Stuart Davis
Sun

Crowds gathered to celebrate at the Woodward’s development in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside on Friday, as the lights on the big, iconic W atop the development were turned on. Photograph by: Stuart Davis, PNG, Vancouver Sun

The Big W is once again shining over the city at the Woodward’s site.

New customized low-energy red lights that decorate the replicated steel structure were turned on as part of the official opening of the Simon Fraser University Woodward’s Contemporary Arts complex.

From 1944 to 1993 the big red W, perched on top of an Eiffel Tower-like structure, beckoned shoppers to the Woodward’s department store, where the Downtown Eastside meets the business district.

Now, a new W sign is the centrepiece of a $330-million, mixed-use condo development including 536 units of market housing, 200 units of non-market housing, government offices, community space, retail stores and a new SFU campus.

The W weighs more than 2.5 tonnes and has 6,000 LED lights made to look like the old fashioned light bulbs of the past.

It remains on top of the tower but this time around it will be overshadowed by 42-and 32-storey condominiums.

The SFU campus will house a new theatre for performing arts and be home to a number of art displays. On Friday, SFU hosted the Arts and Architecture of Woodward’s, complemented by the lighting of the W– 17 years to the day after it last went dark.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Erin Ellis
Sun

Paying down debt is an option for many consumers, but sometimes bankruptcy is the only real choice, says bankruptcy trustee Lana Gilbertson.

It’s often a life-changing event that triggers a financial crisis: Job loss, illness, a business deal gone wrong, divorce, or the birth of a child. Then the debt that someone was previously able to manage spins out of control. The car payment, house payment, and maybe the new furniture are all too much.

“I see people who have gotten in over their heads gradually. There are life changes, someone loses a job. People don’t come into this lightly. I see the feeling of failure,” says Gilbertson, who works with Meyers Norris Penny Ltd. in downtown Vancouver.

“The majority of the people I see are honest hard-working people. … They are able to recover from it.”

But there are consequences. A bankruptcy is permanently recorded with the federal Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy where records can be searched for a fee. It will also appear on the debtor’s credit record for six years after the bankruptcy is discharged.

It means losing assets to pay creditors, above a basic exemption. In B.C., a person who files for bankruptcy can keep their clothing, household goods, tools of their trade, a vehicle worth up to $5,000 and $12,000 in home equity in Metro Vancouver. RRSPs became exempt in 2008.

Declaring bankruptcy does not wipe out alimony and child support payments, student loans less than seven years old, court fines or debt that resulted from a fraud. It will, however, put a financial burden on anyone who has co-signed a loan to the debtor. Liability for repayment reverts to the cosigner during bankruptcy, usually a spouse or parents.

“They don’t feel like they got a get out of jail free card,” says Gilbertson. “I always say that bankruptcy is a last resort.”

That’s why Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy — which oversees the process in Canada–requires applicants to sit down with bankruptcy trustees to weigh their options. There are a series of steps (see box) that can be taken before filing for bankruptcy.

For people who have a steady income and an ability to make payments, a consumer proposal may make more sense, says Gilbertson. Changes to the federal regulations on consumer proposals that came into effect last fall increase the debt limit from $75,000 to $250,000, excluding mortgages.

Consumer proposals are designed to be palatable to creditors who get more money than they would if the debtor declared bankruptcy. The advantage for the debtor is to be able to keep assets– such as a home–provided they live up to the repayment deal.

Bankruptcies still outnumber the alternative, with the last available figures for B.C. showing 835 bankruptcies in October, compared to 254 consumer proposals.

And everyone pays their bankruptcy trustee for the service, either a percentage of assets sold or monthly fees that add up to about $1,800 during a nine-month period — the usual amount of time it takes to finish the process in a first-time bankruptcy.

—

The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy offers plenty of advice to Canadians with money problems.

SEEING THE FACTS

You know you have a debt problem when you:

– Frequently pay bills after their due date.

– Regularly bounce cheques.

– Use an advance from one credit card to pay the minimum amount on another card.

– Receive a call from a collection agency.

– Regularly ask friends or family for loans.

– Have your utilities cut off.

– Have cut back on regular budget expenses such as clothing, recreation and sometimes even food.

– Are considering a second job in order to balance your budget.

TAKE ACTION

– Make a budget.

– Consolidate your debts.

– Contact creditors to make a proposal for repayment. You can also ask a trained credit counsellor to do this on your behalf.

– If you’re having trouble making mortgage payments, talk to you bank.

– Sell some assets.

TO AVOID BANKRUPTCY

– Make a consumer proposal in which you pay off a portion of the debt or negotiate more time to pay off the whole debt.

Source: Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada

www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/bsf-osb. nsf/eng/home

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Coupe-like styling and 555 horsepower up the ante

Zack Spencer
Sun

The X6M has plenty of power and has refined styling and handling to go with its $99,900 price tag.

German automakers have served the premium SUV market well with vehicles such as the Mercedes M-Class, Audi Q7, Porsche Cayenne and BMW X5. This class of expensive hardware has become an important part of the luxury market as these companies sell them in vast numbers. Now that most of these vehicles have been around for the better part of 10 years, each automaker is trying to differentiate itself with ever more unique offerings. In the case of BMW, it has taken the popular X5 and cropped the roof, provided a coupe-like silhouette, dynamic styling and unique engine offerings and branded it as the X6. It may be based on the same platform as the X5, but the attention to sportiness is attractive to buyers who want a utility vehicle that is more rewarding to drive. The ultimate version of the X6 is the M version, the most powerful SUV on the planet with 555 horsepower.

There seems to be no middle ground with the people I have talked to about the X6 design: they either love or hate. The new trend in the auto industry is to call a four-door vehicle with a cropped roof a coupe. The l ast time I check ed a coupe has two doors, so calling the X6 a coupe is a bit silly. I prefer to call it the “X5 sport.” Regardless, the lower, wider stance has some drawbacks, especially for rear-seat passengers and cargo capability. The rear window is very shallow so outward visibility is minimal, this i s why BMW i ncluded backup sensors as standard equipment and believe it or not, even with a starting price of $99,900 a backup camera is optional! The more dramatic aerodynamics package plus standard 20-inch wheels and “M” badging in the side and back make the X6 M easy to spot.

Audi is often credited with having the best materials and finish on the inside of its products but I have to say that the build quality inside the X6 is stunning. All the panels are assembled with perfection; even the much maligned iDrive computer interface controller has a new design that makes it a pleasure to use – finally. The front seats offer the same wide and open feel as the larger X5 but the back seats suffer from a sense of claustrophobia. With a cropped roof, the door openings are small and the rear passengers have to scrunch up to gain access. Once inside there is plenty of headroom and ample legroom but there is only room for two people. Forget about riding on the “hump,” there isn’t even a seat in the middle; it has been replaced with a personal storage area. The rear cargo area is deep and wide, but due to the sporty rear design cargo height is sacrificed and the floor is high off the ground making it a bit high to place items in the back.

It is easy to live with. The advanced electronics that monitor wheel speed, the angle of cornering and grip make the xDrive system a tour de force.

Bad:

Isn’t the already powerful X6 with a 400 horsepower enough? How much power do we need?

Okay, now the good stuff. It amazes me that BMW can produce a 555-horsepower utility vehicle with 20-inch wheels, and aggressive sports suspension yet it is easy and even pleasurable to drive. The suspension and engine performance can be selected with the touch of a button, and even when the most aggressive settings are chosen, the X6 M never bites back. The 555 hp is developed by matching a 4.4L V8 with two turbo chargers for maximum power but still the vehicle i s able to achieve reasonable fuel consumption ( considering the power). Even though BMW stuck with a conventional automatic transmission instead of a dual clutch variety, the shifts are very quick and the driver still has the ability to shift manually. The steering is heavy on even the base X6 and the M version is no different, but the sense of solidness is felt with every twist and turn. This and the xDrive AWD system with advanced electronics make this large utility dance through the corners.

I’m going to say the same thing about the X6 M that I said about the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S. Why? Why do we need a 555-horsepower utility vehicle? BMW’s X6 xDrive 50i already has a turbo charged 4.4L V8 with 400 horsepower; do I really need another 155 horsepower to get to work that much quicker? No. I must admit that the level of refinement on the inside, the unique styling but mostly the refined ride and handling impressed me. I must also admit that all the X6s offer these same attributes but with less available grunt. For day-to-day life, the already capable base X6 is a great vehicle and the already mentioned 400-horsepower versions will more that stimulate any enthusiast’s fancy. I suspect that any potential buyer of a 555-horsepower vehicle could care less what I think, they’ll go and buy one “just because.”

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