Beijing '08 Preview: Roewe 550 unveiled, and it's impressive
by Alex Nunez on Apr 17th 2008 at 1:58PM 
Click image for photo gallery
Every now and then, you have to eat crow. This is one of those times. Early spy shots of the Roewe 550 had me thinking it was nothing special -- and far from beautiful. Subsequent spy shots cast it in a better light, and now, with the release of official images of the final car, it's clear that this is a big deal for the Chinese automaker. The headlamps still seem a little weird -- they're sort of shaped like old telephone receivers -- but the whole package is well done and attractive inside and out.
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The interior gives off the Euro-modern luxury feel of a BMW, with a wide, hooded IP that houses a nifty looking gauge cluster and the to-be-expected nav/multimedia screen. Outside, it's got a sleek, attractive profile that you'd expect to see coming from a premium European or Japanese automaker, but probably not China. So much for that. This is a very nice-looking car, period. Now, assuming it can handle a crash without turning into one of the death traps from a Saw film, it would seem that Roewe's got something really good here. We'll follow up when the big unveiling takes place in Beijing. [Source: Auto Sina]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Yago Bal 2:07PM (4/17/2008)
It's a great car, because it's a Rover/Ricardo project (the Rover 45 substitute) that Ricardo finished for the chinese (I think SAIC bought part of the british engineering company, in fact).
It's a Rover project, british in every sense, with a Roewe badge and chinese construction. ;)
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andy 2:41PM (4/17/2008)
correct. SAIC bought Ricardo 2000 in the uk, during the devlopment. i think it was all done in the UK and then passed onto the Chinese.
tekdemon 2:26AM (4/19/2008)
While the mechanicals are definitely Rover, I wouldn't really give credit for the design or interior to the British. Come on, just give credit where it's legitimately due for once, enough with the Euro-centric egoism. If Rover was so great they wouldn't have gone belly-up.
Yago Bal 10:51AM (4/19/2008)
I'm not trying to say that Rover was great or having a surge of Euro-Centrism:
It's well known the project was developed by Ricardo from head to toe (SAIC even bought the company for that purpose), and it's well known that this project is the one Rover planned to substitute the 45 with.
I'm OK if you don't want to credit Ricardo (where legimitamy due) for the Roewe 550, but these are the facts: not hunches or anti-euro obcessions... :s
Here's the state of Rover's RDX60 Saloon project in 2003/2004:
http://www.austin-rover.co.uk/images/rd60_22.jpg
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Red 2:08PM (4/17/2008)
Hey...who changed the grille on my Passat?
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3seriesisking 2:19PM (4/17/2008)
Yeah, I couldn't put my finger on it but a cross between a Passat and some sort of Chrysler seem to fit pretty well.
HotRodzNKustoms 2:27PM (4/17/2008)
The Passat had a baby with the Sebring while having Chinese take out.
jgp 2:31PM (4/17/2008)
Looks like a Passat with JDM Civic headlights and the Sebring's hood & grill.
jgp 3:12PM (4/17/2008)
And is that the Holden Commodore's steering wheel?
carlbolt 10:11PM (4/26/2008)
If this car looks like a Passat, then all cars look the same. What kind of eyes do you have?
Shawn 2:26PM (4/17/2008)
You're thinking of the Chrysler Sebring, but since it is Chinese now, it is "impressive."
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LBuzzer 2:32PM (4/17/2008)
This is already head and shoulders above the Sebring, style wise.
Mind you, I also think the Sebring is one of the ugliest cars on the road today...
I'm sure quality will be an issue, but automakers discount Chinese offerings at their own peril, especially in the next decade.
Dane Cook 2:30PM (4/17/2008)
I wonder how much lead is in that interior :-\
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Aprime 2:47PM (4/17/2008)
Not enough for Kurt Cobain.
Level 2:31PM (4/17/2008)
better looking then a sebring hands down...I personaly like the car...as far as safety concerns I have none....The car will have to meet US crash regulations before it gets sold to the public and if and when it does, that will be a sign that it did meet such regulations...
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joe 3:04PM (4/17/2008)
i think you put too much faith in meeting US safety/crash regulations. There are plenty of cars that pass the regulations but door poorly in the crash tests, such as the IIHS tests, and would seem like they are a rolling casket for its passengers.
jg 2:34PM (4/17/2008)
Will it be sold at Walmart? Maybe a new Walmart Motors?
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Victor 5:53PM (4/17/2008)
Cue back to 1980 and how certain Americans underestimated the Japanese. Jump forward a bit to 1989 when the Germans dismissed Toyota. Jump again forward to 2002 when the Japanese started looking over their shoulders at the up-and-coming Koreans. Is this history repeating itself? The Chinese WILL be competitive. It's not "if", but "when".
BTW, I've sat in a ROEWE. Better materials and build quality than the Newish 2008 Explorer Limited I had from Hertz last weekend.
ken_aisin 3:14PM (4/17/2008)
The design seems to have a lot of "copy and paste".
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Uda880 3:24PM (4/17/2008)
You have a lot of copy and paste.
The joke's old, and the mentality is overstated. I think we can get beyond the fact that the Chinese auto-makers copy designs just as every other car company does, and look at the value it provides in competition and consumer variability.