   What About Chinese Cars?
  What do you think about Chinese Cars? Here's a look at the history of "people's cars" in the USA as background for the question of how well Chinese Cars will sell in the US market: The People’s Republic of Cars.Quote:The people’s car is ready to invade America . . . again. First it was the Nazis, then corporate Japan, then the Eastern Bloc, and now the People’s Republic of China is ready to send its hordes. Media attention surrounding the imminent Chinese invasion has focused on the self-promoting schemer Malcolm Bricklin, a serial failure in the auto import business. But the real story is the shrinking space for the people’s car in modern America....The Chery QQ has all the hallmarks of a people’s car: small stature, cute rounded nose, doe-eyed headlights, and a Low! Low! Price! What remains to be seen, however, is whether the American people will get a chance to buy this car. GM has buried the name “Chery” – too much like Chevy – under piles of lawyers, and so the QQ, if it’s sold in the US at all, will be sold by “Visionary Vehicles.” Somehow the name seems appropriate; if ever there was a Laputan with an airy scheme to sell, it’s Malcolm Bricklin.As of this writing, Bricklin has yet to tell Chery what cars he wants built. Along with the QQ, Visionary has promised a minivan, SUV, and hardtop convertible – all in the $20,000-25,000 range. The Visionary website claims they will launch a four-door sedan to compete with BMW, Mercedes, and Volvo. The usual game is to sign up dealers and then use their capital to build the cars. So far Visionary claims fifty dealers, but only one has been confirmed. If you’re looking to gamble, you can find their World Headquarters on Duane Street in Manhattan....And here are pictures of some Chinese cars. Chinese carmaker ambitious, controversialChery QQ: No GM Patent InfringementChina Auto Show - Beijing 2004Would a $25,000 SUV be a good thing or a bad thing for the USA?    
  a chinese SUV recently introduced here failed in crash tests horribly, and it's 30 year old tech in general.(so, yes, new competition for american cars [grin] )   ;Quote:Original post by maximALa chinese SUV recently introduced here failed in crash tests horribly, and it's 30 year old tech in general.(so, yes, new competition for american cars [grin] )Was that the one they called "Land Wind" ? I think I read about that. According to the tests, it was supposed to be a death trap.;Quote:Original post by Yann LWas that the one they called "Land Wind" ? I think I read about that. According to the tests, it was supposed to be a death trap.clickster;Quote:Original post by happybaraQuote:Original post by Yann LWas that the one they called "Land Wind" ? I think I read about that. According to the tests, it was supposed to be a death trap.clicksterThe video from inside the car is amazing. How can they put that crap on the roads?   ;  Thats shambolic.   ;  I'm sticking to Hondas.I would not be suprised if Chery is selling cars at so low of a price because they are being subsidized by the Chinese government, specifically to flood the market with low-cost vehicles in order to drive competition out of business. GM can't sell similar cars that low, and they're struggling to keep their heads above water.So if that is the case, then no, I don't think it's good for America, or any market for that matter.   ;  I'm not sure how well they'll do...On the plus side, they're probably going to be really affordable(cheap); on the minus side, they're communist built death traps. I'm going to be in the market soon for a new family car and I don't think I'll be buying any vehicle made in China. I barely trust consumer goods, like air conditioners and what not that are made in China (poor quality, etc). I would trust a car made there even less. The video above confirms my sentiments. I'm sure some people will buy them though, because people like cheap things.   ;  From the link with the "land wind" crash tests comes this link: GM turning Japanese?. There's speculation that Kirk Kerkorian might sell GM to Toyota or Honda. Strange days. As for the "land wind" - not a great English name for a car. It sounds like the smell that blows in through the vents when driving past a large dairy...The Jiangling Motors Corporation doesn't fit into the "people's car" article, probably because an SUV doesn't fall into that category. However, if the Cherry has the same crash rating as the Landwind, then $20k is too much for it. Who want's to get stuck paying for a lemon for 5 years? If they want to sell a lot of them, they should cut the price in half. Some people might drop $10k on it just for the novelty and others might forego buying a used car to get a new one of them instead. And there's also the question of mileage to consider. I don't know what kind of mileage these Chinese cars get, probably nothing to get excited about. ;  On the other hand, one should never underestimate the ability of the Chinese to learn and adapt to new situations. I wouldn't be surprised if a few years from now, those Chinese car designers will have copied and integrated Western security technology into their cars, making them more appealing to the American and European markets.Then, count in the fact that labour is almost free over there (at least according to western standards), and that China won't even think about paying us royalties for possible IP and patents on car security technology. Then, you can imagine what such a cheap car could mean to western manufacturers.That, my friends, is the downside of globalization. One of the many, many, many downsides.