Poor Geely was all alone in corner of Cobo Hall that made the would-be Chinese import practically invisible to the Detroit show's press throngs. Still, the company quietly became first Chinese carmaker to appear at the North American International Auto Show, with its eyes on a 2007 launch of its $10,000 econoboxes. How will they do it? First, they must convince American buyers their cars' quality is on par with established carmakers'. Their show car's straightness-challenged badging, however, may have set back Geely's PR effort in that area by a few billion Yen. What's the deal with all those letters and numbers, anyway? Will American ad agencies be able to sell a Geely CK 1.5 MR7151A? We can't even remember our bank PIN.

Related:
Geely Will Go With You for a Happy Life [internal]

Contact information for this author is not available.