Mayor’s working car stolen
The car used in her work by Mayor Plante was stolen last week in Ahuntsic. The model, a hybrid 2018 Toyota Highlander, is prized by car thieves in Quebec: this report says it’s unlikely that they even knew it was the mayor’s ride.
Ian 18:34 on 2022-02-01 Permalink
The Highlander isn’t just a car, it’s an SUV. Seems a bit hypocritical of Plante to own an SUV… or to have owned, I should say.
Kate 18:39 on 2022-02-01 Permalink
It’s a hybrid, and I don’t know whether she would technically even own it. Wouldn’t the package offered to the mayor include a vehicle and driver?
I suppose ideally the mayor would walk everywhere, or at least take the metro, but I would imagine that there are at least some days when she needs to get from one engagement to another within a relatively short time. (Or there would have been, pre‑pandemically.) Note that the car was stolen from where her driver lives, which means it wasn’t even in her possession at the time.
I don’t know enough about cars to surmise whether an SUV like that might be more adaptable to whatever security measures a big city mayor needs.
dhomas 18:51 on 2022-02-01 Permalink
It would be difficult for the mayor to get a vehicle that won’t piss someone off. People in her position generally need large-ish vehicles, like an SUV. We unfortunately still live in a very car-centric society, with infrastructure to match. So, she needs a vehicle. If she chose something completely “green” but stayed in the SUV genre, she would be looking at a Tesla Model X or Model Y. At which point she would get criticised for spending too much taxpayer money on luxury vehicles. It’s lose-lose.
Christopher 19:36 on 2022-02-01 Permalink
The mayor doesn’t own the car, the city does, and I’d be curious how much of a say she had in what was actually procured. One of the big lessons from reading Daniel Sanger’s book is how strict bureaucratic protocols are within the government and how much effort it takes for politicians to change them. The car was outfitted with police lights so there are probably other requirements that prevented the city from buying an electric Kia Soul (for example).
dhomas 20:06 on 2022-02-01 Permalink
I own the Kia Soul EV. The backseat is very small. It’s fine for my three kids, but would be quite cramped for adults. The Highlander is a 7-passenger vehicle. The only EVs capable of 7 passengers right now are the Tesla Model X and Y. A hybrid vehicle seems like the only sensible compromise.
Orr 18:23 on 2022-02-02 Permalink
The fact is there are very few full-size cars on the market anymore.Highlander hybrid seems a good compromise between having back seat sized for adult humans and at the same time avoiding the typical US car company’s megasized SUVs.