comment for presenters:  Sometimes more is less.  The Nokia presenter joked that “…I’m surprised – I just went through for demo examples, and nothing went wrong…”.  One of the first questions that came up had to do with the stability of the new technology – “…why were you surprised?  Did you expect anything to go wrong?…”

— Oren

Would you have funded Columbus?

I have just finished reading Daniel Boorstin’s classic book – The Discoverers.  I strongly recommend it to anyone who is interested in a well-written and well-structured survey of scientific thought and progress throughout the ages.  Boorstin’s book focuses on those key individuals who have brought about scientific progress in all branches of science, from geography to psychology.

At the same time, Guy Kawasaki has recently posted an entry on how to attract a VC’s attention.  It continues Guy’s posts on the interaction between entrepreneurs and VCs.  I find Guy’s post to be very relevant to Boorstin’s book.

With each passing generation we seem to consider VCs as an institution grounded in the present.  For example, few recall that it was VCs who launched the PC revolution (with the funding of Apple Computers way back when in the 70’s).

But VCs (and VC-like institutions) existed long before modern technology.  Take Columbus’s story for example.  Here is an entrepreneur who is trying to get funding for his start up:  To discover the western passage to the Far East.  His powerpoint presentation is a collection of new and ancient maps and manuscripts.  His business model is based on being able to provide a more stable, more profitable supply chain for goods from the Orient (vs. using obscure land routes to get there). 

The VCs in question are the rulers of western Europe – Portugal, Spain, Italy, and the city-states.  The pitch is clearly VC in nature – “you invest in my venture and in return you get a piece of the action”.  This is very different from the bankers’ approach (rich Venice merchants) – “you loan me the money, I get rich, I repay the loan + interest”.

It took Columbus 7 years to get the funding he was after.  For one thing, he was pitching his plan at a time when someone else was already providing a solution to the same problem.  In 1488 Bartolomeu Dias was the first European to round the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, proving that it was an eastern sea passage from Europe to the Orient.  In fact, Columbus was just about to get funded by the kind of Portugal, when Dias sailed back from his journey and disclosed the news.  Columbus was promptly turned away.

Taking advantage of the competitive market in which he was operating (with European states competing for trade routes) Columbus pitched his idea to the Spanish royals, eventually getting the funding he was looking for.  His contract with his investors sounds surprisingly familiar:  A profit sharing agreement, with the financiers owning parts of the deal.

Columbus was an entrepreneur, but, as Boorstin points out, not an innovator.  He did the right thing for all the wrong reasons.  His ideas were very conservative, as were his sources.  He got most of his facts wrong (to the end of his life he was still claiming to have reached the Orient).  In fact, it turns out Columbus got lucky – he had managed to find what turned out to be the only good navigable route between Europe and the New World.  Years later, navigators would still use the same route.  Regardless though, it is Columbus’s drive and focus, coupled with his leadership skills, that enabled him to exploit his (accidental) discovery.

Yet another similarity comes to mind between Columbus’s venture and today’s start ups.  Columbus was totally ignorant of the magnitude of his discovery.  It would take others to figure out that he had in fact discovered a new continent.  It would take years before the full impact of his venture would be realized.  This is not unlike the modern PC/software/web revolutions, where value is created in ways unimagined by the original innovators.  Think WWW, HTML, TCP/IP, open source, mobile communications, Web2.0 and so on.  It is interesting to consider what would our world be like today if funding was not available for such endeavours.

So, would you (or Guy Kawasaki for that matter) have funded Columbus?

— Oren