China's FAW just debuted the Red Flagship in its Hongqi (Red Flag) lineup. Rejuvenating one of China's oldest upscale car names, the new HQ3 sedan is Red Flag's take on the Toyota Crown Majesta. The Hongqi brand was generally FAW's outlet for their large luxury cars, which were intended for only the elite. Most Hongqi models were based on older Audi designs, so this Toyota based HQ3 will be a huge improvement. Further encouraging news is the fact that FAW has partnerships with not only Toyota, but Volkswagen, Audi and Mazda as well. Should produce some nice
The HQ3 will use Toyota-derived 3.0-liter V-6 and 4.3-liter V-8 engines. FAW plans to build about 13,000 units a year at its home plant in Changchun. They are even talking about a bulletproof version for use by government officials. The HQ3 went on sale yesterday at the start of the Beijing show. Prices will start at about 499,800 yuan ($63,500) for the base 3.0-liter. The uplevel 3.0 was announced at 566,800 yuan ($72,000), and the 4.3-liter at 688,800 yuan ($87,500).
Because it's based on the Toyota Crown Majesta (think home market Lexus GS, but different), the driving dynamics should be pretty good. The top option 4.3-liter should do 0-100 km/h in 7.3 seconds. Alphabet soup acronyms dot the equipment lists across the range: ETCS-I, ACIS, Dual VVT-i V6/DOHC/24V, ABS_EBD_VSC (Vehicle Stability Control System), TRC (Traction Control System), and HAC (uphill auxiliary control system). The HQ3 is also equipped with a night vision system, collision avoidance systems, and projection speed display, intelligent adaptive headlight system, AFS, automatic guidance system, and a tire pressure warning system amongst others. Tons of pics after the jump. Car looks good, but that signature red hood bulge has us thinking of a Proboscis Monkey.
[Source: Red Flag via Autoblog Chinese]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Charles @ Nov 17th 2006 12:35PM
Its interior is an exact copy of the Toyota Crown. How do they get away with this stuff?
http://www.auto.vl.ru/surveys/123/photo_1_3/
Nellydesign @ Nov 17th 2006 12:43PM
Its pretty easy to "get away with" when you have a business partnership with the company you are "copying" from.
Wilbur @ Nov 17th 2006 12:46PM
A Chinese screwdriver looks good too... until you try to use it.
RZ @ Nov 17th 2006 12:55PM
Boy this car has everything, i little bit of Benz, a little bit of Lexus and grill looks like Lincoln if i am not mistaken
Andy @ Nov 17th 2006 1:18PM
Lincoln on the outside, Toyota on the inside. Who would have thought?
Dr. Woo @ Nov 17th 2006 1:33PM
Of course the first thing I thought when I saw the car was "Lexus!" Then I read it was a Toyota Crown. That explains its unusually high quality.
Tal D @ Nov 17th 2006 1:40PM
Not bad.Time will tell.
Wonder if the Chinese will have to go through the learning curve, as did the Japanese and Koreans, before quality is built into the cars?
olddavid @ Nov 17th 2006 1:42PM
We wasted trillions during the Cold War. All we had to do was give a couple of thousand Party apparatchiks a Swiss bank account and a fancy car. Mao must be rotating in his tomb.
Richard S. @ Nov 17th 2006 1:43PM
Wow. If a Chinese company without the resources of #1 GM can come up with this car, why can't Cadillac, which always billed itself as the Standard of the World, come up with better interiors for its line up?
the Big 2.5 should definately be afraid of the Chinese. They are coming.........
JCWhitless @ Nov 17th 2006 1:50PM
Red Flag Motors....sounds evil
I like it
Richard Warren @ Nov 17th 2006 1:53PM
"so this Toyota based HQ3"
"The HQ3 will use Toyota-derived 3.0-liter V-6 and 4.3-liter V-8 engines"
"Because it's based on the Toyota Crown Majesta"
"Further encouraging news is the fact that FAW has partnerships with not only Toyota, but Volkswagen, Audi and Mazda as well."
All from the article, so the interior looks like?
As to the red nose piece, does it light up like the old Pontiac indian head did?
curtis @ Nov 17th 2006 2:00PM
That red tear drop is classy, I like it. Chinese cars need to hurry up and make it over here to the States, I'd totally drive one.
Dmitry @ Nov 17th 2006 2:12PM
Yes china may be making cars but their designs are set back ten years, they have a long way to go. I read that they are learning at a quicker rate then when Toyota first started mass production
XJ @ Nov 17th 2006 2:43PM
Sure it's Chinese, sure it's a ripoff of other things. But I've got to give them credit for actually building something that actually looks good. Too bad it's way overpriced. Is that how it is with cars in China? You would think the cars would actually be cheaper there.
Andy @ Nov 17th 2006 4:13PM
If you check out Orlando, you'll notice a million Chinese restaurants there. Looks like Red China is planning an inside job...with Disney.
Erik @ Nov 17th 2006 5:27PM
#9 "Wow. If a Chinese company without the resources of #1 GM can come up with this car,"
A Chinese cannot come up with this car. Toyota can. Click the link in #1. In addition, many, myself included, would consider the interiors of the new Cadillacs superior to this, based on pictures alone.
Derek @ Nov 17th 2006 6:08PM
Alright people, time for some clarification. Instead of the rants about how the Chinese plagarize other designs, some of the posters on this forum should first get the facts right. The HQ3 is a LICENSED copy of a Toyota Majesta, just as the earlier Hongqi cars were LICENSED copies of Audi's and also the Lincoln Towncar. In all cases, there is a perfectly legal licensing agreement in place. In fact, the HQ3 is built at the same joint-venture plant in China, where its Toyota counterpart is built. I am sure no one would call a Pontiac Vibe a blatant "copy" of a Toyota Matrix, so why should this HQ3 be any different.
Given the origins of the design, the quality is comparable to the Toyotas built in China, which is pretty decent.
Interestly, many posters on Chinese car forums, including the Chinese version of Autoblog, have complained about the fact that Hongqi, formerly the Cadillac of China (its first cars were entirely self-designed, and for many years used by Chinese dignitaries and government officials exclusively), has been reduced to making licensed versions of Toyotas.
Contrary to what may on this forum may think, the BULK of the Chinese auto fan public prefer indigenious designs, rather than companies copying - either legitimately or illegitimately - foreign designs.
This is one reason why the Chinese government supports companies like Chery, and Changan, which at least try to come up with their own powertrains (as opposed to more than half of the other producers, which use licensed Mitsuhishi technology)
The fact that a handful of Chinese producers choose to cut corners by copying the designs of others, is not indicative of an overall acceptance of plagarism. Sadly, this desire for innovation is often overlooked when posters on this and other forums, focus in on the few bad apples, and make sweeping generalizations about the whole Chinese automotive sector.
John @ Nov 17th 2006 6:45PM
I agree with Derek.
posts like "A Chinese screwdriver looks good too... until you try to use it." simply show a lot of Americans' racism towards Chinese peopl and their overall bigotry. They don't realize that the computer they are using, the desk their computer is on, and probably much of their houses are made in China. Chinese people aren't stupid, if they were why would Microsoft/Google/Yahoo/Cisco/GM/Audi/BMW/etc, all go to China -to make new products and make money, if the Chinese made inferior products nobody would go there. Simply put, just because it's Chinese doesn't mean it's inferior. I don't know how many people know this, but race isn't biological -that's right - you might be more genetically the same as a Chinese man in Beijing than your nextdoor neighbor (of the same race as you). I notice that on basically every post about Chinese cars, many users are extremely ignorant "the Chinese copy this, the Chinese copy that" - is there a point to even saying that anymore? It seems like it's every other post, do everyone a favor and just talk about the car and not stereotype the people making it. Lastly, cars do cost more in China. A Hummer H2, is $100,000+, as is a Ranger Rover, Maybachs are $1,000,000+, just to clarify in response to an above post.
Lucas @ Nov 17th 2006 7:03PM
amen to that bro
MikeW @ Nov 17th 2006 7:44PM
Did they just open their parts bin?
and why are things written in english?