Feature: Canadians' drive to buy cars shows no sign of slowing

Car lovers are coming out in full force this week to a downtown convention center in Vancouver for the city's ever-growing showcase of the latest models and trends in the global automobile industry.

The 95th Vancouver International Auto Show, which kicked off Tuesday, has expanded in space by a quarter to nearly 100,000 square meters, and it has more vehicles on show than ever before.

It seems that Canadians' love for car has never died down. Last year saw a record 1.85 million light vehicles sold out - a 6.1 percent increase over 2013, which had set the previous record.

Blair Qualey, president and CEO of New Car Dealers Association of British Columbia, said the show was opened at a critical time.

"This show kicks off the selling season for the year. All the manufacturers, the dealers, all look forward to this event happening as this is where it's sort of the spring board for all of the sales of the season," he told Xinhua at the car show.

Qualey said Canadians' interest in autos has never been stronger and the industry continues to respond to that demand with higher quality vehicles that are increasingly high-tech and driver friendly.

"People just love cars. And today, every manufacturer is building fantastic vehicles. We've never seen better built, more exciting, more interesting, more technologically advanced vehicles ever," he added.

If there's any one who epitomizes love for cars, it's Rick Francoeur, president of 360 Fabrication. His restoration company unveiled at the show a 1963 Lincoln Roadster that they have converted into the most modified Lincoln in the world.

Their custom job took 18 months to complete in the Vancouver suburb of Abbotsford. Francoeur said the car belongs to an independent collector and is worth more than 1 million CAD (790,000 U.S. dollars). The sound system alone is valued at more than 100,000 CAD (79,000 dollars).

"Cars are my life, 100 percent. We build a lot of them, and this Lincoln is extra special because it's just a whole different level of car that we've ever built before. It's a million dollar Lincoln, and there's going to be nothing else like you've ever seen before. That will represent what this car is," he said.

He also noted that the market for car upgrades and modification has never been stronger.

"I think that the love of the automobile is only gets stronger. It's not diminishing, whether it's electric, hydrogen, gas, diesel, it makes no difference. People love to drive and you know, it's very evident in the entire world that people love their cars," Francoeur said. Endi