Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal
NHTSA inks agreement with China on auto safety
It's a banner day for car safety advocates around the world -- or at least, wherever Chinese cars are sold. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) and China last week signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) that formalizes a relationship intended to make Chinese cars safer. The deal has probably been in the works well before the Chery and Brilliance implosion crash test videos, but those videos couldn't have hurt China's commitment to sitting down.
The MOC outlines goals for creating safety standards and enforcing them, informing consumers, sharing research, improving fuel economy, and handling safety investigations and recalls. The two sides will sit down at least once a year, and they will also conduct joint research into automobile issues that will make Chinese cars -- and the roads they'll be on -- safer for everyone. We see this as a very positive thing for China's relatively nascent auto industry and its aspirations for global export. It the day ever comes where Chines-built cars are on the shelves in the U.S., it will be comforting to know they were designed using the same safety standards as the NHTSA.
Thanks for the tip, David!
[Source: NHTSA]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
gary 7:54PM (9/19/2007)
Someone better call and wake the folks at the UAW in Detroit about this.
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jim 9:33PM (9/19/2007)
UAW would have you give up your wife and give her to the union.
Do you reall support such a terror tactic, blackmailing organization?
More pressure needs to be put on to abolish the UAW.
mike 8:27PM (9/19/2007)
U.S. paves the way for more Chinese junk made by nearly slave labor, in a country where there are no real environmental, safety or labor regulations ( "externalities" ) that can't be Bribed Away.
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tooler 9:03PM (9/19/2007)
There are two kind of American, smart and stupid.
I won't talk about smart ones, but definitely know that stupid ones don't have a brain, believe whatever printed on newspaper and came out from politician's mouth.
jim 9:36PM (9/19/2007)
The stupid Americans are the one who continue to pay ransom to the UAW.
The UAW sells Americans junk, but Americans fear retaliation from the terrorrist group, who threaten to shut down America.
Nick 9:03PM (9/19/2007)
Unless you work in the auto industry, cheap, safe Chinese cars are something we can all be happy about. It may cause the US car industry to implode, but they're been doing a good job of implosion all by themselves.
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Imp 12:00AM (9/20/2007)
And so it begins ...
Globalization brings a new competitor that now must be taken seriously. A minimum level of recognized safety, which was all that kept these cars from truly taking over at some point, and the lowest price amongst all.
The death knell for the status quo has been rung. Remember this day for the rest of your lives.
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jim 1:15AM (9/20/2007)
Rise of the China Car.
Martial Arts power meets western wheels.
Clash! Who will be the victor?
Coming to a road near you.
Are you prepared?
Barney 1:04AM (9/20/2007)
i would assume the reason for the NHTSA input, is to satisfy retailers of these cars. it would also allow compatibility for standards in "most countries". Less to modify, the less expense to reach standards.
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Mustang2005cs 1:57AM (9/20/2007)
The day that we Americans begin to buy Chinese cars, is the day we will catalyze our country's downfall. We have nobody to blame but our own companies, which have outsourced our jobs and made China into what it is today. Who knows, maybe i'm wrong and we will open our eyes.
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Guenther 7:44AM (9/20/2007)
2 points
- The thought of my tax dollars (at NHTSA) working to promote a foreign entity to compete with our domestic economy is making it tough to keep my breakfast down.
-The way the Brilliance suddenly passed crash tests in Spain makes me worry that there could be some slight-of-hand once/if these things start shipping. They can't even maintain simple quality standards on simple toys, ordered by major US toy companies. How do you expect them to keep proper materials content when putting together the most complicated type of consumer product available.
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joe23521 11:33AM (9/20/2007)
It's not that "They can't even maintain simple quality standards..." They can, but thought that they could get away without having to do so. Now that they know they'll be held accountable, they'll turn out better products.
The Chinese people aren't incapable, you know. If they can safely send men into space and back, I think they can safely send men onto the freeway and back. This is a positive step for them and was bound to happen sooner or later.
I_Hate_China 8:08AM (9/20/2007)
You people fear China too much.
For the Chinese automakers, making their cars safer could mean a kiss of death, since China is the only auto market in the world where price drops, not rises, 10% each year and most new car buyers are first-time buyers who have zero concerns for safety. Chinese buyers will gladly buy unsafe knock-offs to save $2,000 over the safer original(As examplified by the knock off Chery QQ outselling more costly Chevy Spark three to one.
This is the reason the Chinese cars will remain unsafe for the next 20 years, due to their domestic market condition(price over safety). Try to make your car safer and the cost skyrockets, driving you out of the market, so the Chinese "HAS TO" build their cars unsafe to cut cost. This wasn't the case with Japanese and Koreans, whose domestic markets were too tiny to support their auto industry and their vehicles were designed to the US and EU standards from the begnnning.
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Tagg 9:44PM (9/20/2007)
You are forgetting that the government owns almost all the Chinese automakers therefore it is nearly impossible to predict what the future will hold. The automakers are not owned by the central government but rather local governments such as SAIC is owned by the municipal government of Shanghai. The central government is now forcing these companies to merge in an effort to cut costs, develop more uniform regulations (many different regulations for different provinces) all with slowing growth. Pair that with the fact that Chinese companies are buying technology from the U.S. and Europe and you find that they will manufacture quality vehicles that are safe very soon.
I also would not say that Japanese cars were designed for the U.S. market from the get go. When Toyota introduced its cars here in the 1950's their standards in Japan mirrored ours since we paid for the repair of their infrastructure after the war. They then adopted many of the U.S. regulations at the time seeing how they had little government and as time has passed many regulations found in the U.S. are found in Japan as well.
As China grows so will their auto industry and to think that it will be years before they can compete is naive. Just as it was in the late 1970's when they said Japanese cars would always be junk and that was proven worng in less than 20 years.
J. Crew 11:08AM (9/20/2007)
Wow, the US government is really kicking its own auto industry right in the nut sack with this development. It will not only hurt the Detroit 3, but also any other company producing cars in the USA. They are essentially assiting the Chinese to make cars better so they can export them here faster. How does this make sense? I guess Walmart will start getting into the retail auto business once the cars are ready to be shipped like everything else coming from China. We can all go get our jobs at Star Bucks or Mc Donald's and save up for that Chinese hot rod we always dreamed about!
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Imp 1:28PM (9/20/2007)
If I'm not mistaken, Wal-Mart owns Sam's Club and Sam's Club sells vehicles at discounts ... so Wal-Mart is technically already selling vehicles.
J. Crew 11:10AM (9/20/2007)
"assisting" d'oh!
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Me!!! 2:44PM (9/20/2007)
"It the day ever comes" should be "IF the day..."
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