Some intrepid folks do go south, and have been able to find dealerships willing to sell to them (various manufacturers have forbidden U.S. dealers to sell to Canadians, but there are retailers who have found ways around such restrictions). One such bargain-hunting individual is Ian Patterson, who wants a 2008 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Knowing that it would cost him $102, 130 Canadian at a dealership near him (that works out to $108,262 U.S.), he did a cross-border search and came up with a dealer in Atlantic City, N.J., who was happy to sell him the same model for $72,290 U.S., including a $5500 rebate.
It turns out that yes, he could buy from the Atlantic City dealership, but he'd never be able to bring it across the border. It's not that Transport Canada doesn't like Corvettes—it's that U.S.-spec Corvettes, along with any G.M. car, truck, or SUV made after Sept. 1, 2007 for sale in the U.S., most 2008 U.S. Hondas, and 13 U.S. Toyota models, including four of the most popular ones (hello, Prius!), have been ruled inadmissible to Canada, because they don't contain an anti-theft device known as a vehicle immobilizer. Such devices are not required on vehicles sold in the U.S., although some manufacturers do include them in certain models. And if the car you want is on the inadmissible list, installing an after-market device won't work, as they don't meet the Canadian standards (although they may be effective theft-deterrents in their own right).
As it turns out, Mr. Patterson lucked out, because he checked the Registrar of Imported Vehicles' website to see if the car he wanted was admissible before actually going down to New Jersey to buy the Corvette. That stopped him from making a very expensive trip—but others haven't been so lucky.
Honda Canada says that it knows of two buyers who bought 2008 Hondas in the States who aren't permitted to drive their cars in Canada—one apparently made it across the border before the new RIV documents appeared on the website, but the other owner was turned back at the border.
GM Canada says that it is complying with the vehicle immobilizer requirement on cars that it sells in Canada. Toyota does provide vehicle immobilizers on all of its Lexus vehicles, as well as on its Scion lineup (which isn't sold in Canada at all), but does not fit them on the U.S. versions of the 2008 Yaris Hatchback, Corolla, Prius, or Matrix. (The Yaris sedan may be imported if it has the optional-for-the-U.S. vehicle immobilizer, but it's not standard equipment.) Other manufacturers, such as Ford, equip all of their vehicles with vehicle immobilizers (so that a Canadian who really wants a 2008 Mercury car or SUV, which are not sold north of the border, could import one with no problem).
There are other reasons U.S.-spec cars can't be imported into Canada, and those are outlined at the RIV's website—usually they have to do with bumpers that don't meet Canadian standards (which are designed to protect the bumper at speeds up to 8 km/h, or 5 mph, instead of the flimsier U.S. 2.5 mph standard), and the placement of child-safety-seat and seatbelt latches, especially in older models (the Canadian standards are stricter).
via The Globe and Mail