On Wed, 11 Jan 2006 03:29:34 +0000, Wound Up rearranged some electrons to
form:
> CobraJet wrote:
>> 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
>>
>
> I cannot imagine them lasting very long in a market economy. You want
> an idea of the probable quality? Think "Eastern Bloc Trabbie", that
> 2-stroke piece of crap that the masses waited years to buy.
Maybe so, but they are one of the sponsors no less of the
North American Auto Show. Read the link, it describes their
methodical plan for ramping up their cars into the US,
by starting in Puerto Rico.
It's dangerous to underestimate the Chinese. You may be
too young to remember when Made In Japan signified cheap
and crappy.
Not to get back to my other thread, but like it or not,
Chinese 'crap' is what drives the engine of the world's
largest retailer, WalMart, not to mention their distant
competitors Kmart, Targert, Carrefour, etc. No matter how
crappy the merchandise, WalMart proves there is a market
for it.
--
David M (dmacchiarolo)
http://home.triad.rr.com/redsled
T/S 53
sled351 Linux 2.4.18-14 has been up 7 days 17:09
