Hey wanna buy built in China

[peter78]

I guess it is only a matter of time. From a article:

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China cars start at $7,000

The models, ranging from compact coupes to upscale sedans, will be sold at 250 dealers.

By Ed Garsten / The Detroit News


CHICAGO -- Malcolm Bricklin, the man who brought the notorious Yugo to America in the 1980s, will sell a line of Chinese-built cars beginning in 2007 with starting prices as low as $6,900, the entrepreneur said Wednesday.

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http://www.newsisfree.com/iclick/i,71687924,11779,f/


My feeling is this is not a serious contender, but there will more coming, mark my word.

 

[peter78]

The indside:

 

[slowginjoe]

wow, that interior looks just like the leather furniture they've got in the main lobby at yahoo headquarters! no kiddin'!

 

[Border411]

to be perfectly honest--I like the look of that car! Will have to see what the reports are in regards to quality and perfomance, but other than that, I think it will give other manufacturers a run for their money.

What needs to happen is the importing of those really effecient gas and diesel cars sold over seas that get 60-70 MPG!!!! If you live in a city, who needs a big car?

 

[slowginjoe]

yeah, it's not bad at all. reminds me of the crossfire kinda from what i can see. i wonder if it comes with the lcd screen for $7k!

 

[rando]

Put some chrome on the outside, leather on the inside, and a zippy drive train and it will sell in the U.S. market.

 

[Mark86]

The front of the car kind of looks like a Mazda 3. The interior looks very luxurious with the wood trim and leather. I don't think they will have a problem selling this car in the States.

 

[peter78]

The front of the car kind of looks like a Mazda 3. The interior looks very luxurious with the wood trim and leather. I don't think they will have a problem selling this car in the States.

Are you kidding me, I know a lot of people bought Yugos at first, but how does it run and hold up. Think about it most car compaines have a hard time here at first. Toyota was junk when it first came here, but they slowly progressed.

I think the Chinese would do well to sell a basic simple car first and hopefully it a few years make it reliable. The car they show is too fancy, probably with a high price tag and I bet poor reliability. You have to learn to walk before you can run.

 

[slowginjoe]

china's been making cars for a long time, maybe just not internationally. they have their own brands as well as making some foreign brands. right outside of Beijing is a factory where they make jeep grand cherokees. driving around the streets in Beijing you'll see more grand cherokees and audi A6 and A8's than you do here in the silicon valley. they also have a large vw plant in Shanghai where they make the Santana, asia's version of the Jetta. ALL the taxi cabs there are santanas, and the cabs there swarm by the masses, making New York's fleet of yellow cabs look tiny in comparison..

 

[olliebear]

China's moving at warp speed.

While "Made in Japan" used to be a joke, it took about 4 decades to be a mark of quality. It won't take China that long from being a follower to being a major producer of mass consumer goods. They have the technology or will soon acquire the technology for robotics, CAD/CAM manufacturing, and all the enginnering brains in R/D. They have all the labor they need.

They have already surpassed Japan in total output of goods, have replaced Japan as the biggest trading partner with the US, and already make just about everything you buy in Walmart. They also make or assemble the computers for Dell, IBM, HP, and all the in store brands for Fry's, Best Buy, and Comp USA. Heck Lenovo Corp of China just bought IBM's personal PC business...

Chinese cars will only a matter of a few years from Americna streets.

 

[peter78]

I remember when the VW Fox came out, some anyalst thught Brazil would be the wave of the future and 40% of our cars would be built there. Of course they were a flop and we currently have no cars in the US made in Brazil.


However, I do agree with olliebear in that the Chinise have made great stides in quality and in the amount they produce. I also agree we will see Chinese cars here in the US. If they get backing from big American and Japanese compaines, like they do in Computers, I think they can take a good portion of our market.

 

[Northof49]

I think it will be hard for them to penetrate into our market. Basically, at first they will have nothing going for them besides a low price.

The current leading automakers have a shit-ton of money and governmental pull. If Chinese importers try to bring in these vehicles at very low prices (and that's how they would have to do it), other automakers will likely file dumping charges against them and tariffs/duties will be put in place. Without the price advantage, I would be surprized to see them take much marketshare.

 

[olliebear]

Believe me, China has cout.

Price point selling was Japan's only selling point back when they could only make tin can cars. So China may just follow that tactic. However, unlike Yugo and Aro and many other half baked former Soviet satellites, the Chinese industry has a much greater foundation to make it work. Their huge trade and economic clout means they can pull a few strings too. GM, Ford, Dodge all want to sell in China as well. Everything sold in Walmart, K-Mart, Target, and much of Sears is made in China....don't think they cna play hardball as well or better than our own companies?

 

[XM DUDE]

I know thgey could sell those cars at Wall mart.

 

[slowginjoe]

china's car industry is the fastest growing in the world right now in terms of the rate of new drivers coming into the market and buying cars. i wouldn't be suprised if they are purposely not concentrating on the u.s. market for now and are just trying to keep up with demand for the 1.6 billion people in their own country.