Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, China
Chinese coming on strong at 2008 Detroit Auto Show
by John Neff on Oct 5th 2007 at 9:29AM 
We remember back in
But where's the Nanjing Automobile Corporation, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC), Brilliance Auto and Chery Automobile? We seem to hear more about those companies and their aspirations to enter the U.S. market than the ones attending the Detroit Auto Show this year, save for Geely. We'll of course be on hand to see what each has to offer, but while the number of Chinese automakers attending is a record this year, we still think a few of the more promising ones are missing.
[Source: The Detroit News]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
testa di cazzo 9:41AM (10/05/2007)
holy S-Class copies, batman!
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Mark 9:47AM (10/05/2007)
And a bad one at that.
wrussi 10:00AM (10/05/2007)
whats with the chinese and making copies of existing cars? cant they come up with their own designs like everyone else?
so far they have copied
bmw x5 (bmw is threathening to sue)
toyota rav4 (they are suing as well)
mb s class
it's enough with them making fake rolex and purses etc.. but now fake cars?
wth?
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Anonymust 10:13AM (10/05/2007)
a cheap toy outsourced toy with lead paint.
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Michael Smith 10:31AM (10/05/2007)
Wasn't Geely's lobby-booth from the 2006 show, not the 2005?
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JMa 10:35AM (10/05/2007)
Unfortunately for rolex, bmw,... demand for knockoffs drives supply, and not the otherway around. I think these products say more about consumers than they do about the producers.
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Colin Smith 1:00PM (10/05/2007)
Totally agree!
Mal Fuller 10:38AM (10/05/2007)
You can tell it's Mattel, it's swell.
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Evotec 10:59AM (10/05/2007)
The new Geely class not available in Mercedes Benz dealers.
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the marais 11:03AM (10/05/2007)
Maybe its a big ploy. As soon as a Chinese knock-off car enters U.S. soil, slap them with copyright and patent infringement, and confiscate the car.
The Chinese are quite ingenious at avoiding tough American products liability and intellectual property laws. Since many Chinese manufacturers purposefully have no assets or property in North America, a successful plaintiff cannot recover any assets from them. So aggrieved plaintiffs have to go after AMERICAN importers and distributors. Bet you bottom dollar that Chinese companies do not often indemnify the importers from liability resulting from the imported products.
It is actually very smart. Build substandard junk, rip off intellectual property, and avoid all liability for it -- forcing the aggrieved to sue an American/Canadian/European company.
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Anonymust 11:16AM (10/05/2007)
The Chinese hold the majority of US debt. I would argue they have huge influence and will exercise that influence to do whatever it is they desire to do. We need the Chinese to keep holding our debt and the Chinese need Americans to keep buying. It's a very complex web we have weaved.
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Cly 11:25AM (10/05/2007)
The commies are coming. First they put leads in the paint to poison our kids, next they make copied cars that WILL explode on the freeway, and finally the last step in the invasion is to blame all these on Iran so that America will go to war with the wrong country *again*.
But in all seriousness, the domestic market are in for a tough fight. If the Korean proved they can do it so will the shameless Chinese. Yes, I'm Chinese, the kind with face.
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Alex 1:29PM (10/05/2007)
Actually, Gen. Ripper, the Commies started with the flouride in our water :)
SPG 11:45AM (10/05/2007)
The wheels and the front clip are very last gen Mercedes but then it all goes to hell in the back.
Would I rather a Chinese car when we could just import some French cars?
What would you rather?
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testa di cazzo 12:21PM (10/05/2007)
that has to be the dumbest question i've ever heard. french cars have been heralded for decades with some of the most ingenius engineering feats, as well as award winning design, never mind making the best car (performance) in the world, the Bugatti Veyron. Yes, Bugatti is French...
comparing htem to chinese is just an insult to the automotive industry...
SPG 1:03PM (10/05/2007)
testa di cazzo,
you are a super genius. I bask in the warmth of your superiority.
I think it was pretty clear that I am implying that importing Chinese cars into North America (as there are plans to do so) would be pretty foolish when the French car market is jam packed with stylish, safe, practical, and sporty cars at all ends of the market spectrum.
the friendly grizzly 10:10AM (10/06/2007)
French. That Citroën convertible has grown on me... And believe it or not, the French have had some good safety-related stuff over the years.
JC 12:45PM (10/05/2007)
blah blah blah copycat blah blah blah I'd rather cut off mah balls than drive a Chinese car blah blah blah random racist rant blah blah blah American children licking lead car paint bla blah blah Chinese is evil blah blah blah let's drop a nuke on their C***k ass blah blah blah...
Any more standard mindless/racist dribble regarding Chinese cars I've missed?
Enjoy your rants, boys. You know your forefathers did said exact same thing about the Japanese cars back in the 60's and Korean cars in the 90's, right? It will only be a few more years before the Chinese learned their lesson and start producing real competitive cars. But I'm sure the racist in y'all will just fine some new epitaphs to throw at them Asiatics, right? I guess that's what count as The American Spirit now - use racial slurs/stereotypes instead of quality products to protect our fragile domestic auto industry.
Instead of putting them down, the Japanese and Koreans are preparing diligently for upcoming Chinese onslaught, especially in the Third World countries. While some American car makers are smart enough to join them before they become a threat, the domestic fanbois are enjoying mental masturbation about American superiority (Hey, they made bad toys! Surely they'll always be making bad cars because they're all the same exact faceless Chinese working in this one huge factory called "China". We're #1!). Whatever makes you happy in your dead end jobs, boys.
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SPG 1:10PM (10/05/2007)
JC,
you had such a good point. One that many people agree with but c'mon buddy. You ruined it with your poor writing and insults.
The dead end jobs comment was just the icing on the cake.
Better luck next time.
I_Hate_China 3:54PM (10/05/2007)
> It will only be a few more years before the Chinese learned their lesson and start producing real competitive cars.
Price-driven market condition of Chinese domestic auto-market prohibits that from happening. In fact, building a well-engineered quality car in China using quality parts is a kiss-of-death in China, where car prices drop 10~15% each year and buyers are willing to overlook quality problems in pursuit of lower prices.
The situation was exactly the opposite in Japan and Korea, where buyers were willing to pay price premium for quality.
> Instead of putting them down, the Japanese and Koreans are preparing diligently for upcoming Chinese onslaught, especially in the Third World countries.
Third-world markets are insignificant in volume. The only emerging markets that matter beside China are India, controlled by a Japanese(Suzuki : 50% market share) and a Korean(Hyundai : 30% market share) auto companies, and Russia, which has shown an aversion toward Chinese vehicles. Russian government actually rejected all license requests by Chinese automakers to build their CKD factories in Russia, while granting all requests by Japanese and Korean automakers.
If Chinese cars are not good enough for Russia, why are they good for America?