We neednt start this blog post with the usual ‘The Santana has been selling well for years in China’ sentance, lets just cut straight to the chase. The Chinese love the Santana, especially the males of the race, they just refuse to let the old Santana die a respectful death. A new Santana GP is going to be released over the next few months, which is essentially a tarted up Santana 3000 for 2008.
GP - Geriatric Pedal car?
just how do u propose a geriatirc to pedal a car? i assume u have never been in a Santana. but in fact its noted for its cheapness run and reliability. Something i wouldnt even dare say about our Holdens….esp the Daewoo crap
Mate-I wasnt proposing that an oldy peddles or rides in this damned thing- it was a play on words - a pun!
I have been in counless Santanas - from 1997 when I had one as a company car in Shanghai - right up to the taxi I was in 1/2 an hour ago. They are probaly still the best Chinese built car at present.
Dont knock Holdens too much. I would have one over any of the Chinese designed and built crap, even the Daewoo based models.
I was going to buy a Buick Excelle Estate that had an Australian built 1.8 Holden engine under the hood.
Then I came to my senses and realised I am 23, not 43 and have no need for a Buick, or an estate.
Holden builds 1.8L engines? thats news to me since the cars we build here are all straight sixes or eights. I would not be suprised is the chinese exports have either their engines fitted locally, or use engines not built by Holden, but another GM engine, possibly Korean
Actually, the Daewoo Nubira(year 2000 model) estate my mother has in the United States sports a 2.0L engine made by Holden in Aus.
mate i know it was a pun, just that it wasnt a logical one at that.
i love holdens! but mate they are unfortunately not exactly up there in relaibility…and that would be an extremely frank revelation
i can only find 1 4cyl engine made by holden…and that was in the 80’s. i think you’ll find that the deawoo d-tec engine was developed in conjunction with Holden, but has holden ever claimed as one of its own? i dont think so. it could be a marketing thing since Holden admins Deawoo now. Holden has stuck with v6’s since the 40’s
Well, this is straight from the horse’s mouth. http://www.holden.com.au/www-holden/jsp/corporateinfo/exports/exports.jsp I think you’ll see plenty of Holden four pots being exported and it looks like Holden takes credit for it on their page. Now steal me a Commodore Estate and we’ll be cool
well i’ll be damned!
Maaaaate, not sure where you are coming from or where you have been, the pun was to be as illogical as the car, the article heading and Im sorry if your intelligence wont allow you to see out side of the box (or your blinkeres)
My company was involved in the production set up of the four cylinder units at Holden, and yes they are exported, as are Holdens in many quises as you will be aware, under Buick, Chevrolet and Pontiac badges. Ford Oz are not now going to do this, see- http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=44891&vf=2&pg=2&IsPgd=0
maybe because of their reliabilty problems?
I have been involved in production of both Holdens and Ford Oz products and have tested and driven both in all models from new HQs to present day and Im afraid that I still find Holden better. I would have a Holden anyday over any Chinese designed and built piece of Krap, and our company is also involved in the setting up of production units for most of these as well, plus I get to drive and test almost all models here!
listen thats all really good. but it doesnt change the fact that the santana is cheap as hell and pretty damn reliable? Given ur in the auto industry surly u understand that a holden commodore costs a hell lot more to make than a santana, and it bloody well be better be better to drive. No disgreement there that anyone would prefer a commodore over santana, i was on that page from the beginging. But think in the mindset of a realistc chinese car buyer who needs a car from point A to B. And are you really saying to me that a holden is more reliable than a santana given the cost outlay from that perspective? simple fact, i believe there are santanas in china still on the road from the 80’s? and how many VN or VL commodores do i still see on the roads here….i think u get the drift.
u probably should just get over the fact that ur GP joke wasnt all that funny.
None of Dog Tuckers jokes are ever funny. For someone who seems to be actively involved in the Chinese car industry it is a bit hypocritical to come on here everyday and put down everything he sees.
Dog Tucker, why are you so negative towards China in general? You must have some valid reasons right? Seeing you are most likely management in a multinational company don’t you think it would be better to be more constructive with your comments and help the site grow rather than being more immature than a little prince/princess?
Johnson, my sister has a VN Commodore back home. First thing they did was rip out the massive horsepower Opel 2 litre automatic and throw in a manual RB20det… goes a wee bit better now… Her partner has a VL Wilkinshaw replica he built over 6 years.
Oy, before this gets out of hand, lets just keep it simple, Dog tucker said GP stood for Geriatric Pedalcar. In the states, we say Ford stands for Found On Road Dead or FIAT means Fix It Again Tony. His comment wasn’t the funniest, but that’s it. I think we can move on that aspect because the joke was explained. As far as Chinese automobiles being “krap”, it’s all subjective, since it’s a comparison of apples to oranges. How bout we compare the VW Santana to the Dacia Logan or Tata Indica for basic bare bones cars and call it a day. I’ll leave you kiddies to fight on the playground after recess.
Ford stands for Fix Or Repair Daily or First On Race Day depending on the situation…. Lucky on the great mountain they are still the second one after getting their ass kicked for a looooooong time. www.v8supercars.com
I find Dog Tucker funny and hypocritical at that same time, he said Chinese automobiles are craps but still he comes here regularly to post and get the news about Chinese autos, it seems like he cares a lot about Chinese auto industry. I am just wondering which car company he is working for and is he working in China .
Weird people, calling something crap but still come to read and act negative, well to me that is a sign of insecurity.
OK i know that in the previous post I said something which is not really nice. So I apologise if dog tucker feels offended or anything. Now I just want to say something fair, firstly at the moment you cannot compare Chinese cars with Western cars like VW. Chinese cars names are really young and and haven’t got their names established on the world stage. And it is your choice to choose a western made cars over Chinese cars and I believe most of the people out there would do the same (at the moment) given their bad to ok crash test ratings, it obviously leave a bad image in people’s mind. But as I said this is a very natural stage for such young beginners. What I find annoying about you is that (from what I see) it seems like your main objective of comming to this site to spread pessimism and negativity, most of your posts are about negative things and some unfunny jokes. Maybe you are just telling the truth or perhaps you don’t like Chinese cars, not giving them a chance (even when they try to do something good) and try to be over-negative.
I hope you understand what I said.
Ash can we get the comments fixed when somebody replies? It’s hard to read some of the responses when the text for the response overlaps.
It does? What browser are you using? Its all DANDY in firefox!
Tested in IE 6, seems all right, except that the right hand bar is down near the bottom of teh screen than at the top.
u just have to refresh the page…i find that happens in IE 7 when u scroll too fast
Ah thanks, I am using IE7, so I guess that’s the problem. It only happens with the comments on this page though. Weird.
it happens to all comments on mine. i just dont scroll too quick
Im sorry if i have offended you all, but the facts are- 1)I WASNT TRYINGY TO BE FUNNY! 2)I SAID ALL CHINESE DESIGNED AND BUILT CARS ARE CRAP-NOT IMPORTED DESIGNED AND BUILT - I.E. VW ETC. 3)IF YOU READ EARLIER IN THIS BLOG (IN FACT 2ND COMMENT) YOU WILL SEE THAT I SUPPORT SANTANAS!!! 4)YES I LIVE IN CHINA, LOVE THE PLACE AND I DONT THINK IM BEING NEGATIVE ABOUT CHINA AT ALL. I AM BEING AT TIMES NEGATIVE RE THE VERY POOR QUALITY JOHNY COME LATELY CARS BEING PRODUCED HERE-ONLY BECAUSE I SEE SO MANY UNINFORMED COMMENTS ABOUT NEW CHINESE CARS ETC AND I GUESS IM LUCKIER (DEBATABLE) THAN MOST BECAUSE IM DIRECTLY INVOLVED WITH 83% OF THE CAR MANUFACTURERS HERE AND GET TO DRIVE AND TEST ALL MODELS FROM THESE SAME MANUFACTURES.5)I DONT WORK FOR A CAR COMPANY, BUT FOR AN INDEPENDANT COMPANY WHICH HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN ALMOST EVERY NEW VEHICLE PRODUCTION FACILITY IN PRC. 6) IF YOU HAVE READ MY COMMENTS YOU WILL SEE THAT I ALSO SAY THAT THE LOCAL INDUSTRY NEEDS TO CONSOLIDATE AND CONCENTRATE ON MODELS AT HAND AND THE LONG TERM FUTURE, NOT RACE TO GET NEW MODELS OUT AND LOOSE ORIGINALITY AND QUALITY AND SAFETY ISSUES. AND FINALLY (SORRY TO BE SO BORING) #7) I BELIEVE THAT CHINA WILL BECOME A POWERFUL SUPPLIER OF VEHICLES TO THE WORLD, BUT THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN FOR SOME YEARS - MAYBE 10-15 - BUT A LOT OF PAIN AND COMAPANY DEATHS WILL BE A PART OF THIS GROWTH. THANKS FOR UNDERSTANDING, AND KEEP COMMENTING- I LOVE IT!!!!!!!
Christ, lower case please.
no offence taken i dont think. But cmon, the santana is an icon…its a 20year old design…give it a break! And although i hate to admit it, from the photos released and the speculative design pics, I think the new Orion (Ford Falcon 08) is better looking that the VE commodore. where has the design folks gone in Holden…
Please Ash dont get blasphemous! The upper case was to try and help make a point and clear up a few misconceptions.
Alright, fair enough.
Intelligent discussion abound!
Thank you Dog Tucker, It was nice of you to come and answer us truthfully…We know what angle you are coming from now.
Thanks Ashley for posting
What is the source ? am I able repost pics on another blog ? (crediting you and whoever else took the pics)
GP is German meaning Gross Productupgrade aka big facelift or upgrade.
Please take what you want
Thanks Ashley
You’re welcome,
Nice to see you over here and not that TERRIBLE China Car Forums
i need santana in brazil
o santana é o melhor vw produzido no brazil e quem mora fora daqui que tem a disposição BMW, MERCEDES não podem mesmo querer substitui-los por um santana,, mas aqui precisamos de carros que durem decadas… e pensam num BMW ou MERCEDES durando 300 mil km ou 600 mil km?? impossivel aqui.