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I Drove A Bunch Of Chinese Cars And They Are Amazing: How China Learned To Build Better Cars While The West Was Sleeping - The Autopian

https://www.theautopian.com/i-drove-a-bunch-of-chinese-cars-and-they-are-amazing-how-china-learned-to-build-better-cars-while-the-west-was-sleeping/

Chinese cars have been in the news lately, as they — to many — represent a threat to the American auto industry. At the same time, they represent a potential relief in what many see as an overly expensive EV landscape, and thus a way to potentially get more people to give up gas guzzlers […]

I Drove A Bunch Of Chinese Cars And They Are Amazing: How China Learned To Build Better Cars While The West Was Sleeping - The Autopian

36 comments

IsThisAnAI

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What? I've sat in one. Like base Mitsubishi quality, tops. This writer is on crack.

TotalFat

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In this modern economy of content creators, you get paid for engagement, not truth.

Not_mikey

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Doesn't seem like they're making better cars, the most innovative things he points out is a funky gear shifter... But that they're making them more cheaply. That doesn't seem to be because of any production innovation or finding some hidden efficiency that western companies overlooked, moreso heavy subsidies and state support combined with a cheap labor market. Hopefully this competition makes the west adopt the former and not the latter, but considering the current political environment we'll probably end up with the reverse.

7oo7

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Better doesn't always mean innovative. How many new innovation have really happened in cars in recent years? Is this years iPhones better than last years? by nominal additions to the package without any real headliner, of course yes. That's what's happening.

The article doesn't even try to say they're being innovative and you're really trying to shoe horn your extreme dislike of the fact they're ahead.

Not_mikey

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In what ways are they ahead though besides price. A new iPhone has more battery, a camera with more MP, a faster chip etc. These cars have the same or shorter range then they're competitors, same or slower acceleration, same cargo space, charging speed etc. just cheaper because of the reasons mentioned above.

When Japanese cars started taking off in the 70s it was because they had way better fuel economy and build quality then anything Detroit was putting out at the time, they were better at those fields. I don't see any field where these cars are better at besides price.

unexposedhazard

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What i wanna see from china is an offline bare necessities EV that doesnt record and report everything you do to the manufacturer that then sells this data. Most new western and probably chinese cars aswell currently do that stuff.

I want publicly accessible open source tools for analyzing faults and helping with repair. From other existing open hardware projects coming from china, we know that some companies can do this very well if they want to.

FMT99

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But the recording and reporting is the goal of their subsidized EVs

VirtualOdour

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The goal is to move away from oil

UnderpantsWeevil

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the most innovative things he points out is a funky gear shifter…

It looks like the article is focused on the myriad styles and scopes of new EVs, production of which remains a struggle for the industry at large.

Once the 1980s-era Joint Ventures strategy broke down, a number of independent Chinese automakers began introducing their own models. And the end result appears to be a car industry in China more akin to the pre-mega-merger US Automotive industry.

That doesn’t seem to be because of any production innovation or finding some hidden efficiency that western companies overlooked

The number of small-sized vehicles is notable. American Big Three car companies have all but given up making coups and sedans, in favor of SUVs and trucks. Toyota's execs aren't interested in full EV power train vehicles, leaving that market to Hyundai, Nissan, and whatever's happening at Tesla.

This isn't radical innovation of the concept car so much as it is radical entrepreneurial in the country where you'd least expect it.

Plopp

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OP, how much is China paying you to post articles on how good Chinese technology is and how well it's doing? Your post history is... fascinating.

UnderpantsWeevil

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Be a car enthusist

Discover new kind of foreign car

Geek out over it

Get $200 from that country's government

Lather, rinse, repeat

Buy a McLaren.

tabularasa

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It really is. Bot?

Woozythebear

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Found the nazi

snausagesinablanket

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What good is it if the US wont import them>?

Maggoty

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Oh but we will.

Cort

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Only with a massive tariff. Way higher than the one on foreign trucks

helenslunch

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Funny thing is the Chinese are giving out massive subsidies to counteract those tariffs.

Maggoty

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Volvo and BYD have already said they're committed to landing their cars here in the 30k-40k range. There has been speculation on whether that means they're taking a loss or that means they can make them very cheaply but no one thinks they're unserious about it.

retrospectology

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No thanks, lol.

helenslunch

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Crash them into a wall and see how much better they are then.

schizoidman

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According to Euro NCAP every Chinese car from 2022 to 2024 scored the maximum 5 stars.

https://www.euroncap.com/en/ratings-rewards/latest-safety-ratings/#?selectedMake=0&selectedMakeName=Select%20a%20make&selectedModel=0&selectedStar=&includeFullSafetyPackage=true&includeStandardSafetyPackage=true&selectedModelName=All&selectedProtocols=51097,49446,45155&selectedClasses=1202,1199,1201,1196,1205,1203,1198,1179,40250,1197,1204,1180,34736,44997&allClasses=true&allProtocols=false&allDriverAssistanceTechnologies=false&selectedDriverAssistanceTechnologies=&thirdRowFitment=false

Fiivemacs

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Don't chinese EVs catch fire more then the west?

Also given China's track record for reliability and quality, I'd say this entire topic is just misleading and false. Driving something for a week is NOT the same as owning it for 5 years. High chance the cars do not last the length of the loan.

You seem...yeah...added to the list.

Onii-Chan

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We have a shitload of Chinese cars on the roads here in Australia, and you see them pop up for sale only a few years after being bought brand new at extreme discounts for a reason; they're cheaply built pieces of shit that aren't reliable and lure buyers in with fancy aesthetics and tech. I drive a 2010 Japanese import Toyota Crown, and it'll outlast any of these Chinese made cars.

China is trying to get a foothold in the west, and they're using cheap vehicles as part of that strategy during a cost of living crisis. It's a smart strategy, admittedly, because the downsides won't be apparent to the average person for a long time. The US really should be helping reduce the price tag on domestically produced cars if they want to stem the flow of Chinese EV's hitting the roads, but the government and automakers seem to be averse to that. People without money are going to pick what they can afford, for better or for worse...

Fiivemacs

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This is exactly my point. They might make something that looks good comparable to anywhere else, but the quality is trash and can easily be dangerous. They care even less then 'the west'.

The downvotes on my comments I'm assuming are paid actors to push some agenda that China cars are good when the reality is the literal opposite.

People aren't dumb, they know China's shit standards.

idiomaddict

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The downvotes on my comments I'm assuming are paid actors to push some agenda that China cars are good when the reality is the literal opposite.

That’s close minded as hell. I don’t know enough to disagree with you about this, but suggesting that anyone who disagrees is a paid actor is wild. Lots of people are car fans and have emotional attachments to cars. Downvoting because someone really likes a specific Chinese car seems significantly more likely.

IsThisAnAI

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People here don't want cheap cars. Even if they can't afford nice shit they'll buy. You have cheap cars now sitting on lots for months.

Maggoty

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They're already doing consumer report stuff on them and some companies like BYD are scoring high on reliability.

dogsnest

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Any sauce?

Anywhere?

I'm guessing the opposite of what you guessed.

Same sauce

Diplomjodler3

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Hey, let's not let facts get in the way of our preconceived notions!

Fiivemacs

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here's your easily searchable proof....

Fiivemacs

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Are you seriously asking me to prove Chinas track record that shows they are notorious for making subpar quality goods and flooding markets with them?

Fiivemacs

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JD power china agrees

It's literally common knowledge that China makes nice looking garbage. Nothing they make lasts compared to the rest of the world. Stop being a shill.

dogsnest

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Lexus ranks highest overall in vehicle dependability for a second consecutive year, with a score of 135 PP100. Among premium brands, Porsche (175 PP100) ranks second and BMW (190 PP100) ranks third.

Toyota ranks highest in the mass market segment, with a score of 147 PP100. Buick (149 PP100) ranks second, while Chevrolet (174 PP100) and MINI (174 PP100) each rank third in a tie.

https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2024-us-vehicle-dependability-study-vds

FROM YOUR TREMENDOUS RESEARCH: