I was shopping for cars back in the 80's and 90's. Japanese cars having "inferior metal" was the common perception, usually a vernacular reference to the relative lack of galvanization of panels. Until a few years ago, "Hyundai" was synonymous to inferior manufacture.

"Wild west" is the reality of any fast growing economy. The original "Wild West" was the Virginia and Massachusettes Bay Colonies, to the eyes of the European investors on the east side of the pond. "Wild west" is simply where opportunities are (with associated risks). To the extent that rising water lifts all boats, farcical or self-destructive schemes are also often tried before man made laws stamp out productive entreprenuership. Those local-branded ultra-cheap tin cans are simply entreprenuerial experiments in the absence of a robust used car market (after the various governments banned the exportation of used cars from the US to those rapidly developing economies).

As far as we know, there has not been a case of "inadvertent material substitution" in any of those Chinese subsidiaries / joint-ventures of global brands. Why would they start now? I just read in the Car and Driver that Chinese cities are introducing lotteries for license plates (the right to buy cars, besides paying through the nose for the cars themselves). In this artificially restricted car ownership environment, how long do you think junky cheap cars will last before they give way to ultra luxury cars like in Hongkong and Singapore (which have the highest ownership rate of Rolls-Royce and S class in the world)? Ironically, they will be losing the opportunity to have the truly entreprenuerial process of the auto industry: the never ending pursuit on how to make very good cars ever more cheaply; a la what Toyota and Hyundai have done in the past 30 years, and what Ford and GM did in the teens and 20's. Carmaking as an industry is not about Rolls-Royce or S class, but the ever wider popularization of better and better cars (at lower and lower prices).





posted by 76.118.39...

• Volvo - made in China?, Dano in Texas , Thu, 13 Jan 2011 05:52:09
  • Thailand, Brazil, Spain, Taiwan-yes, PRC, India-no, eic, Sun, 16 Jan 2011 19:22:47
  • Who makes the worst cars?, Mysaab, Sun, 16 Jan 2011 08:47:49
    • Re: Who makes the worst cars?, tom, Wed, 19 Jan 2011 20:10:53
  • It will not matter, Wasabi, Fri, 14 Jan 2011 17:55:01
  • No way, Acubra, Fri, 14 Jan 2011 12:27:27
  • Many here have no hesitation in buying products..., TKC, Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:55:14
    • Lenovo laptops..., MI-Roger , Fri, 14 Jan 2011 07:24:46
      • Safety is my #1 issue, Steve T., Fri, 14 Jan 2011 08:29:15
        • It's the country that takes the import makes the ....., TKC, Fri, 14 Jan 2011 11:30:50
        • Re: Safety is my #1 issue, Tim, Fri, 14 Jan 2011 09:35:10
          • If you can cheapen up milk, why not car parts?, Steve T., Sun, 16 Jan 2011 04:35:01
            • Re: If you can cheapen up milk, why not car parts?, Tim, Sun, 16 Jan 2011 14:20:06
            • I see your bias, I can cite as many western cases...., TKC, Sun, 16 Jan 2011 06:03:02
              • Re: I see your bias, I can cite as many western cases...., Tim, Sun, 16 Jan 2011 14:29:02
          • Re: Safety is my #1 issue, James, Fri, 14 Jan 2011 10:16:51
            • Re: Safety is my #1 issue, Tim, Fri, 14 Jan 2011 11:24:24
  • Not for me., Steve T., Thu, 13 Jan 2011 07:45:41
    • 2003 is a first model year..., James, Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:19:15
    • Volvo has been producing cars in China since the 1980s, Bill Homer , Thu, 13 Jan 2011 08:20:43
      • the key is assembled not designed, Bruce, Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:30:09
        • the whole is the sum of its parts, turbocon86, Fri, 14 Jan 2011 13:14:05
          • The replacement part, Tim, Fri, 14 Jan 2011 19:01:17
            • Re: The replacement part, James, Sat, 15 Jan 2011 21:29:26
              • Re: The replacement part, Tim, Sun, 16 Jan 2011 21:02:03 <-- Viewing This Message
                • rust + the wild west, James, Mon, 17 Jan 2011 12:58:25
                  • Re: rust + the wild west, Tim, Mon, 17 Jan 2011 23:16:55
                    • Re: rust + the wild west, James, Tue, 18 Jan 2011 07:50:40

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