The Auto Writer

Not Ready For Prime Time

Visitors to the 2008 NAIAS in Detroit will get their first glimpse at several makes and models offered by five Chinese automotive manufacturers. None of the vehicles are being sold in the US and Canada (yet) but plans are under way to bring one or more models to our shores in the near future. That is, if these cars can pass stringent U.S. safety and emissions standards first.

Crash testing of several earlier Chinese models quickly revealed that they failed — miserably. The promise of getting a $6500 Chinese-built car to the U.S. market seems to have vanished as safety and emissions upgrades would raise that price considerably.

Even if China had the vehicles to pass federal scrutiny, one important fact remains: their cars lack style and some are downright ugly. The Geely model pictured, a taxicab, underscores the problem — cars from Chinese manufacturers cannot match current design standards, let alone safety and pollution regulations.

Now, I am not saying that China can never be a player in the North American market. I remember heading to my local Hyundai dealership way back in 1987 with some friends as we took a look at their Excel model and had similar comments regarding quality. The South Korean-made Excel was a much better looking model at that time than most of the Chinese cars on display at the NAIAS, but Hyundai’s reputation for building good cars at that time was sketchy. Today, Hyundai matches — even passes — Toyota in some measures of quality. No doubt the Chinese manufacturers will some day get it right too and become a viable player. They just aren’t there yet — not by a long shot.

Picking the right models to introduce to the world is important too — the BYD brand produced the most catcalls from fellow bloggers of them all. BYD became “Build Your Death” as jokes about cars that collapsed on impact or contained lead paint were rampant. If we bloggers turn our noses up at a particular vehicle, you can bet that the buying public will do the same.