Author Archive
BYD E6 launched in China for private buyers – 369,000rmb and rising
BYD have beat foreign competitors such as Nissan and GM to the finish line in the race to get a pure electric car into the potentially lucrative Chinese market. BYD initially launched the E6 to fleet and government buyers in mid 2010 which allowed hundreds of E6′s to undergo real world testing as taxi’s where [...]
‘Begger Edition’ Audi Q5 seen testing in China
In the UK the lowest model of a car is called the ‘Poverty Specification‘, Chinese media like to refer to them as being ‘Beggar Edition‘ instead, so now we’ve got that slight cultural issue out of the way we can move on to the below Audi Q5 that was spotted out testing in China. In [...]
Should local governments introduce Beijing and Shanghai style means to control traffic?
Although new energy propulsion systems seemed to be the talk of the town at the Chengdu based Global Auto Forum this year, it seems that the issue of traffic and where it will go was largely overlooked, any visitor to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou or even any second tier city in China will see that the [...]
Mitsubishi fears the rise of developing world manufacturers and the resulting Mega Competition
During the opening remarks of the Global Auto Forum in Chengdu yesterday Mitsubishi’s President Mr. Osamu Masuko took to the stage to give his vision of the modern car industry. Mr. Masuko was clearly troubled about the era of what he called ‘Mega Competition‘ which would upset the usual competition between American, European and Japanese [...]
China Car Times resumes normal operations
You may have noticed that China Car Times has been a little slow on the news front over the past two weeks, for this there are two reasons. First of all, when the editor leaves for a week of sun shine in Sanya and can’t find a decent internet connection that doesn’t cost 300rmb per [...]
Buick GL8 on test – Buick’s latest and greatest people mover
The first incarnation of the Buick GL8 appeared in 2000 and quickly became the car of choice for many business users across China, the level of comfort was far beyond what anyone else was offering at the time and the prices were reasonable. Fast forward eleven years to 2011, is the GL8 still what it [...]
BYD sells 265 pure electric E6 MPV’s in August
When running through the auto sales figures for the entire Chinese market earlier this month I was slightly surprised to see that BYD had a rather good month, despite the doom and gloom surrounding their brand BYD pulled in some strong sales with its F0, F3, L3 and G3 models, but the real surprise came [...]
Who would spend 80,000USD on modifying an old Chrysler 300C?
Is the Chrylser 300C not bling bling enough? Does the cars block styling not look intimidating enough? Perhaps it needs some diamonds to put some sparkle into, or how about a full body of diamonds? At the Beijing Tuning Show last week a mega blinged 300C was on show showing off its diamond exterior and [...]
JLR in talks with Chinese car manufacturer regarding China joint venture
The Telegraph are running a short story from the Frankfurt Auto Show on Jaguar LandRover’s China joint venture talks, the Indian owned British company has been in talks with a ‘mysterious’ Chinese partner for several months now, several Chinese companies have been fingered in the talks including SAIC, Chery and Greatwall. Ralf Speth, chief executive, [...]
C-NCAP smashes more cars, also raises the rules for 2012
C-NCAP, the Chinese crash testing authority, recently set up another round of car smashing and let us know the results. Although the C-NCAP is tested at a slightly slower speed than the Euro NCAP the rest of the test is quite comprehensive. However due to the ever increasing number of cars gaining a 5 star [...]
China gets UK edition of the MG6
A few months ago I spotted a UK version of the MG6 testing in Shanghai’s Jia Ding district, which is not too far from SAIC’s headquarters. Of course only I am sad enough to spot the slightest difference between the UK and Chinese version, the UK model gets a faux plastic air vent on the [...]
GM launches Buick eAssist Lacrosse in China
Hybrids have never been a big seller in the Chinese market, the Toyota Prius has become the hallmark of hybrid cars all around the world, but in the Chinese market it failed to make a dent in any meaningful way, perhaps due to its high price or due to its unconventional styling, Chinese consumers didn’t [...]
The E-Bike menace needs regulating
Many Western electric vehicle fans have taken the Chinese love for Electric Bikes as proof that the world can move away from its love affair with the automobile, these bikes can zip up to 60kph and will run anywhere from 30 to 50km on a full tank of juice, what’s more is they start at [...]
Chinese go mental at automotive boob touch
So you’re driving down the highway and you’ve got a pretty woman to your right, what are you going to do? You’re gonna rub her boobs like there’s no tomorrow of course. But a highway camera operator catches you in the act and leaks the picture to the internet, suddenly you’ve found yourself in the [...]
Why I still haven’t quite thrown the towel in on driving in China
Nearly a year ago I wrote a brief article on my frustration on driving in the People’s Republic, roads had become to clustered, too many new cars and equally new drivers had taken to the roads and drove like they were riding a bicycle. It was too much to bare when living in Qingdao, a [...]
MG3 Crossover in the dealerships already
The MG3 hasn’t officially launched yet, but that has not stopped dealers from sending out pictures of the cars as they sit on showroom floors. The MG3 Crossover will come as a 1.5L vehicle with the same AMT gearbox as the regular version, a 1.3L will not be available. Obviously being a crossover vehicle it [...]
The Greatest Small Car GM ever made – 2012 Chevrolet Aveo (Sonic) in review
Are you a young car buyer? Do you want a funky looking car with plenty of personality? Did you just get your license? Do you want to lose your license in record time? If you said yes to the above, what you need is the new 2012 Chevrolet Aveo. The original Aveo was not a [...]
MG3 – in review
We finally got our hands on the MG3 some 4 months after it hit the market in China and 7 months after it was unveiled at the Guangzhou Auto Show. At the Guangzhou Auto Show we got our first taste of what the MG3 was all about, and we left unimpressed: the plastics were cheap, [...]
MG5 spy pictures show China’s first possible hot hatch
China got into the hot hatch phase late last year when the Golf GTI hit the market, it was followed up by the Skoda Octavia VRS (actually just called RS in China due to V being unpronounceable by most) and other car makers are readying their own little cannonballs as the Chinese media likes to [...]
GM’s pick up truck hits the market in China
GM are famous for its pick up trucks, in fact America is famous for its pick up trucks full stop. Other countries manufacturers have tried to make them, but without a logo from one of the Big Three American companies they appear to be a bit limp at best. Urban Cowboys across China are lapping [...]
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