Business Week asks, Is the USA ready for cheap Chinese cars?

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With the recent scares over Chinese made products, namely toothpaste, car tyres and pet food that were sent to the US markets and proved to be of inferior quality to the point of being lethal to pets and seriously damaging your health with prolonged use. China Car Times cant help but ask, has all of the negative press about ‘Chinese quality’ products had a severe effect on Chinas public face? Will China ever be able to change from the land of cheap stuff to a land where quality can be found, Japan made this move, as did Taiwan, but can China? Friends of China Car Times say that China nowadays reminds them of early 20th century America where anything goes, quality wise and price wise – a land where you can make or lose a million in a blink of an eye and get away with it too.

Chrysler announced on July 5 that it will sell a small, inexpensive car built by Chinese automaker Chery Automobile in South and Central America as early as next year and in the U.S. by 2009. The car is expected to cost about $10,000. But shortly after the Chinese government approved the deal between the two companies, Chery’s president contradicted Chrysler, saying the car would sell for about $7,000 and go on sale in the U.S. by next year. Such is life in the Chinese auto industry.

There is no question that Chinese automakers are going to be part of the U.S. auto scene. The question is when, and to what degree American consumers will accept cars made in China.

A recent spate of recalls and tainted products from China has dealt a serious setback to the image of goods made in China, according to some analysts. Tainted pet food, fake pharmaceuticals, and substandard tires have all made headlines in the U.S. And China’s own General Administration of Quality Supervision just reported that 19.1% of the products China manufactured for domestic consumption in the first half of 2007 were found to be substandard. “We can’t turn the clock back on importing goods from China, but if the negative headlines persist, it will make it tough for every Chinese brand, and that especially goes for cars,” says independent marketing consultant Dennis Keene.

You can read the rest of the story on Business Week 

We know for sure that the Chery A1, Chery A3 and the Brilliance BS6/BS4 and the coupe are heading to the USA over the coming year and early next year, but can China turn around its infamous quality in the time allotted?

Just to add to the China Quality issue, it was discovered one enterprising fellow decided to cut back the meat content in his bao zi to save some cash, instead he filled them with cardboard.