Wound Up

David M wrote:
> 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.
>

Dear Lord, that is scary. I should have read the link. I will, now!

> It's dangerous to underestimate the Chinese. You may be
> too young to remember when Made In Japan signified cheap
> and crappy.
>

Maybe, but I do remember "made in Taiwan" very well.

> 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.
>

I don't like it, but I believe you. I just saw "Geely" and remembered
nightmarish stories about their "ISO-9001" scooters.

--
Wound Up
ThunderSnake #65

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