2006-Pontiac-GTO610578_

Chris D’Alessandro is a writer living in downtown Toronto. Growing up in a family of used car dealers and mechanics, he’s been immersed in car culture his entire life. A frequent contributor to VICE Canada, Chris’ screenwriting work has also won a Canadian Comedy Award. So, “hipster, wise-ass, gearhead” pretty much covers it. Follow Chris on Twitter @chrisdaless and Instagram @chrdalessandro

There are a lot of interesting cars that never arrive in Canada.

You may assume that’s because a lot of interesting cars never come to North America in general, and that’s mostly true. But even the United States gets a few vehicles which remain illegal on this side of the border.

However, one bonus to Canada is that our import rule is only 15 years. Meaning as soon as a car turns 15 years old, it’s legal to import. It’s why we got JDM classics like the Nissan Skyline before they were officially legal in the United States.

Every year there are more vehicles that were never sold in Canada which become legal to import, insure and register. These are a few of the most interesting and desirable examples.
<h3><strong>Audi B7 RS4 Avant (2006 - 2008)</strong></h3>
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-177324" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2006-Audi-RS4-Avant1386439_-scaled.jpg" alt="Audi RS4 Avant" width="2560" height="1707" />

Until very recently, the Germans haven’t liked selling us their wagons, especially the ones based on their hottest saloons. For example, the RS6 Avant has only been available since 2021. The cult-favorite BMW M5 Touring is rumored to come to North America next year for the first time ever.

But, if you’re a true “bicycle rack on the roof” euro-enthusiast you can now taste the forbidden fruit of the Audi RS4 Avant. Like the B7 RS4 saloon, the wagon variant featured the 420-horsepower, 4.2-litre V8, all-wheel-drive and a six-speed manual gearbox. But unlike the saloon, the Avant can also do wagon things, so, it’s way more cool… somehow (I don’t know, euro-enthusiasts are a particular sort).

Since the latest RS4 Avant still won’t be coming to Canada, you might as well go for the future classic version.
<h3><strong>Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo (2008)</strong></h3>
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-177323" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/IMG_3403-1.jpg" alt="Ford Falcon" width="1575" height="1181" />

How do you say, “Kick it in the guts, Barry!” in Canadian?

The Ford Falcon nameplate died in North America in 1970. But Australia kept the car alive as a substitute for the Mustang and Torino. Of course, the Aussie Falcon would eventually become an icon of its own through the<em> Mad Max </em>films.

Late-model Falcons have more in common with a domestic market Taurus, at least, from the outside. But it’s what’s inside that makes the XR6 Turbo worth importing.

The XR6 features the epic 4.0 “Barra” turbo inline-six engine. In stock form, the engine made 360 horsepower thanks to a turbocharger producing 10 pounds of boost. Not bad as a start. But because of that high boost, the Barra engine was entirely overbuilt — sort of like a 2JZ or “Terminator” 4.6-litre engine — and became beloved by tuners for its high horsepower capabilities.

North Americans are only now coming around to the legendary reputation of the Barra engine thanks to some infamous engine swaps showcased by some of YouTube’s most popular automotive influencers.

“Just give ‘er, bud!” That’s how you say it.
<h3><strong>Honda Civic FD2 / FN2 Type R (2007 - 2008)</strong></h3>
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-177328" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/410197_HONDA_CELEBRATES_25_YEARS_OF_THE_CIVIC_TYPE_R-scaled.jpg" alt="Honda Civic FN2" width="2560" height="1707" />

The third-ever Honda Civic Type R was to be realized in two distinct models… but neither of them were for the North American market. We would have to wait another ten years before the Type R finally came across the pond in 2017.

Japan got the four-door compact, 220-horsepower K20A-powered FD2, while the UK received the 198-horsepower K20Z4-powered hot hatch FN2.

Somewhere, a Honda fanatic is rapidly typing a response highlighting the further differences between the two models. To which I say, calm down. I already bored the readers by telling them there was more than one variant of the “K20” engine.

The important bit is that both the JDM and UK variant are now 15-years-old and you can have them in Canada, albeit with the steering wheel on the wrong side.
<h3><strong>Holden Special Vehicles Maloo (2008)</strong></h3>
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-177326" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2008_HSV_MalooR81.jpeg" alt="HSV Maloo" width="800" height="600" />

The underpinning of the Maloo should be familiar to North American buyers. It’s built on GM’s Zeta platform just like the Camaro SS, Chevrolet SS and Pontiac G8. But the Maloo is not a saloon. It’s a “ute” — a great Aussie term to once and for all settle whether vehicles like the El Camino are a car or a pickup truck. They’re neither. They’re a ute.

Like an El Camino, you sort of want a Maloo just for the laugh of it. With 400 horsepower derived from its 6.0-litre LS2 V8, rear-wheel-drive and optional six-speed gear box, this is an absolute burnout machine. And it’s unique styling means you’ll definitely be the only one at the Tim Hortons parking lot with one.

One does have to wonder, while GM was screwing around with trash like the Chevy SSR, why they never imported the Maloo, slapped a bow tie on it and called it an El Camino…
<h3><strong>Pontiac GTO (2006)</strong></h3>
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-177319" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2004-Pontiac-GTO609278_-scaled.jpg" alt="Pontiac GTO" width="2560" height="1710" />

There are all kinds of rumors and speculations as to why the final generation of Pontiac GTO wasn’t sold in Canada.

Some say it was a NAFTA thing — that GM was not willing to pay the additional import tax to sell the car in Canada. Others say that production numbers were so low, GM simply did not want to earmark any GTO models for the Canadian market.

However, the most substantiated explanation is that the front bumper did not meet Canada’s crash requirements. This was actually <a href="https://www.wheels.ca/reviews/pontiac-gto-charges-again-but-only-in-us">reported by The Star in 2004</a>, and is based on an interview with a rep from GM Canada.

Regardless of why you couldn’t have one in 2006, 15 years are now up on the last-ever Pontiac GTO. So you can have one in Canada as of 2021.

The 06’ is essentially the same as the ‘05 GTO, at least, in all the ways that are important. An LS2 V8 produces 400 horsepower, with either a 6-speed auto or manual transmission. Though the ‘06 does include a plug-in port for a radar detector…
<h3><strong>Nissan Skyline 370GT (2007 - 2008)</strong></h3>
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-177321" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/IMG_3408.jpg" alt="Nissan Skyline 370GT" width="2349" height="1020" />

Okay, we basically got this car in Canada. This is the Infiniti G37. It was a G37 everywhere in the world… except for Japan, where it retained the familiar Skyline moniker.

That means you get the same 3.7-litre V6 producing 330 horsepower, an optional 6-speed manual and rear-wheel-drive. There are a few different trim levels. The “Type P” (for “Premium”) upgraded the interior and comfort features. The “Type S” for (for “Sport”) offered larger wheels and tires. The “Type SP” (you guessed it) gave you both option groups.

Why not just buy a G37? Because let’s be real. It is infinitely more interesting to drive around with “Skyline” written on your car than it is “G37”. And having the steering wheel on the wrong side is nothing if not a conversation starter.

Incidentally, you can also now import the earliest R35 GT-R models from Japan.
<h3><strong>Suzuki Jimny Sierra (2008)</strong></h3>
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-177322" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/IMG_3410.jpg" alt="Suzuki Jimny" width="1815" height="1170" />

Imagine if somebody took a Toyota FJ cruiser and hit it with a shrink ray. That’s a Jimny.

The Jimny is actually a badge that would be more recognized globally than in North America. It’s been around internationally since 1970 in Asia, Australia and Europe. It wasn’t until the mid-80s that Suzuki introduced the car to North American buyers as the Samurai.

North American sales of the Samurai ceased in 1995, but the Jimny has lived on across the globe. Mazda even once offered a re-badged version under their AZ brand.

The 2008 model may still only have 83 horsepower produced by the 1.3-litre engine, but it still features proper 4x4 and has received high praise globally for its surprising off-road capabilities.

If you ask me, I think this may just be the perfect city car.
<h3><strong>VW Golf MK5 R32 (2007 - 2008)</strong></h3>
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-177325" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/4177-TheGolfR32.jpg" alt="Golf MK5 R32" width="2400" height="1545" />

The MK4 and MK5 VW Golf R32’s both feature the beloved and coveted VR6 engine. However, neither were sold in Canada. What’s worse is that this was not a case of the Europeans keeping the good stuff for their domestic market. Oh no. The States got the R32. But not Canada.

It’s not exactly clear why. VW was apparently always skeptical of selling the car in America and the rumor goes that they were only motivated into doing so at the behest of a journalist who assured them the car would go over very well in the States.

Whatever the reason, Canadian “dubbers” were angry, to say the least. There are still forum threads from the mid ‘00s of VW fans dreaming up elaborate plans to get their R32 north of the border. Seriously, some of them read like a scheme from <em>Better Call Saul</em>. Talks of vin and badge swapping, trying to import one as “salvage”, asking relatives in the States to purchase the car in their name.

I mean, yeah, the 3.2-litre 24V VR6 has that nice, beefy torque and really sweet engine note, but, <em>all that </em>for a VW?

15 years later, you can import and register an R32 without all the fuss. And as an inexpensive and conversation-worthy alternative to a brand new hot hatch, the 250-horsepower Golf is actually quite appealing.

8 Cars You Can Finally Import Into Canada

2009 Chevrolet TrailBlazer SS

The 2000s as a decade can be defined by two key, tragic events.

The first is 9-11. It was the day the ‘90s truly died. When we were forced to accept that history was not over as the previous decade had predicted.

The second was the 2008 financial crash. A cataclysmic event which wiped out livelihoods and savings, and which saw some of the oldest nameplates in American automotive disappear forever.

In between were two ethically dubious wars. Some transformative cinema. The election of the first African-American U.S. president. And cars. Some, actually quite interesting, awesome and nothing if not indicative of their place in time.

The 2000s tend to get written off in the minds of automotive enthusiasts. Most will mark the return to sports performance in the early 90s… but then mentally jump to the ultra-high performance of today with nothing in between. No transitions. No evolution. No growing pains.

And true enough there was a lot of truly boring, humdrum crap from the 2000s. The bean counters and boomers still reigned supreme forcing nostalgia-bait trash like the Chrysler PT Cruiser and Chevrolet HHR into the market. The Dodge Caliber is the worst car I have ever driven.

But the ‘00s was also the dawn of the millennials and the return of engineers to the helm of development. Seeds were planted in the ‘00s for what would be the true golden age of sports cars, muscle cars, hot hatches, and even SUVs here in the ‘20s.

Still, so few vehicles can escape the time in which they were created and lived. So many ‘00s cars boomed, then busted… and then disappeared. So many on this list feel like a defiant western hoorah — cheap, loud, bold, classless — with lives abruptly cut short by a crisis triggered by shortsightedness and greed.

If ever an entire generation of cars were an allegory for capitalism, it was in the ‘00s.
<h3><strong>Cadillac XLR-V (2006 - 2009)</strong></h3>
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-176529" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/2006-Cadillac-XLR-V-scaled.jpg" alt="Cadillac XLR-V" width="2560" height="1709" />

Gather 'round children and let me tell you about the time GM made a luxury Corvette, and incidentally, the last convertible Cadillac.

It’s not difficult to see GM’s thinking with the XLR. Since the average Corvette buyer was in their mid-50s and the ‘Vettes of the day were only getting more hardcore and back-breaky, why not make something a retired golf-ist might enjoy? Seems like a solid pitch. But the XLR was still a sales flop, failing to excite both the Cialis oldies and the Escalade newbies.

Still, there’s nothing to mock about the ultra-hot XLR-V which not only featured a supercharged variant of the 4.6-litre Northstar V8, but also an early version of GM’s magna-ride suspension. The XLR-V’s historical significance, combined with its rarity may just make it a future collector’s item.
<h3><strong>Chevrolet Cobalt SS (2005 - 2010)</strong></h3>
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-176528" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/09-Chevy-Cobalt-SS.jpg" alt="Chevrolet Cobalt SS" width="1000" height="584" />

It cannot be overstated how integral the Cobalt SS was to my generation of car enthusiasts. Parking lot meets were simply littered with the things from the mid-2000s through to the early teens. In many ways, the Cobalt SS was like the millennial Chevelle — a cheap, two-door commuter Chevy with a “hot’ engine stuffed under the hood, mostly purchased second-hand by dazed and confused youths.

The standard SS received a 2.4-litre NA engine, which was admittedly a little asthmatic — a meager 171 horsepower was only good for 0 - 100 km/h times around 7 seconds. The supercharged 2.0-litre variant, however, boasted 205 horsepower and cut 0 - 100 times by over a second and a half.

Best of the bunch, though, was a final turbocharged version, which received high praise in 2008 for its impressive powerband and handling prowess. With its FWD layout, 260 horsepower, and 0 - 100 times around 5 seconds, the turbo SS <em>may</em> just be able to scratch that Type R itch for a third of the price. Or at least, a third of the itch.
<h3><strong>Chevrolet Trailblazer SS (2006 - 2009)</strong></h3>
<img class="aligncenter wp-image-176526 size-full" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/trailblazer-ss-scaled.jpg" alt="2009 Chevrolet TrailBlazer SS" width="2560" height="1703" />

Long before Dodge was stuffing Hellcat V8s into the Durango, Chevrolet had the bright idea to drop its Corvette-sourced LS2 V8 into a completely unassuming, grocery and hockey-practice Trailblazer, creating one of the best sleepers to come out of the mid-2000s.

The 6.0-litre V8 delivered a healthy 395 horsepower and its 20-inch chrome wheels are some of the most indicative styling choices of the decade. The whole thing seemed like something done on a whim, and that’s perhaps just one of the many reasons why Chevy decided to axe the Trailblazer SS post-financial collapse.<strong> </strong>

<strong>Dodge Magnum SRT-8 (2006 - 2008)</strong>

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-176524" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/2006-Dodge-Magnum-SRT8-scaled.jpg" alt="Dodge Magnum SRT8" width="2560" height="1475" />

For any Gen Z readers, the Magnum was a Charger station wagon. No more. No less. However, it actually beat the Charger to market by a few short years. I remember as an early teen trying to convince my mother to get this new sensible station wagon… with a HEMI.

She didn’t go for it and that’s probably for the best because like all Chrysler products from this era, the build quality was simply dreadful and the value plummeted like a stone.

That is, except for anything with an SRT badge. Just like the Charger SRT-8, the Magnum SRT-8 received the 6.1-litre HEMI producing 425 horsepower. Always an oddball in the lineup, it's easy to see why Dodge decided they could do without the Magnum, especially if it meant making room for the upcoming Challenger.

Still, one can’t help but imagine what a Hellcat Magnum might have been like…
<h3><strong>Pontiac Firebird Trans Am WS6 (1996 - 2002)</strong></h3>
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-176523" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/2001-Pontiac-Firebird-Trans-Am-WS6-Convertible806646_-scaled.jpg" alt="Pontiac Firebird Trans AM" width="2560" height="1707" />

When GM killed the Camaro for the first time in ‘02, its sister car, the Firebird Trans Am went with it. However, with Pontiac’s demise in 2009, the Trans Am would not return in 2010 alongside the Camaro.

It’s a shame. Because for two-thirds the price of a Corvette, you got a back seat and the same LS1 engine producing 325 horsepower, mated to a 6-speed manual transmission. The WS6 package also added wider tires and an air-induction system from the Corvette Z06.

While the performance would be considered lackluster by today’s standards, the WS6 was so dominating in the early ‘00s that it drove the Ford SVT boss mad. Cobras consistently lagged behind the Trans Ams. So SVT Mustangs were recalled, canceled, and then finally re-engineered into the mighty supercharged “Terminator” cars in 2003.
<h3><strong>Pontiac GTO (2004 - 2006)</strong></h3>
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-176522" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/2006-Pontiac-GTO610578_-scaled.jpg" alt="Pontiac GTO" width="2560" height="1920" />

A lot of people write off the fifth-generation GTO as not really being worthy of the name. Indeed, the last generation GTO was just a rebadge job. In Australia, the car was a Holden. In the UK, it was a Vauxhall. In other parts of the world, it was a Chevrolet Caprice.

It also didn’t do much to differentiate itself visually from the average Pontiac Grand Prix. Debuting just a few years before the Mustang and Challenger brought “future retro” styling into the muscle car revival, the GTO seemed almost instantly outdated.

But in many ways, the fifth-gen GTO is as much a GTO as Pontiac ever made. The GTO always shared a platform with rebadged GM products — first the Chevelle, the GS, the 442, then the Nova. And it barely ever differentiated itself from other Pontiacs outside of hood scoops, badges, and stickers. Don’t tell me you’ve <em>always</em> been able to tell a real GTO from a Tempest or LeMans from 50 feet away.

What really mattered about this GTO was a 5.7-litre, and then 6.0-litre LS-based V8 which made 400 horsepower in its final form. The GTO ultimately died to make room for the rebirthed Camaro. But to this day I still prefer the Pontiac because it was in <em>Need for Speed Underground 2</em>. And because it was never sold in Canada. Forbidden fruit.
<h3><strong>Pontiac G8 GT &amp; GXP (2008 - 2009)</strong></h3>
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-176521" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/89973fde-carscoop_pontiac_g8_1001.jpeg" alt="Pontiac G8 GT" width="1200" height="800" />

Everything you can say about the GTO you can say about the G8. Perhaps most tragically, this was the last great car Pontiac ever put its name on. The car received excellent reviews just before GM folded Pontiac for good after the 2008 crash.

The GT continued to offer the 6.0-litre V8, although the hottest model, the GXP received the updated 6.2-litre V8 which would later be offered in the new Camaro SS. 415 horsepower sent the GXP to 100 km/h in around 4.5 seconds. Quick even by today’s standards.

The car was rebranded simply as the Chevrolet SS after Pontiac’s demise. However, GM called no fanfare to the car, despite consistently positive reviews, as they planned to shutter the factory in Australia which produced the platform. Perhaps this is why Chevy avoided reviving a nameplate like Chevelle, Nova, or Monte Carlo as a way for the SS to compete with Dodge’s 4-door Charger.

With only two ever model years, and some genuine muscle car cred, if you’ve got a G8, it just might be worth holding on to.
<h3><strong>Lincoln LS V8 (2000 - 2006)</strong></h3>
My dad got one of these back in 2005 and I remember thinking we must have won the lottery. It was, by far, the nicest car he had ever owned up until that point. I had never sat in something so luxurious or with some many trick features. It was also <em>fast</em> and fun to drive. A new paradigm in my world.

Sure, it seems like a humdrum grandpa-mobile. But the LS was actually based on the same platform as the Jaguar S-Type. It also featured near 50-50 weight distribution, a select-shift automatic, RWD and a 3.9-litre V8 engine — a shorter stroke version of Jag’s 4.0-litre V8.

The Lincoln LS was actually<a href="https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2000-lincoln-ls-car-of-the-year/#:~:text=For%20these%20reasons%20and%20more,2000%20Car%20of%20the%20Year."> Motor Trend's Car of the Year in 2000</a>. “The LS not only brings a new dimension to Lincoln, but to American sport/luxury sedans as a whole,” the magazine claimed at the time.
<h3><strong>Mazda RX-8 (2004 - 2012)</strong></h3>
<img class="aligncenter wp-image-175844 size-full" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Mazda_RX8_R3_273.jpg" alt="Mazda RX-8" width="2400" height="1600" />

The RX-8 made it out of the 2000s but only just. I write a lot about the RX-8 because, for starters, I really miss my silver 2004 6-speed GT. And second because the prices on these things have sunk through the floor.

While the RX-8 never did and never will live up to the timelessly beautiful and culturally iconic RX-7, it remains a wonderfully compliant and exciting driver’s car. It is every bit a rotary-powered MX-5 that the sum total of its parts would lead you to believe.

If you can find one in good knick, and don’t mind topping up the oil every third gas fill up, then I can’t recommend enough the combined joys of a rotary engine screaming to 9,000 RPM, 50-50 weight distribution and RWD enough.
<h3><strong>Mazda Mazdaspeed3 (2007 - 2013)</strong></h3>
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-157037" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/2012_Mazdaspeed3_0036.jpg" alt="Mazda Mazdaspeed3" width="1280" height="850" />

Again the Mazdaspeed3 managed to make it out of the ‘00s but it was more of a hangover than anything else. Amidst incoming and stiff competition in the hot hatch market, and Mazda’s imminent rebrand as “budget luxury” (the loudest and longest of yawns) the Mazdaspeed3 simply couldn’t continue.

Like the Cobalt, the Mazda 3 was a staple of the late ‘00s and early teens. They were simply everywhere. If you were in your early 20s, you either had one, or your friend did.

Of course, with its 263 horsepower, turbocharged 2.3-litre engine, 6-speed manual transmission, tuned suspension, and iconic hood scoop, the Mazdaspeed3 was the coolest and most desirable of its ilk. With its FWD layout and hatchback bodystyle, the Mazdaspeed3 could also be today’s solution to a budget <a href="https://www.wheels.ca/reviews/2023-honda-civic-type-r-first-drive-review">Type R</a> or <a href="https://www.wheels.ca/reviews/why-i-love-my-vehicle-2022-volkswagen-golf-r">Golf R</a>.

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8 Cars You Can Finally Import Into Canada

10 Awesome, Forgotten Cars from the 2000s