If anyone says anything bad about Croatian cars, I will f*cking kick one quarter... shit.

If anyone says anything bad about Dutch cars, I will f*cking kick one eigh... hm...

If anyone says anything bad about Norwegian cars, I will f*cking kick... damn it!

 Reply

/also, i resemble your croatian remark exactly

 Reply

The difference is that the Japanese copied the US/Europe, did it well, and have only gotten better. The Koreans didn't copy the Japanese all that well, but they learned quickly and have only gotten better. The Chinese, despite the work of the individual technicians, have not only done a lousy job of copying the people who copied the original copycats, they are slow learners.

Also, having styling done by an Italian design studio does not make a good car. Mid-life Alfa Romeo is an excellent example of that.

 Reply

It took the Japanese 30 years to reach a good quality level, the Koreans 20 years. Brilliance is about 10 years old, what are you talking about?

 Reply

So, then, that explains how the very first Honda CVCC was a vastly superior car in every measure than anything that Detroit put out.

The Japanese made such a splash in the US precisely because their cars were better built than anything that Detroit offered, a perception that lingers to this very day.

And yes, it took the Koreans 20 years. But in all fairness, they had a car in production, selling globally, that would semi-reliably function in less than ten. 15 years after the Chinese started, they have yet to reach that milestone.

 Reply

That's because everyone's quality control sucked back in the 70s and as a result, safety and emissions requirements were low. Heck, look at EuroNCAP's test results for cars in the late 90s. A whole bunch of 2 stars, including Merc's and BMW's. Can you imagine what it was in the 70s?

Truth is, back then people didn't care about safety or quality, and any automaker that could make moving vehicle could sell it. Remember Lada?

 Reply

If they just want to keep these deathtraps domestic, I don't really care. I'm more concerned about their worldwide aspirations (and a lot of big talk) with relatively little to show for it so far, especially in the design and safety arenas.

 Reply

And yet, anyway you look at it, when the Japanese began building their cars, they were still better using the same level of technology. As Ash points out, the Chinese have the same level of technology available to them as anyone else, and vastly more than the Japanese and the Koreans had to start with, as well as more potential capital...and they still suck after fifteen years.

 Reply

The problem is, technology has evolved so fast in the past 20-30 years that it's not (as) easy to catch up. It's like trying to put a 5th grader in 9th grade. Will they catch up? Eventually. Try putting that 5th grade in college. It will be tough.

 Reply

CAD technology is nothing new. Additionally, if they want a study guide, all they have to do is buy a Mercedes or whatever else and take it apart. I'm sure they have.

 Reply

The Chinese auto industry, right now, is doing what all other industries in China have done to gain global dominance. They're competing on price alone. To achieve the lowest price, they're short cutting practically every aspect of the engineering department. This will not always be the case, particularly when the global economy recovers from its current malaise.

But I don't believe for a minute that the current crop of failures is due to lack of knowledge or lack of experience; they have the know-how, we've given it to them so that we can do business over there.

Once these manufacturers realize the difference in the value proposition of an automobile and an mp3 player, they will begin building cars that people in America want. It is, at this point, inevitable--baring war or economic sanction. There are just more hoops to jump through that, for now, aren't worth the cost.

 Reply

Geely, Chery and BYD don't have JV's with foreign manufacturers. The companies that have these JV's are just assembling foreign cars. And surprise! They don't supply their latest technology. The latest Hyundai sold in China for example, rides on a previous generation platform.

 Reply

He is exactly correct. The general crappiness of Chinese cars has nothing to do with a lack of technology or know-how.

 Reply

These designs are so generic. They do resemble cars on the market, but not more than any other car in the same segment. Did that make sense?

 Reply

Mercedes do not look like Audis do not look like BMWs do not look like Jaguars do not lot like Lexuses.

Camrys do not look like Accords do not look like Altimas do not look like Passats do not look like Malibus do not look like Fusions.

Unless, of course you are talking about the very fundamental design known as the general "three-box" design applicable to all cars.

Additionally, for the most part, all of the above manufacturers make a good deal of effort to make cars that are in fact aesthetically different in almost every respect, where as Geely and other Chinese car companies....don't.

 Reply

OK, pick a car above and tell me which car Geely "ripped off" from, and I'll get you a couple of other cars that look like your "original" design.

 Reply

Pick one or two for yourself. There's no shortage of selection

 Reply

Human rights abuses in Tibet
Human rights abuses in the rest of China
Tianenman Square
Aggression against Taiwan
Communism
The "L"/"R" pronunciation joke (which is really a Japanese thing, but is also a Chinese internet meme)
Restaurants with alphanumerical menu items and buffets
Kung-fu
Air pollution
Being the inventor of almost everything, like pasta, gunpowder, and writing

Have I hit every possible angle on China?

 Reply

> Well, that's what makes the headlines.

That's why the Western media is so entertaining. And they call Chinese media "brainwashing." LOL

> It doesn't help that their designs are the most derivative and poorly built in the entire world.

That generalization is a bit wrong. Most poorly built in the entire world? I will certainly challenge that. I have been to place where most of cars - and I shit you not - seem to have some sort of contagious disease.

> Have I hit every possible angle on China?

Maybe. You know what's funnier? 99.99% of the China bashers probably have never been to China.

 Reply

I bash China. I have been to China. As for poorly built cars, go do a Jalopnik search on "brilliance crash test" and you'll see why the Chinese win that category.

 Reply

In Soviet Russia...

 Reply

Good job showing respect to your heritage. I am sure your Chinese parent would be proud of you.

 Reply

If you can't take jokes from people who haven't been to China, people who HAVE been to China, and finally people who have Chinese heritage, who CAN you take them from?

 Reply

I am just sick of the same jokes over and over again. It stopped being funny about 1000 jokes back.

 Reply

If you really have that big of a problem with, you really are on the wrong site. If you don't like it, just let it go and don't respond.

 Reply

LOL. That's a win.

 Reply

But yeah, they are probably a little annoyed that we are taking all their money, they can laugh on Jalopnik while we laugh all the way to the World Bank!

 Reply

Screw Will Smith. I like "Gettin' Geely wit it."

 Reply

One. One piece of crap.
Two. Two pieces of crap.

The Count.

 Reply

This is carpet bombing.

 Reply

I did not notice that. And I really wish I hadn't taken a closer look at the picture after reading your comment.

 Reply

A bunch of guys, we'll call them Team Merced, show up with a luxury car.

Then another team, we'll call them Nexus, have to reverse engineer the Merced car and build an imitation.

Then, another team called Gigli (named after the awesome film, natch) has to reverse-engineer the Nexus and built their own.

By the end, it'll be one giant telephone-game mashup of death and hilarity.

 Reply

Then we could just claim we misunderstood the rules.

 Reply