I'm not dead yet! The Chinese Smart clone is set for a comeback.

I am not here to make any personal claims regarding the Chinese motorcycle, scooter or automobile manufactures ability to create a good product. I have very little personal experience with any motor-vehicle to come from mainland China. I have a little experience with their military sidecar bikes, but that is all.

With that said, do any of you remember our coverage of the electric vehicle being sold by a Chinese manufacturer that looked very similar to the Smart? If not, check it out here and here. As of that last posting in November of last year, the manufacturing of that vehicle had stopped. Or did it? Hmmm... check this out here. Phil at Pride of Cleveland scooter shop, whom I have met (cool guy), gives his own mini review upon seeing one:

"The biggest disaster of the show must have been notorious Chinese importer SunL, I don't care how many fake Lacoste dress shirts you hand out, I'm still going to call that Smart Car clone a complete travesty. The bodywork was so bad it actually felt like wood. The windows were just thin sheets of plastic glued in place. The Texans in the booth refused to open the door so I could see if there were any certification stickers inside. They assured me they would be legal for the '08 year. I sure hope nobody mentions this to Mercedes. This show should have taught even the casual observer, if you want to test the quality of a product, just tap it. The Chinese stuff has a feel all its own."

Click here for a site dedicated to SunL's products and their thoughts on the vehicle. This one may not be electric, though. It seems that this Smart-like vehicle has an 800cc engine. The name of the vehicle Sebastian covered was the "City Smart", and this one is the "Mini Cube". How will DaimlerChrysler react to this one?

Also of note: Don't miss the tagline on SunL's vehicle page. It says, "With A 150 different products to enrich your bottom line". Something sound funny about that? I would be glad to check the product out myself, if given the chance.

[Source: SunL via 2StrokeBuzz]