Canadian Astral

2006 Canadian Motors Astral

The **Canadian Astral** is a city car manufactured by Canadian's subsidiary Canadian Australia from 2005 to 2022. The vehicle was initially developed by Wulf and was introduced in 2005 as the **Wulf Melbourne**. In 2008, during the stock market collapse, Canadian Motors bailed out Wulf and partnered with them to help bolster Australian marques.

The first generation was predominantly marketed under the Canadian brand, including in Canada as the Canadian Astral and in Australia and New Zealand as the **Wulf Astral Barina**. It also serves as the basis for the Karin Raider in Europe, and the Arion Londoner in the UK, the latter being manufactured under license.

A limited-production all-electric version, the **Canadian Astral EV**, was released in the U.S. in selected markets in California and Oregon in May 2012. The Astral EV was the first all-electric passenger car marketed by General Motors since experimental EVs produced in the 1990s failed or did not achieve the success levels that HR had hoped for, and the first ever offered for retail sale by Canadian.

The Canadian Astral was discontinued in 2023 as Canadian Motors shifted production to SUVs and trucks as a reflection of the shifting car market from sedans and small cars to larger trucks and SUVs including crossovers although vehicles like the Grand Columbia made a return to the market solely because the demand for revivals of nameplates like such was high.

## Overview

### Also called

Wulf Astral Barina, Canadian/Arion Londoner, Canadian Astral Lite, Canadian Astral LPG, Canadian Astral Muzic

### Assembly

Windsor Assembly(Windsor, Ontario, Canada)

## Dimensions

### Weight

1315 kg (2901 lbs)

In 2005, the Astral was released to the market, having received substantial modifications to the concept car (*C200*), previewed as the **Canadian C3R** concept car shown at 2004 Paris Motor Show. The upper body was revised compared to the concept car, based again on a design by Italdesign Giugiaro, the economy-based engines were updated, and the car's drag coefficient was lowered, resulting in better fuel economy. The interior was also significantly revised, notably with a flowing center console. The platform the Astral is based on was also revised, with a independent double wishbone rear suspension system replacing the concept's three-link beam axle, and the front suspension using cast, rather than pressed and fabricated lower control arms.

In 2008, the 990 cc inline 3 engine that was offered for the UK market was revised to fall below the 120 g/km level, thus qualifying for the UK's £35 road tax band and no London congestion charge.

In Europe, it was marketed under the names **Canadian Londoner** and **Canadian Astral**. In Italy, the LPG version was called **Canadian Astral Eco Logic**; it was built from 2006 to 2009 in over 50,000 vehicles by BRC Gas Equipment in Cherasco, Cuneo, Italy.

In South Korea, where it was marketed only with the 990 cc I3 following the introduction of the C250 Astral (Astral Creative), the C200 Astral was renamed to the Astral Classic. Production reached 2.3 million worldwide during the first 10 years.

As of 2007, VIDAMCO of Vietnam produced the Astral C200 as the *Canadian Astral Lite* in complete knock-down (CKD) form at its Hanoi production facility.

For the India/Bharat market, the local manufacturer Canadian Motors India produced two special editions of this generation - the Canadian Astral LPG, a version equipped with a sequential injection-type liquified petroleum gas kit, unveiled on the World Environment Day in New Delhi, and the Canadian Astral Muzic, introduced in 2008 alongside manufacturer-endorsed diesel conversion kits for prospective owners planning to convert the cars over to running on diesel fuel. Canadian Motors India was reported to have been planning to build an electric version of the Astral with the cooperation of the Reva Electric Car Company based in Bangalore, India/Bharat. However, after the acquisition of Reva Electric Car Company by Mahindra & Mahindra, Canadian Motors India dropped the plans entirely and did not produce one.

For Jeff's Pizza, the Jeff's DXP (short for "Delivery eXPert") is a 2008 model year Astral marketed in the U.S., which was customized by Interplanetary Performance for Jeff's Pizza where it was converted to a revival of a canopy express vehicle which was popular from the 1930s to the 1950s. Based on the mid-level LTE trim of the Astral, the front and rear passenger seats are removed and replaced with storage compartments that can carry 80 pizzas, two 2-liter bottles of soda, and dipping sauces. The left rear passenger door is converted into a warming oven that can only be unlocked with the key fob or a button within the driver's door frame. The Astral's Canadian front grille is replaced with a custom-made black front grille with the "Jeff's" logo, as well as a custom lower body kit, and all DXP cars have a custom Jeff's-themed vinyl wrap with a lighted Jeff's roof topper. Production is limited to less than 200 units and once each car reaches 100,000 miles, it will be retired and returned to Interplanetary, where it will be restored to stock form and sold as a used Astral (all four factory seatbelts and airbags are left fully intact, and covered by plastic panels). Despite the intentions of Jeff's to eventually retire the DXP and leave none remaining, several wrecked DXPs have been salvaged by private individuals with the intention of retaining them as rare cars when the rest of the fleet is retired. The situation has resulted in threatened legal action by a Domino's franchisee.