Thorunn Howatt
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Sep 24/01) - The Driving Force Nunavut has been Iqaluit's only car sales centre for two years, but the dealership is seeing record numbers of vehicles rolling off its lot.

"On the last boat we had 60," said store manager Dan Gauthier.

If everything goes as planned, by the end of this year's sealift season, the company will have received more than 120 vehicles.

"We are the official supplier to the Arctic Winter Games," he said. "We also brought in six school buses."

Vehicle prices in Iqaluit are comparable to those in the south, but shipping adds an extra $2,200 on average to the average price tag.

The trend in Iqaluit this year has been towards bigger sport utility vehicles.

"This year we brought in the Chevrolet Avalanche," he said.

The company sells, leases and rents vehicles.

"We have 49 vehicles out on rent constantly. We hardly have time to service them," said Gauthier.

Nunavut Auto's last shipment of year 2002 vehicles will be loaded in Montreal on Oct. 1 and should leave port on Oct. 8.

"We try to order four months ahead of time," he said.

Nunavut Auto is an affiliate of The Driving Force, an Alberta-owned, independent vehicle company with locations in Edmonton, Calgary, Fort McMurray, Saskatoon as well as Iqaluit.

The Driving Force provides Nunavut Auto with all types of vehicles, including Ford, GM and Dodge.

"We only sell four-wheel drives," said Gauthier.