It's fairly easy to make the case for the idea that 2004 was the best year ever for Canadians buying new vehicles, and that 2005 will be even better.

Last year, Canadians could choose from a huge selection of great (higher quality, more content, better performance, more value, better warranties, et cetera) vehicles from an industry that went to unparalleled lengths (rebates, deals, incentives, giveaways, reduced financing rates) to sell them.

Yet despite this fabulously fertile market, the number of new vehicle buyers did not much change from the year before and there's little evidence that the number will go up in 2005.

So into a stagnating market the auto companies are set to pour dozens of new models, including a great number of nameplates that we don't already have.

This torrent of new vehicles for 2005 (including one called Torrent, ironically) began at the Los Angeles show last week and picked up speed at the Detroit auto show this week. More will come in Chicago and Toronto in February and New York in the spring and then Frankfurt and Tokyo this fall and wherever and whenever the car companies think they can get an edge.

In 12 months, then, the range of new vehicle choices we have now will look meagre by comparison, and the level of technical sophistication, quality, content and value will be a good distance beyond the current marks.

All of the car companies will be revved up to sell more vehicles than they sold last year, nearly all to levels (two or three times their current volumes) that mathematics and rationality tell you that they could not reach even if their competitors were standing still, which they certainly are not.

Even the people who avoided economics in school and skip Report on Business when they read The Globe and Mail know what happens in a situation like this, where supply far outstrips demand and the very survival of some of the firms or their executives is at stake.

Enticements to buy will increase and dealers will be more desperate than ever to make deals, and that's on the greatest and most competent array of product we've ever seen.

This buyers' market can't last forever, but it will certainly continue racing along through this year and into 2006 at least.

In time, last year, this year, next year and maybe 2007 will constitute a golden age of automotive choice for Canadian consumers, the kind of era that you will bore your grandkids talking about when you're old.

North America car/truck

of year named

Chrysler's 300/300C and Ford's Escape Hybrid have been named North American car and truck of the year for 2005, respectively, by a jury of 48 independent auto writers from Canada and the United States.

The awards were handed out at the North American International Auto Show on Sunday, but there is no connection between the jury and the show, or between the jury and the car companies.

Unlike other awards, the North American awards are not financed by the car companies, and the jurors -- including myself and seven other Canadians -- are all full-time professional auto writers.

It was the second year in a row that a hybrid vehicle has been honoured by the group, following last year's win by the Toyota Prius as the North American Car of the Year.

Each year since 1994, the jury of automotive journalists representing newspapers, magazines, television and now the Internet honours a new car and a new truck that set the new standard in their segments in areas including innovation, value for the dollar, safety, ride and handling.

Early in December, the jurors voted on 17 new cars and 12 new trucks. The ballots were sent to Steven Laughman, a partner at the accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche in Detroit.

The names of the finalists were released on Dec. 13 and included the Chrysler 300/300C, the Ford Mustang and the Chevrolet Corvette for Car of the Year, and the Ford Escape Hybrid, the Ford Freestyle and the Land Rover LR3 for Truck of the Year.

Each juror was given 25 points to divide among cars and 25 points to divide among trucks, but no more than 10 points could be given to a single car and a single truck. That means the most points a car or truck could get for 2005 would be 480 points.

In the car category, the Chrysler 300 got 313 points, the Ford Mustang 256 and the Corvette 108.

In the truck category, the Ford Escape Hybrid got 232 points, the Land Rover LR3 got 163 and the Ford Freestyle 148.

Those selections were made from a list of cars that included: Acura RL, Audi A6, BMW 6-Series, Buick Allure/LaCrosse, Cadillac STS, Chevrolet Corvette, Chrysler 300/300C, Dodge Magnum, Ford Five Hundred, Ford Mustang, Honda Accord Hybrid, Honda Odyssey, Pontiac G6, Porsche 911, Scion tC, Subaru Legacy, and Volvo S40/V50.

The truck nominees included Chevrolet Equinox, Dodge Dakota, Ford Escape Hybrid, Ford Freestyle, Ford F-Series Super Duty, Hyundai Tucson, Infiniti QX56, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Land Rover LR3, Nissan Frontier, Nissan Pathfinder and Toyota Tacoma.

Last year's North American Car of the Year was the Toyota Prius, while the North American Truck of the Year was the Ford F-150.

BMW brings new engines

and AWD to 5-Series

To help stem a sales slide in its car offerings (down 37 per cent in December), BMW Canada will start selling the "value-packed" 525i and the 530xiT Touring models this summer, using a pair of new inline-six engines, and add all-wheel-drive to the lineup.

So, the new 5-Series lineup will include the 525i sedan, the 525xi sedan with xDrive all-wheel drive, the 530i sedan, the 530xi sedan with xDrive all-wheel drive, the 530xi Touring with xDrive all-wheel drive, and the 545i sedan.

Prices are still unknown, but we can expect the new entry-level mode, the 525i, will carry an MSRP of around $60,000, since the current entry-level model, the 530i, retails for $66,500.

Except for the 545i sedan, all of the 5-Series models will get one of two new inline-six engines, and the BMW 525xi and 530xi models will also use the xDrive.

The 2.5-litre inline-six in the 525 models will produce 221 hp at 6,500 rpm and 184 lb-ft of torque between 2,720 to 4,250 rpm, while the 3-litre in the 530 models will produce 262 hp at 6,600 rpm and 221 lb-ft of torque between 2,500 to 4,000 rpm.

A six-speed automatic transmission with Steptronic (which allows pseudo-manual shifting) is available as an option and would presumably deliver slower launch times.

Kevin Marcotte of BMW Canada says customers benefit from the new straight-six power units in two ways: "First, from the significant increase in output and torque, with excellent high-speed running qualities and turbine-like running smoothness. Second, from a further improvement of fuel economy."

Marcotte was not able to quote any Transport Canada fuel economy numbers for the new models, but he does claim that "the average improvement of fuel economy versus the former models [adds] up to a significant figure of approximately 7 per cent."

As for the xDrive system, Marcotte says that it "gives the driver all the benefits of four-wheel drive whenever required without having to suffer many of the disadvantages of four-wheel drive the rest of the time."