In article <43C457DD.6020601@your.disposal>, Wound Up
<none@your.disposal> wrote:
> David M wrote:
> > http://www.naias.com/section.asp?sectionID=323
> >
> >
> > China's Geely Takes On the World
> > A dark horse tries to win in the nascent Chinese car industry
> > by Michael J. Dunne (2004-03-29)
> >
> > Make no mistake about it: China one day plans to manufacture its
> > own cars for export worldwide, including to the United States and Europe.
> > But the road the Middle Kingdom takes to get there may be different from
> > the one mapped out by government officials in Beijing. Ever since
> > formation of China first automotive joint venture (Shanghai Automotive
> > Industry Corporation tied up with Volkswagen in 1984) China's strategy
> > has been for handpicked state enterprises to soak up car making knowledge
> > from their foreign partners - companies like Volkswagen, Honda, and
> > General Motors. Today, joint ventures account for 90 percent of car
> > production in China. Once the Chinese partners have enough know-how and
> > capital, they would have the option to build cars on their own. That has
> > been Beijing's view of the way things ought to unfold. But at least one
> > privately owned car company, Geely Automotive, has a different picture of
> > the future.
> >
> > Geely founder and chairman, Li Shufu, is blunt: "Joint
> > ventures will fade away over time. Just like what happened with
> > motorcycles. In the future, it will be private Chinese companies that rule
> > the industry."
> >
> > This is a bold declaration from the leader of a company that is just five
> > years old, has little research and development capabilities and was
> > recently taken to court by Toyota for alleged trademark infringement. Then
> > again, no one would have believed that Geely could achieve sales
> > of 80,000 sedans in 2003, capturing four percent of the China market.
> >
>
> I don't know about Geely cars, but Geely motor scooters have similar
> value and durability to an orange plastic fixed-beam flashlights, and
> they cost almost as much as quality brands. Every system fails, and
> freaking good luck finding a repair manual - one that you could actually
> understand, anyway.
I think, seriously, that an Internet pre-emptive strike is in order.
People are now aware of the trouble the domestics are in. There needs
to be a campaign against Americans purchasing Chinese cars. Simple. IF
that happens and is successful in killing the market ahead of time, it
can spur further anti-import sentiment. We are at a critical time.
Action!
CobraJet
--
Spokesmodel for Arrogant Bastard Ale
