Autoblog

Click above for a gallery of the Geely GT concept

The 2008 Beijing Motor Show will play host to the usual assortment of real automakers' wares, direct knock-offs of said automakers' wares, and a few concepts and production vehicles of genuine interest beyond comedic value. We'll count the Geely GT among that last group. Details are sparse at the moment -- we have no clue what the proposed powertrain consists of, for example -- but Geely's coupe concept this year looks to be substantially more ambitious and voluptuous than the Mybo II 2-door show car it displayed last year in Shanghai. The Mybo II didn't have a whole lot going on in the looks department except a peculiar face that had us expecting it to transform into a giant robot at any moment.

The Geely GT mashes up a variety of looks -- we see some Maybach Exceleo, Ferrari 612, Nissan GT-R, and assorted Peugeot in there. The end result is something that we'd actually be interested to see in person, as the preview photos (or are they renderings?) demonstrate. We won't be there, but we'll bring you the live photos via our friends at Autoblog Chinese when things kick off next month.


[Source: Autoblog Chinese]

We've been hearing a lot lately about Chinese cars' impending arrival on our shores. According to what could be cooler heads -- or decoys! (insert maniacal laugh, here) -- that simply isn't the case. At a recent event in Detroit, China's ambassador to the U.S., Zhou Wenzhong, said Chinese carmakers can't even make enough cars for the Chinese, much less fulfill America's production needs.

He was seconded by Zhang Lin, a Chery executive, who said that the company first wished to solidify its operations in emerging markets before attacking exporting to the United States. The Milky Way-sized trade deficit between the U.S. and China was also mentioned as a reason for taking a long term approach to entering the US market.

Of note, though, is that Chery is not one of the five Chinese makers attending the 2008 Detroit Show. One of those companies, China Automotive Group/ZXNA, is headed by Steve Saleen, and we wonder if he got the memo about not being in a rush to begin Stateside operation.

[Source: Detroit News]