China Gears Up for Mid-2007

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Next Asian Invasion Not About Klunkers

By Art Garcia

Japanese-made autos were basically the punch line to junker jokes when they first drove into the American market in the 1960s, to be followed several decades later by Korean klunkers. Both were good for a cheap price, poor quality, short longevity and a big laugh.
     Who’s laughing now? In the early 1970s, Japan’s Datsun, now Nissan, turned eyes with a sleek hatchback designed in California especially for the California market. The series of Z cars, starting with the 240, through the 260 and the current 350Z, set a new standard for sporty style and price point. Today, Nissan’s luxury Infiniti is ranked by survey and selection as the best-made vehicle sold in the United States.
     Note, also, how quickly the Koreans turned around the slipping quality of their Kia and Hyundai products, a U-turn that now puts them in the upper ranks in quality ratings (see “Wheel Deal,” Prosper, September 2005).
     Now get ready for the next Asian invasion. The Chinese are scheduled to introduce to the American market in mid-2007 a line of vehicles totally made in China at the Chery Automobile Company in Wuhu. Malcolm Bricklin is chairman of New York-based Visionary Vehicles, which will import and market the Chinese cars.
     But before the first America-bound model rolls off the assembly line, General Motors wasted no time in giving advance legal warning it would challenge the pending trademark application for the “Chery” name, which it claimed sounds and looks too much like “Chevy.”

Continued...

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