Autoblog

It was supposed to happen in Texas, but things didn't pan out for Tiger Trucks in the Lone Star State. Oklahoma quickly swooped in and wooed the builder of trucks designed by China's ChangAn. In an era when manufacturing is increasingly migrating to China, Tiger is reversing that paradigm. Oklahoma put money and a rail spur on the table and that seems to have sealed the deal. Tiger's advance team is already in Poteau, OK, waiting for equipment to arrive so they can get to work setting up the plant.

Tiger Truck will build the Champ and the Leopard, two versions of the same platform. The Champ is a pickup with a full-size bed and a couple different cab configurations. The Leopard is a version of the Champ with a diesel engine and dual rear wheels that's road legal in the markets where it's headed. Most of the Poteau plant's output will head out of the US, though eventually there'll be a new medium duty truck that will be road legal worldwide. The best news out of the opening of Tiger Truck's new facility is that they're hiring. Tiger is looking to fill 100 positions with local workers immediately, eventually expanding to 300 people in three years time. Props to Tiger Truck for turning modern manufacturing practice totally on its ear.

Press release after the jump

[Source: Tiger Truck via Just-Auto]

click above image for a gallery of the buried Belvedere's unveiling

Don't know how we missed this, but apparently the winner of the 1957 Plymouth Belvedere that was buried with a time capsule in Tulsa, Oklahoma some 50 years ago has been determined. His name is Raymond E. Humbertson, and 50 years ago he guessed that the population of Tulsa would be 384,743 in 2007. He was off by 2,286 people, as the population of Tulsa stands today at 382,457. Nevertheless, Humbertson's guess was the closest, which makes him the winner.

Unfortunately, Humbertson died of cancer in 1979 and his wife also passed away in 1988. His closest living relatives are two sisters, who will take ownership of the prize – a completely rusted 1957 Plymouth Belvedere. The announcement of the winner was made on Friday, June 21st at the East Tulsa Dodge dealership where the car was on display after it had been exhumed from its watery tomb. It's since been moved to a storage building.

Perhaps it's tragically fitting that the man who has won the buried Belvedere is no longer with us, as Humbertson is likely cruising in the afterlife with his '57 Belvedere that's equally deceased.

Thanks for the tip, Tom!

[Source: buriedcar.com]

click above image for 26 new pics of the '57 Belvedere unveiling in Tulsa

Since we weren't able to get an Autoblogger on a plane pointed at Tulsa last weekend to catch the unearthing of a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere buried underground for 50 years, we called Chrysler because we thought, hey, they built the car way back when, maybe they'll have someone on hand with a point-and-shoot. And they did. Max Gates from the Safety and Regulatory Communications department of Chrysler escaped his cubicle to attend the festivities surrounding the reveal of Tulsa's time capsule and "Mrs. Belvedere".

Of course, by now we all know that Mrs. Belvedere spent much of the last half century under water, her underground sarcophagus having been breached by mother nature and flooded countless times in the past 50 years. In Gates' pics, we get our first close up look at the extent to which the '57 Belvedere is ruined with rust. What's interesting is that there are no rust holes or rust spots, there's just a veneer of rust completely covering the vehicle making it look as if the car were plucked from its tomb and deep fried right before the unveiling.

We haven't heard any news about who correctly guessed what the population of Tulsa would be in 2007 and therefore has won the '57 Belvedere, nor whether it's been confirmed that car customizer Boyd Coddington will restore the vehicle before it's awarded to the winner. For the winner's sake, we're hoping he or she isn't given the car in this condition.

[Source: Chrysler Group]

click above image to view more pics from the '57 Chrysler Belvedere's unveiling

Tonight was the big unearthing and unveiling of the 1957 Chrysler Belvedere that was buried in front of the courthouse in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma 50 years ago. After the car's underground tomb was opened earlier in the week and it was discovered filled with water, no one was sure what condition "Mrs. Belvedere" would be in. Brenton Burke, a friend of Autoblog, was present at the unveiling and filed this report.

"Three men from OSU's automotive school pulled the cover back and there she sat. Mrs. Belvedere was in ruins. Just destroyed... I was totally bummed and the old people around me really took it hard... They then continued to show flicks of interviews with people who watched the event, while Boyd et. al. tried to open the various compartments. They succeeded with the trunk and hood, but were having difficulties opening the side doors. In the trunk was some fun stuff. They had put the gas in glass jugs, then placed those in steel containers. There was a six pack of beer and some other destroyed memorabilia. The beer was still in tact! They opened the hood and removed the plastic cover that disintegrated over it, and showed us the mold/algae covered engine. At that point, there was nothing much left of the car.

They proceeded to cut open the big steel boiler that doubled as the real time capsule. It was perfect. They cut it open and pulled out an American Flag that looked brand new. Awesome! There were postcards, letters from the school districts, etc. Most of the stuff was random memorabilia that the people of Tulsa threw in, last minute, and un-documented."

More after the jump.

[Photos: Brent Burke]

The first Modern Gentleman has come off Nanjing's reconstituted assembly line in China, but we're getting conflicting reports about whether or not a rumored factory in Oklahoma will happen. Nanjing has been offered $20 million in incentives to come and build the MG TF where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain, but according to a recent report, the Ardmore, OK plant plans have been scrapped.

Nanjing hasn't made any formal response, but it appears that officials in Oklahoma are still working toward bringing the Chinese carmaker stateside and the Ardmore Development Authority is continuing to make efforts to bring the plant, as well as a parts distribution center, to Oklahoma.

Nanjing is China's oldest automaker, so it's not like they're neophytes; but, there's likely a learning curve about our emissions and safety regulations. Judging from how quickly the MG tooling was up and running after being shipped to China, we have no doubt that there will be a determined Chinese automaker offering cars for sale in the US in the near future.

Work continues on developing the airport and corralling the details among companies on three different continents, and supposedly they're currently completing due diligence before finalizing agreements. At least that's the rhetoric. We'll see how it all shakes out.

Thanks for the tip, Luis!

[Source: KOTV]

Nanjing Automobile Corp. will celebrate its 60th birthday on March 27, 2007, and the star of the party will be a shiny new MG. Deputy chairman Lu Zhenxin announced Wednesday that Nanjing's first MG will roll off the line on the company's birthday.

The company's new factory in Nanjing is under construction, and when completed will be able to pump out 200,000 MG cars and 250,000 engines a year. Some vehicles will be sent on to the former MG Rover plant in the U.K. for final assembly, and the first MG TF roadster could drive out of the U.K. plant as early as April 8, 2007, two years to the day after the plant ceased production.

U.S. production at the company's planned Oklahoma facility is scheduled for 2008.

[Source: Reuters]

On June 15th, 1957 the residents of Tulsa, Oklahoma buried a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere beneath a downtown sidewalk in front of the Tulsa County Courthouse. At the time Tulsa has more cars per capita than any U.S. city besides Los Angeles and a fierce rivalry with Oklahoma city. The time capsule stunt was meant as a way to celebrate the city's love of the automobile and one-up Oklahoma City.

The car was filled with all sorts of 1957 mementos, including a case of Schlitz beer, 10 gallons of gasoline, 5 quarts of oil, the contents of a lady's purse, as well as photos and maps of the Tulsa area. No one knows what condition the Plymouth is in, but townsfolk from the era say city officials took every precaution to ensure the car would still be pristine when it was exhumed. That date will come next year during Tulsa's centennial on June 15th, 2007, fifty years to the day after the car was buried.

[Source: BuriedCar, ForwardLook.net]

It's where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain. It's where the corn is as high as an elephant's eye. And now it's where the first Chinese owned auto factory will be opened in the United States. Ooooooklahoma!

Today Nanjing Automobile Group will announce that the company will build the MG TF Coupe at a factory in Ardmore, Oklahoma by 2008 and locate its American and European headquarters 90 miles north in Oklahoma City. The new plant will create 500 new jobs for the area. The MG TF Roadster, meanwhile, will be assembled at MG's plant in Longbridge, England.

This will make Nanjing the first Chinese automaker to truly enter the U.S. market, though the fact it will be offering a revered nameplate sets it apart from other Chinese automakers intent on arriving in the U.S., like Geely and Chery, both of which plan to offer freshmen marques.

(Thanks Speed42 and Peter for the tip!)

[Source and photo: New York Times]

The proposed alliance between GM and Nissan/Renault leads off the Autoblog Podcast, Episode #34. Do we think it will happen? What would the effects of such an alliance be? We also talk about the Chinese coming to town in the form of Nanjing Automotive opening up operations and a productions facility for MG in Oklahoma. GayWheels.com and its Top Ten Most Researched Vehicles list also makes the cut, along with news from our sister-site, AutoblogGreen. Enjoy.

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Hosts
John Neff and Sebastian Blanco

Producer
John Neff

Length
28:28