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China

brilliance

Brilliance FRV 1.8T: A Chinese Thrill Ride

There are cars that are fun to drive, and then there are cars that, because you know you're a goner if you crash, are just scary to drive. But since most structurally unsound beaters aren't exactly capable of exciting speeds, fast and scary are often mutually exclusive. This, the Brilliance FRV 1.8T, may very well be an exception. More »

industry news

Ford Slashing Mondeo Price In China, But What Does This Have To Do With The Price Of Tea?

There were 5 million domestically produced cars sold in China in the first half of the year, meaning that if you can't sell cars in China, you should get out of the car-selling business. And to that end, Ford is cutting the price of its 2008 Mondeo by approximately $3,000 to around $25,000, which is a huge drop in a hot market. Why the sudden change?

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2009 ford focus

2009 Ford Focus Gets Kinetic Design Update For China

Looks like the domestic market Ford Focus will remain the laughing stock of the worldwide Focus product line if these spy photos of Chinese market Foci are any indication. These images point to the integration of Ford's European "kinetic design" styling language seen on the likes of the Verve concept and current Mondeo. You can plainly see the stretched out headlights and gaping maw down below as seen from other Ford fare here on these camouflaged cars.

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industry news

China Auto Market Growth Slows To Only 10%, Barely Able To Keep Lights On

Chinese automakers and dealers are beset on all sides by woe these days. They've seen they're meager 23.55% year over year sales growth in March shrink to a paltry 10.4% sales growth in April — that's the slowest sales growth in five whole months. Dealers across the enormous country are scraping bottom and barely able to make ends meet with only 10% sales increases per month. Industry analysts have noted that both corporate bosses and dealer operators are having troubles keeping up with yacht payments, vacation home mortgages, and various venture capital expenditures, but they vow to maintain a stiff upper lip. [The Tycho]

china

Meet Superman on the Shanghai Subway


Some of you might have heard about the recent bus explosion in Shanghai caused by some inflammable goods. Perhaps that’s why China’s own Superman made up his mind to take the subway from now on, for safety’s sake. More »

novelties

The Chinese Getting Bumper Stickers, Get Ready For Best Olympics Ever

When you're rolling down the Jingtong Expressway in your Shuan Huang SCEO-cum-BMW X5 you don't want to let fellow drivers pass without getting a glimpse of your politics. Especially, if those politics are in line with the politics of the state. According to China Car Times, bumper stickers are a rare site in China but that didn't stop this Aveo driver, who supports the Olympics (duh), is anti-CNN (Jack Cafferty said they're "the same goons and thugs they've been for the last 50 years") and hates the Carrefour Hypermarket chain (there are claims the company is pro-Tibet). The red-line-through-logos is a rather unsophisticated form of automotive self-expression, wait until they get Mao peeing on things. [China Car Times, Xinhua]

novelties

Chinese One-Ups Hippies, Clowns By Tight Rope Driving

The Chinese really knows who calls the shots around the world, and it's obviously the tight-rope walking hippies, clowns and unicyclists. Liu Suozhu, better known as the Car King, managed to drive what appears to be some kind of a Chinese Sentra knock-off across 750 feet of steel wire while thousands of spectators watched. You know the only reason people goto air shows is to see a crash—this is kind of the same thing, but the Chinese crowd of thousands left the event disappointed as Suozhu didn't plummet to his death. It took Suozhu 30 minutes to complete the journey and he provided his own color commentary during the entire trip over a loudspeaker to the crowd. [Ananova via Neatorama].

novelties

DIY BMW SUV Spotted Down On The Beijing Street

Think you'd already seen all the automotive counterfeits outside-design-influenced flatteries China has to offer during our Beijing Motor Show coverage? Well, think again. We've just found an SUV that's a perfect example of how to take a car that's merely a vague rip-off and turn it into a blatant copy. It's like design reverse-engineering — being reversed. Originally starting life as a Shuan Huang SCEO, this SUV's basic shape was already very BMW-like. All it needed was a twin-kidney grille transplant. Add the BMW round logos, and you're ready to head for the country club. Just don't get into a crash on the way there — or lick the paint. [via ChinaCarTimes]


beijing motor show

Chinese Lexus Knockoff Deserves A Torrent Of Praise

Give the Chinese automakers some credit, at least they're starting to mix the sources of their latest designs. In this case we have the Faster SUV from truck maker Huanghai, which starts out as a Pontiac Torrent and then slowly fades into a Lexus RX. To confuse matters even more, the Faster is powered by a Mitsubishi 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine. So that's Lexus, Mitsubishi and Pontiac. If only there were an authority figure around.

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beijing motor show

Chinese Mini Cooper Clone Revealed By Lifan, Takes Badge-Copying To New Level Of Crazy

OK, we thought the Beijing Auto Works B60 was a great example of the badge-copying madness out of this week's Beijing Motor Show. Until we saw the Lifan 320. Don't get us wrong, the Jeep is a great example — but the 320 takes the brand flattery dial and turns it up to "11." The moment you set eyes on that front grille, the line of the hood and that rear end, you get flashbacks to the "Italian Job," so instantaneously do you know from whence the design direction originates. In fact, it doesn't even look like Lifan tries to hide the copyright-infringing brand bastardization — it's almost as if they're saying "Look, it's not mini-sized anymore, so it's obviously not a MINI."

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beijing motor show

It's A Jeep! No, It's A Hummer! No, It's The Beijing Auto Works B60!

We really should have taken a flight out to Beijing this week for the auto show. Given Chinese automakers fantastic ability to copy flatter every design they can get their hands on. We're beginning to believe non-Chinese automakers should just enter into agreements with their Chinese partners — like what they do with Russian automakers — to allow them to just have the designs for a nominal fee. Like Beijing Auto Works — the company that built the original military-version Chinese knock-off to the Jeep, the BJ2036 (the BJ stands for Beijing Jeep, get your mind out of the gutter). That Jeep wannabe was built in a joint venture with Chrysler, so everything was hunky-dory. BAW no longer has that joint venture in place, but that hasn't stopped them from building a civilian version of the big off-road BJ, the Beijing Auto Works B60. As you can see...

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beijing motor show

Buick Invicta Concept Reveals New LaCrosse?

We know, Buick goes with old people like liniment, Depends and Ensure? Well, if that's the case, maybe now we'll actually have something to look forward to in our retirement years — if we plan on retiring in the People's Republic. GM decided to debut their latest concept, the Buick Invicta, at the Beijing Motor Show this weekend. The Invicta takes the far-fetched Buick Riviera Concept a step closer to reality. But don't think this car is going to be another forbidden city denied from us 'mericans. Word is this concept is a strong hint at what the upcoming 2010 Buick LaCrosse will look like. And depending on how true the concept's specs are to the prospective production model, that could actually be something to look forward to.

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beijing motor show

Geely To Make Chinese Rip-Off Of Ferrari F1 Car?

First it was those wily Italian Ferrari forgers, now the masters of intellectual property reuse seem to be getting into the game of copying the prancing pony boys. By the looks of this illustration, Chinese automaker Geely seems to be flattering Maranello's F1 squad by way of imitation. We're not exactly sure just how official this is, but the mere possibility of Geely building such a car has our heads spinning. Do they really intend on competing in Formula One? Would the car be constructed from carbon-fiber or fiberglass? Would it have a high-revving V8 or a loosely-assembled pig-iron four-banger? Will the paint be lead-based? If we flip it over, will it have one of those golden stickers on its underside?
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beijing motor show

Volkswagen Lavida Unofficially Revealed For Chinese Market

The moment all of China's VW fanboys have been waiting for has arrived, these are the first clear shots of the Volkswagen Lavida. This is the first car specifically for the Chinese market, the Lavida is based on on VAG's existing PQ34 platform and is about 4-inches longer than a Jetta. Nicknamed by some as the "Mini Phaeton", the Lavida is said to have quite the luxurious interior as it is being positioned against the likes of the Buick Excelle. No word yet on technical specifications, but if they offer one with 4motion and a TDI engine, we'd be glad to have them stateside — though that definitely won't be happening any time soon.

[China Car Times] More »

novelties

Chinese Ripoff Beijing Olympics in Kung Fu Truck Push

Lai Yingying, a 47-year-old resident of Quanzhou city, works as a security guard for a shoe factory. Recently he competed and placed first in the "Push a truck with 9 people in it 15 meters while wearing heavy steel shoes" event. Lai completely dominated the event as he was the only one participating, but was more than happy to speak about his accomplishment saying "It takes coordination". Such noble words from a student of Kung Fu who so managed to wear a pair of 165 lb shoes while pushing a truck. [Ananova]

beijing motor show

HuaTai Auto Comes Up With Most Suetastic Logo Ever

Microsoft and BMW are both companies that have been willing to bend to governmental pressure to move product, but we don't see the companies abiding by the logo above from China's HuaTai Group. The company is about to launch a new line of SUV's at the Beijing Motor Show and has been purchasing expensive billboard space. The keen eyes of China Car Times noticed the clever compound logo. Let's see if BMW notices the HuaTai logo when walking by their stand at the show. Awkward! [China Car Times]

beijing motor show

FAW Bringing B50 Sedan Goodness To Beijing Motor Show

It's been a while since we've heard from Chinese automaker FAW, and we're not talking about the Football Association of Wales (which makes shit cars). This year's Beijing Motor Show spotlight is supposed to go to Geely, but Faw will be butting in with this not too unattractive sedan apparently based on the previous generation Mazda6 platform.

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beijing motor show

Geely Bringing King Kong, 22 Other New Models to Beijing

Geely is planning to debut 23 new models at the upcoming Beijing Motor Show. In addition to the new GT coupe and CE hatch, the Chinese company will be unveiling the NL mid-size SUV shown above, the HE minivan, GE SUV and FC-1, FC-2 and FC-3 sedans.


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