Describing the building, architects 3GATTI say, "A building to be dedicated to the automobile, where the automobile is also the vehicle to visit the space. You visit the first external ramp of the museum with your own private car, like a SAFARI, you park your car on the roof and visit by foot the internal ramp going down. The building could seem to appear as an urban car exhibitor, with its corners and angles filled with tempting shining exposed automobiles."

The idea is that you'll be able to drive on the building's roof, park, then walk down into it through an internal ramp. Check out the gallery for a diagram of exactly how they get the cars onto those precarious ramps. [via + MOOD]

The first new car will be a TF replacement better equipped (ie not dating from 1995) to compete with the Mazda MX-5. Expect it late next year. That will be followed by a mid-size sedan based on the Roewe 550; it aims to take on the Mazda6 when it’s introduced in late 2010. Following that, there are plans for a Focus-sized vehicle and an all-new supermini. The Chinese made Rover 75-platformed MG ZT will not be making a return to the European market.

The reborn MG brand will initially be marketed and sold in the UK, if it succeeds there, sales will extend to other countries in Europe. It sounds like Shanghai intends to take the reintroduction of MG slowly, currently producing just 500 MG TF LE500s. By producing cars in England they’ll be making use of an expensive workforce, meaning they’re unlikely to massively undercut rivals’ prices. If MG take 3 is to succeed, it’ll need to be competitive with brands like Mazda, Renault and European Ford in one of the most product-led markets in the world. [via Autocar]

1. The Lifan "Mini Cooper" 320
Usually, when one manufacturer succeeds with a car another will try and take that idea and make their version different and better, a la the Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger. In China, when a company comes to market with a successful car rival automakers will merely make a poor imitation of it. Thus we present the Lifan 320, a car that somehow manages to maintain the original elements of the MINI we knew and loved, and manages to make it horribly and inexcusably terrible.

2. Great Wall Kunna Electric Concept
As if the Great Wall Kunna Electric concept car wasn't cute enough, there's a stuffed Panda in the passenger's seat. Though we don't think they're indicating you should pick up Panda hitchhikers (you shouldn't — they always want to control the radio), the company has embraced the idea that small cars always look odd and it's just easier to design that into the car than out of it.

3. MG TF Police Convertible
Though American undercover cops occasionally tool about in convertibles (think Miami Vice), we can't think of too many convertible, two-seater marked police cars here in the states. Nevertheless, that didn't stop the Chinese company that now owns classic British carmaker MG from making this MG TF Police Car. Though technically next door at the Police & Equipment Show, this hot little cop coupe was a hit and could be seen picking up political dissidents any day now — only one at a time.

4. Chinese Smart Clone - Harley Davidsion Edition
There's nothing special about a Chinese Smart Car clone as there are tons of them made by Shanghuan Auto. This time, however, the company's Kamino corporate rulers have one-upped themselves with the Harley Davidson Edition. That's right, it's a Smart knockoff with the knockoff of a Harley Davidson painted on the side. Genius! It even isn't big enough to hold a Harley — just like the F-150 pickup adorned with similar accoutrements stateside.

5. Souped Up London Taxi
This, technically, isn't a knockoff. Does it look like a Chinese cab? Yes. But Chinese manufacturer Geely has a contract with London Taxi Inc. to build the Black London Taxi. Totally legit. Though most think of the vehicle as a means for someone driving you around, if you need to get there in a real hurry then this TX4 "hot rod" model is the way to go. It has everything a real London cab needs, including a picture of Big Ben in the back. Tally Ho!

6. Huanghai Faster SUV
Though some Chinese companies might be tempted to take advantage of lax intellectual property laws and outright steal the popular design of the Lexus RX series SUV, automaker Huanghai should be congratulated for resisting the urge. Instead of taking the entire car, they merely took the rear 75% of a Lexus RX and grafted on the front 25% of a Pontiac Torrent for their Huanghai Faster SUV. To make it even more interesting, it's powered by a Mitsubishi engine. For reasons that currently elude our understanding, the car is flanked by car models dressed as hot cops. Maybe they just didn't fit in the MG cop car from earlier.

7. Hafei Saibao V
Though the Hafei Saibao V isn't the most original sports sedan (there's more than a touch of Mazda3 and Lancer Ralliart), we have to give them credit for taking all of the sporty visual cues they could think of — from a gigantic spoiler to super sporty wheels — and fit them all on one car. And if that wasn't enough, they also flanked it with not one, not two, but four models dressed for the prom. That's because when you want to sell a car to sporty guys you need as many gowned models as possible.

8. The Off Road BJ
If you think the BAW B60 Jeep — or BJ — looks a lot like an actual Jeep, you'd be correct. Chrysler and BAW worked together back in the day to co-develop this Jeep for non-Civilian use. Of course that development partnership fell through more than a few years ago, but why let a silly thing like trademarks, copyrights and international intellectual property laws get in the way? That may explain why it looks like the BJ has taken on a bit of Hummer and Land Rover DNA on the front fascia — BAW hopes it'll confuse anyone into thinking the other 90% is pure unadulterated Jeep. But, much like the originals, this formerly Military vehicle is ready to find use in the home of a minimally endowed real estate agent.



9. Hafei Minyi Elephant Transporter
As much as we Americans may love the idea of the minivan, the Chinese love the idea of the mini-minivan. But just in case should you think that this Hafei Minyi isn't big enough for you and your family, the company has put a stuffed baby elephant inside the strange little van to simulate the awesome carrying potential of a minivan crossed with a b-segment econo-box. Of course, even a baby elephant is a touch too big for the Minyi, so you can see the poor animal's stuffed behind sticking out the other end in a way we think would probably be a turn off for potential buyers.

10. The Hybrid Chinese Military Jeep

Kissing cousins to the BAW B60 "BJ" Jeep above, this military Jeep has what we'll call an "interesting" camouflage pattern. As opposed to the high-detail of the pixelated multicolor look of US Military vehicles, the pixels here look to be a few inches across. Was it perhaps designed to patrol the Lego cities of the future or play in some "War Games"-like game of Tetris? Despite the questionable paint scheme, the hybrid powertrain's far superior to your average Hummer. No sense sullying the air with more pollutants than necessary in your standard scorched-earth campaign, eh?

[Source/Photos: The Tycho, China Car Times, AutoExpress.co.uk]

Multiple part question here. Would you buy a Chinese car? Which one? Why? Why not? Would Geely's King Kong be involved? What about a Chinese-bodied Mazda6 like the FAW B50?

Still following us? Now SAIC technically owns the brand, the MG name and some MG technology. SAIC also has the cash resources of a small Eastern European country and could therefore truly resurrect the brand worldwide. Whether or not that will happen is still anyone's guess. [Reuters]

Well, at least we can say that there's a better chance of this working out than that SAIC-MG merger that never ended up going anywhere. [Bloomberg News via IHT]

Malaysia, Russia and Britain could be seeing the reborn MG on their roads as soon as the second half of next year. Nanjing Auto — who plucked the marque from a cluster of classic British brands that never truly recovered from the British Leyland debacle — claims that they've passed UK emissions testing and are ready to go. They're also talking about a tie-up with SAIC, who are launching facelifted Rovers under the Roewe brand. At the present time, there are no plans to build the new MG 7s in Blighty. Man, that's kinda gotta smart, old chaps. – Davey G. Johnson

Nanjing Auto to export Chinese-made MG 7 series cars [TechWhack]

Related:
Return of Morris! Longbridge to Resume Building MG-TF [Internal]

Among the myriad plans to revive British sports car marques, the Austin Healey saga has been at the forefront. And considering two posts in the past two years equals the forefront, expectations are down at croc level. And while that's likely for the best, there's this: Trademark owners Nanjing Auto have signed on with Healey Automobile Consultants Ltd and HFI Automotive Ltd to develop new cars badged as Healey and Austin-Healey. Last year, HFI released the teaser above to attract interest in its cause, and reportedly started taking deposits. The interest likely filtered to the top of Nanjing, which is looking to leverage its MG-Rover assets to expand its fledgling British empire. Maybe more lads from Longbridge will be picking up their mothballed lunch pails sooner than we'd thought. – Mike Spinelli

Nanjing Auto Announces Deal To Revive Austin Healey & Healey Brands [Carscoop]

Related:
Healey Marque Even Closer to Rebirth; New Day Rising for Austin-Healey? [internal]

The MG TF, a car so ridiculously out-of-date that it ended up in a Top Gear challenge, joining the company of the Maserati Merak, the VW Vanagon, the Porsche 924 and the 3rd Gen Camaro, has gone back into production. At the press of a button by Liang Baohua, Governor of China's eastern province of Jiangsu and Birmingham City Councilor Mike Whitby, the vaguely Paleozoic sportster began dumping itself off the production line at Longbridge, fulfilling Nanjing's promise to bring MG production back to Longbridge. We're not saying that the Chinese aren't a credible threat to the balance of global automaking power, but if this is how they start off, well, it's gonna take 'em a few more years to get it right. – Davey G. Johnson

MG TF sports cars again produced in England [Xinhua]

Related:
Return of Morris! Longbridge to Resume Building MG-TF [Internal]

This must seem like a step back in time for Brits who haven't seen an MG Streetwise since 2005. But China's Nanjing is reviving the model, which traces its roots all the way back to the Honda-sourced Rover 200 circa 1995. But in China's car industry — at least at the moment — 1995 technology isn't quite past its sell-by date. Car magazine speculates this car could have been built before MG-Rover melted down, and before the tooling was shipped off to Nanjing's own facilities. But the next bunch will likely be China-built. Considering Nanjing still builds a car based on a 1984 Seat, the Streetwise is like a car of the future. – Mike Spinelli

MG Streetwise scooped [Car]

Related:
What's Next? Nanjing MG-Rover Brochure [internal]

What's Nanjing's plan to revive MG-Rover? According to an online brochure, it may entail a new version of the erstwhile Rover RDX60 crossover concept. It may also entail one of the scariest looking designs (above) since the sand worms in "Dune." Anyone have a cure for goosebumps? Oh yeah, looking at old British roadsters should do the trick. – Mike Spinelli

[Nanjing MG Online (Flash req.) via MotorAuthority]

Related:
Return of Morris! Longbridge to Resume Building MG-TF; Cecil Kimber Just Pulled a 720 in His Grave: MG's New Backronym; The Lost Rover: Project RDX60 Uncovered [internal]

Good news for the UK auto industry — or at least part of it. Nanjing Automobile, the Chinese carbakery that snapped up most of MG Rover Group's assets, says it's re-starting production of MG cars at the company's Longbridge plant in the UK by mid-2007. The plant's been idle for nearly two years as MG Rover ownership fled East in a big hurry. Longbridge will do mainly assembly work — screwing together parts manufactured in China. The first fruit of the factory will be the long-in-the-tooth MG TF roadster, which will be sold in the UK and China. Might we be seeing the sports-car bargain of Old Blighty, or will the rehabbed model be a steaming pile of crap, its sporting British soul rendered in caricature? Watch this space. – Mike Spinelli

MG-TF Returns to Longbridge [Pistonheads]

Related:
Nanjing Sets MG Production Date [internal]

To be fair, MG isn't an acronym, having originally stood for "Morris Garages," but "backbreviation" is not yet in the regular dork parlance. Regardless, Nanjing just pulled a stupid in retrofitting the age-old brand with the new "Modern Gentleman" marque. British motoring as we know it is truly, truly dead. Help us Charles Morgan, you're our only hope. – Davey G. Johnson

MG is Now "Modern Gentleman" [Motorauthority via Autoblog]

Related:
Duke Hale Says Never Mind Nanjing, MG to Be Built in the US [Internal]

In Bee-Em's purchase of a pantsful of Rover holdings, they walked off with the rights to the Rover name. Post-selloff-debacle, they shunted the Land Rover bits to Ford, but held on, rather inexplicably, to the rights to the Rover name, giving FoMoCo the option to purchase it. Word's just come down that Ford finally picked up. Now, with Shanghai Auto doing the MG thing, and despite the fact that nobody besides aging Brits care about the brand, Ford's saying that they think it's a good thing to hold onto, despite the fact that they're not going to turn and burn it. Our take? Either they're gonna include it in a package selloff to rid themselves of Land Rover, or they'll sell it to Nanjing, just to piss off SAIC.

Ford says to buy Rover brand name from BMW [Reuters]

Related:
Nanjing's MG Rover Deal: The Art of War with Shanghai Auto [Internal]

Word's come down from the People's 'Public of Chizza: The first Chinese-built MG will roll off the line, completely without irony, on new parent company Nanjing's 60th birthday. That date is March 27, 2007, according to Nanjing's deputy chairman Lu Zhenxin. The company's new factory, now under constructon, is reportedly being tooled up with an eye toward turning out 200,000 MG cars and a quarter-million engines per year. The shuttered UK-based MG plant in Longbridge, which will handle some final assembly chores of the decade-old TF, could open exactly two years from the date of its closure (April 8, 2005), while a US plant in Oklahoma could open its doors in 2008.

Chinese MG production date set [Autoblog]

Related:
MG-Over Rover: Ex-British Marques to Face off in China? [internal]

Former British rivals MG and Rover are facing new competition from China: each other. China's Shanghai Automotive (SAIC), having lost the bidding war for many of MG Rover's assets — including the MG name — to Nanjing last year, reportedly spent $21 million to buy the rights to the Rover name from BMW. The deal could still be derailed by Ford, which according to the UK's Guardian, holds rights of first refusal for the brand name after buying Land Rover from BMW in 2000. (And, if SAIC does get Rover, it's banned from building off-road vehicles under the name.) Still, with MG on a high-profile push for expansion, but SAIC having far more financial juice than Nanjing, the fight for bizarro British rule in China is bound to be a hoot, if nothing else.

MG and Rover to Compete Again [PistonHeads]

Related:
Nanjing's MG Rover Deal: The Art of War with Shanghai Auto; Duke Hale Says: Never Mind Nanjing, MG to Be Built in the US [internal]

The Nanjing-Oklahoma Saga sounds could be an epic novel about the railroad building in the old west, and the name of Duke T. Hale fits someone who might be hiding a pickaxe under his ten-gallon hat. Of course, Hale, president and CEO of the newly formed MG Cars North America/Europe, is actually an auto industry veteran who's worked for Ford, Chrysler, Volvo, Mazda, Isuzu and Lotus. In his latest job, he's got the unenviable task of reviving a storied British marque — known as much for electrical fires as for open-top exhilaration — which is now owned by a Chinese company, by way of a plan that calls for building cars in Oklahoma. On top of that, he's got a boss who may not understand questions from the press, and thus wind up talking out of school. Edmunds' Michele Krebs recently interviewed Hale about MG's return, the Chinese connection, and what manner of open- or closed-top sportsters might we expect in the US.

Bringing MG back to America via the People's Republic of China [Edmunds]

Related:
Breaking! Nanjing to Build MG Plant in Oklahoma; No MSG, Much MG: Nanjing's High Hopes for the Brand; It's Not OK: Nanjing Downplays Oklahoma Production Plans [internal]