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MotorTrend: Can You "Envision" Chinese-Made Cars?

4K views 31 replies 25 participants last post by  paul8488 
#1 ·
Chinese-Made Cars Are Coming to the U.S.
MotorTrend
February 10, 2016
By: Edward Loh


Because, like it or not, they’re coming.

On the eve of the 2016 North American International Auto Show, I found myself across from Comerica Park (home of the Detroit Tigers) at the Elwood Bar & Grill with Volvo president and CEO Håkan Samuelsson. We had both come to town for the Detroit auto show, and on my flight in, I reviewed the correspondence we received on our January Of the Year issue. One note, in particular, stood out to me. It was sent by a Mr. James Daniels, who wrote:

“I have to agree with you on your choice of SUV of the Year. It is not often I stop by a car dealer with the family, but my wife will be needing a new car in the future. We stopped by a dealer that has Cadillac, Mercedes, BMW, Volvo, Subaru; nothing seemed to fit. The salesman then said, ‘Well, we just got in a new Volvo that we cannot sell; it is for demonstration purposes only.’ It was an XC90. The whole family looked the car over, inside and out, and was impressed. As I was not able to purchase that XC90 at that time, I had time to research this vehicle. What I found out is that Volvo has changed hands again. Volvo’s XC90 is now a Swedish automobile, owned and built in China for the sole purpose of sale in America. I will be looking for another vehicle that keeps my hard-earned money closer to American workers’ pockets.”

I shared these comments, including the erroneous claim that the XC90 is built in China instead of Sweden, with Samuelsson and asked him what he would tell potential customers like Daniels.

Full article available at link.
 
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#2 ·
Will never buy from a Chinese owned automobile firm or a Chinese built vehicle.

Life is just too short.
 
#19 ·
And it will get shorter once China puts all our factories to rest.
 
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#3 ·
I agree with skylark, this is a big deal for me! Human rights are involved, Unfair trade is involved, and there are many of you who will say well you buy lots of other stuff from China why does this matter?! The answer is because I don't have any choice in the other items I buy, but I have a choice in automobiles!
 
#18 ·
You always have a choice.
 
#4 ·
If they opened their market to American produced automobiles I'd be fine with buying Chinese made vehicles...

Until it's equal for American manufacturers shipping to china...I'll try and steer clear of foreign made cars...

I prefer to support American workers...with my purchases....especially on the second most expensive item Americans purchase after their homes...

If we have fair trade...I'm all in....but without it...I'm out...

I can't speak for my spouses decisions although I do my best to guide her and have done so successfully for the past 20 odd years...

Gm s lack of Porsche Macan or jaguar f pace cuv competitor is making this tougher and tougher though and I fear I'm going to lose the battle before GM produces a sporty small cuv like those two mentioned...

I sure as hell hope gm doesn't import a small SPORTY cuv in from china....that actually competed with the new f pace but rather built the 43 grand competitor (base MSRP) off the Alpha platform or the new bolt chassis for gmc or Cadillac)

Built in America is better...

Support America s workers! And American brands when possible..
 
#12 ·
if they opened their market to american produced automobiles i'd be fine with buying chinese made vehicles...

Until it's equal for american manufacturers shipping to china...i'll try and steer clear of foreign made cars...

I prefer to support american workers...with my purchases....especially on the second most expensive item americans purchase after their homes...

If we have fair trade...i'm all in....but without it...i'm out...

I can't speak for my spouses decisions although i do my best to guide her and have done so successfully for the past 20 odd years...

Gm s lack of porsche macan or jaguar f pace cuv competitor is making this tougher and tougher though and i fear i'm going to lose the battle before gm produces a sporty small cuv like those two mentioned...

I sure as hell hope gm doesn't import a small sporty cuv in from china....that actually competed with the new f pace but rather built the 43 grand competitor (base msrp) off the alpha platform or the new bolt chassis for gmc or cadillac)

built in america is better...

Support america s workers! And american brands when possible..
so many clown......not enough circus!
 
#5 ·
I agree with the above statements. I'm a true blue GM fan, but I would not buy Chinese made and if that's where we are headed, then, I see myself buying recycled/used cars in the future. Hell,
I'm 52 so my next new car, will probably be my last new car. I have several vehicles that properly serviced will keep me going for the foreseeable future, with no need to buy any Chinese built
cars in the future. I have nothing against the Chinese, but we are slowly losing out manufacturing base, the very thing that made the USA what it is today. Its so very sad to see.
 
#6 · (Edited)
If you caught your wife sleeping with your best friend you'd probably be pretty upset. If your wife's response was 'don't be upset, I've been sleeping around with lots of people' would that make you feel better? Uh, no.

Yet that is the argument for accepting cars made in China. Every other industry has already sold us out, so why be upset if the auto industry does the same?
 
#7 ·
China has built their own, bad reputation. Unfair trade practices, corruption, idea/product theft/trademark infringement and shoddy quality. After constantly reading articles about Chinese using poisonous metals (lead, cadmium) to cut costs, putting chemicals into milk sickening and killing 1,000's; why would I want to trust my life with a vehicle that was produced in a country that has proven it cares nothing about me or even their own reputation? My impression of China is to make a dollar today, who cares if you can make one tomorrow (because they just killed their customer due to shoddy quality).

Yes, I know iPhones, etc are made in China with no issue. But the above it the image China built and they need to change it if they don't want people to be negative about their origins.
 
#8 ·
China is run by Communists, whose leaders control all aspects of their peoples' lives. They engage in unfair trade practices, aided and abetted by Walmart and others like them. They have poached our industries and jobs, and have placed high tariffs on importation of USA vehicles and others. They are predators, not traders.
Why we put up with it, I don't know.
For those who say they own our debt, we can get much of our money and jobs back with a 45% tariffs on their goods.
It's time WE win for a change!
 
#9 ·
The Japanese engaged in unfair trading practices and currency manipulation too. Those practices destroyed RCA and the rest of the American TV industry, which was once the world's best and most innovative. It didn't stop people from buying Japanese vehicles.

I don't see why Chinese-made vehicles would be treated any differently, especially considering the many, many other products that people buy that are made in China.
 
#14 ·
1. Datsuns were crap but Toyota's weren't bad
2. They used the same ploy that China used-we're poor we have to protect our market. Again, our fault for allowing it both times.
3. They are the enemy, they are absolutely not our friends
4. Things I buy made in China are cheap, and replaceable. My Japanese made VCR lasted over 20 years but it wasn't cheap. Cheap Chinese made goods are not built well, they are built cheap enough to replace. I prefer well built things
 
#17 ·
1. The late 60s/early 70s Datsuns were better than the Toyotas. The Datsun 240Z was an outstanding and still sought out car and the Datsun 510 was excellent and dominated rally races.
2. Agree
3. Agree
4. Chinese things are like the early Japanese things. Some are crap and some are excellent. Small Chinese air cooled engines have about taken over the market and are good. They are identical to Hondas and are far cheaper. My Chinese generator has been flawless in the 4 or 5 years I have had it. My Impala had a lot of Chinese parts on it that didn't break. You would be shocked at the Chinese things you use and never know.
 
#20 ·
Not that an Envision would ever be on my list of vehicles to buy, but I certainly will NEVER purchase a Chinese made vehicle. Ever.

The first parts to go on many vehicles I've owned have been the Chinese ones. This is usually rotors or U joints which I've replaced with solid NA made parts and have lasted the rest of the life of the vehicle.
 
#22 ·
I think it's inevitable and a worthwhile experiment to find out if people actually care. I'm absolutely certain they won't care and Buick will have no problem selling as many as they can import. The majority of US consumer culture is fed by Chinese made products so I'm not sure why a car is such a stretch, it's a consumer item and quality depends entirely on the manufacturer and not the people making them.

Would I buy a Chinese made car, nope...but then again I have absolutely no interest in the cars coming out of China and I have plenty of other choices. If Lincoln started making the MKX in China and I still really wanted one...I might have to go for it. Ultimately I think it remains a little old fashioned to care this much about the final assembly location when a car is ultimately made from thousands of pieces in dozens of locations around the world.
 
#26 ·
No I cant ever envision to buy chinese made car,
,heck I wouldnt even buy japanese vehicle since I live in the rust belt and their thin sheet metal wouldnt last too long here.
.besides Ive heard scary stories about how Japanese companies abuse their workers..so
Until that changes ,I will stick with my Silverado

https://youtu.be/PptLR-yVlNE
 
#28 · (Edited)
I'm rather surprised that GM is as aggressive as they have been with the move to Chinese made goods, because in general the Chinese have no problem appropriating whatever they may need, once they possess the capabilities, to dominate a market outright. Recourse in these matters is virtually non-existent, and to be blunt you can skip the virtually part of that statement. While I expect a lot of manufacturing jobs to be outsourced for obvious reasons we're getting to the point where we are likely to experience more than a little brain drain and manufacturing capability drain if the Chinese begin to dominate in some of these areas.

Speaking from experience it's best to deal with the mainland Chinese companies with one hand on your wallet and the other on the door as they will absolutely employ practices the West frowns upon with no hesitation or remorse. Their view of business ethics is just different, and they always intend to win. South America, Mexico, Eastern Europe, and Taiwan all offer similar advantages with far less risk, and the oft talked about advantage of being able to sell product in China is blown well out of proportion since profit margins in that country are extremely slim to be kind, and will remain so for a rather long time. I have advised others to use caution in the past and they have ignored that warning at their own peril more than once.
 
#30 ·
My play on this is as follows. This is a test bed to see Americans tollerance for Chinese made vehicles. If there is no backlash, and the vehicles sell great, I can see all niche products that have duplicate production in China, being imported from China. This would include all Cadillac and most Buick sedans.

We are our own worst enemies, as I sit here trying to find an American made electric can opener.
 
#32 · (Edited)
A few months back I posted numbers that at least until 2013, a whole lot more US-built cars were sent to China than the handful that went the other way. I still don't like the idea of Chinese-built vehicles being sold in North America, but if China has barriers up against foreign-built vehicles, it clearly didn't stop too many. And now foreign brands are tripping over themselves to set up shop there and get a piece of the Chinese moon cake. I'd love to see manufacturers not add China to their already long list of places they build cars in for the US, but I suspect this will have little bearing on the success of the Envision.

As for the Chinese government, don't forget that they have 1.3 billion people to govern. Think about that number. I'm not saying this in any way justifies any human rights violations that might occur, but 1.3 billion. Imagine there were 1.3 billion Syrians. Or North Koreans. Heck, imagine 1.3 billion French people, or American people. China did horrible things to its people not very long ago, but throwing the doors wide open and telling Chinese people to think with a Western mindset would create anarchy.
 
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