Sadly, the cheap Quebec special has largely disappeared from the Canadian car market since this was written, for a couple of reasons. First, Quebec has had a decade of robust economic growth and a generational shift in which young people are less likely to drive at all, partly as the cost of driving has, as elsewhere, skyrocketed. Also, cars are better than they once were. Montreal was and is the world capital of road salt and cars used to age faster there than just about anywhere else, but this is no longer the case as cars simply last much longer. Seeing 10-15 year old cars on the streets of Montreal used to be rare (and they'd be held together by duct tape and faith), now seeing such cars in good shape is common. So if you are going to buy a car, might as well buy something a bit posher. Also, there are fewer cheaper cars on the market than there once were, although rising interest rates and affordability issues (not just in Quebec!) will, I hope, bring back the base-model-brilliant Accents, Micras, Yarises and Mirages.
Sadly, the cheap Quebec special has largely disappeared from the Canadian car market since this was written, for a couple of reasons. First, Quebec has had a decade of robust economic growth and a generational shift in which young people are less likely to drive at all, partly as the cost of driving has, as elsewhere, skyrocketed. Also, cars are better than they once were. Montreal was and is the world capital of road salt and cars used to age faster there than just about anywhere else, but this is no longer the case as cars simply last much longer. Seeing 10-15 year old cars on the streets of Montreal used to be rare (and they'd be held together by duct tape and faith), now seeing such cars in good shape is common. So if you are going to buy a car, might as well buy something a bit posher. Also, there are fewer cheaper cars on the market than there once were, although rising interest rates and affordability issues (not just in Quebec!) will, I hope, bring back the base-model-brilliant Accents, Micras, Yarises and Mirages.
Here's a very real-life example of "aesthetically pleasing vs. maximizing units" from NYC. I can't speak to every city, but this does in fact come up in NYC pretty regularly. https://thevillagesun.com/opinion-citys-plan-for-388-hudson-tower-is-too-tall-slippery-on-affordability