Second CTS, SRX factory

[Bruce Nunnally]

Shanghai-GM, a joint venture of GM and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., will be producing Cadillac CTS and SRX's this year in China

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200402/0...02_133708.shtml

[careldo]

I'm not sure i would want to buy a car coming out of China. I have traveled on business over there and know China is becoming very industrialized with western technology but i personnaly have seen first hand were many of our jobs have gone and simply put will not support that economy when possible.

Shoot me for bringing politics into this if you must.

careldo

[careldo]

I'm not questioning quality just potential future job losses.

careldo

[JasonA]

As an aside, I noticed something weird as I read about the new Kia Avanti in Car & Driver tonight. They said that the Asian demand for huge plush luxo boats is HUGE. All these cars have extra large rear seats that recline and are heated. There's a Toyota Century with a V-12 engine. The article said that the Kia Avanti's suspension had to be "tightened up" for American consumption because it was too soft for our driving style.

This seems to me like a stark contrast with the typical stereotype of the two continents' cars. The Asians have always sported small engines with sharp, edgy handling. The Americans have always produced big boats with sagging suspensions and gas-guzzling high-torque engines.

It seems that the Asian rich actually prefer the style of the domestic cars of two decades ago. Just thought that was an interesting note to go along with this little discussion.

[justgreat]

i believe the reason the chinese versions of ANY car have softer suspension settings is due to their primitive infrastructure (****** roads). don't think they have much of a network of paved roadways. jackg

[Bruce Nunnally]

Very important to remember that people living in very highly packed Japanese cities with too many cars and people living in lower density cities with few cars have very different needs in a vehicle. Asia is a huge place, with many different markets and needs, some just developing.

We have wide roads in the US, with no engine taxes based on displacement, and inexpensive gas. If I had to drive down very narrow streets and pay US$5/gallon for gas, and a premium to drive a car with more than 2 or 3 liters I might make other choices too.

[Poobah]

This post was put in the wrong thread.

[jhall]

i believe the reason the chinese versions of ANY car have softer suspension settings is due to their primitive infrastructure (****** roads). don't think they have much of a network of paved roadways. jackg

A little off topic......

The good:

You simply would not believe the type of infrastructure in Shanghai - and for 200 miles to the west. Ever wonder why cement and steel prices have been so high for the last three years? China is importing materials and building city areas at an unprecedented rate. Shanghai is fast becoming the "New York" of China and has some incredible architecture.

I have seen one Cadillac on the freeway (just one) since I've been visiting, but based on the Cadillac sign that posted over a 12 lane freeway near Shanghai, it won't be long before others are on the road.

The interstate system is huge and is just as good as any you'll find in the U.S., though some of the local villages have lots of pot holes. Also, Shanghai has a high speed mag-lev train from Shangahi to the airport. I rode it earlier this year (at about 260+ MPH).

Now the bad:

I noticed that the newest interstate was paved through hundreds of farms and I asked some locals what became of the farmers. Guess what ?- most of them don't have land to farm anymore and they don't have skills for other jobs - instant poverty.

The air, water and soil pollution in China is horrendous. You will simply not find it worse anywhere - even in India.

I have been in areas where it is very difficult to breath while waiting in traffic. They do not install pollution control systems anywhere. Even the gov't power plants spew stuff that would be prohibited in the U.S. Think of it as L.A. on steroids - lots and lots of steriods!

So when someone says the Chinese can make, or do something cheaper than the U.S., these are some of the reasons why (it's not always because of a lower quality product).

The people who live in China and produce low-cost products for the U.S. market, are exposed to terrible levels of pollution on a daily basis. China has one of the highest rates of asthma in the world. So, while we're exporting jobs to them at a lower labor rate, they're exporting pollution to the rest of the world because profit is more important than planet.

As China becomes a first-world country, their natural resource demands and their pollution will begin to have a great impact on the U.S. and the rest of the world Our greed may have a terrible impact on our quality of life in the next decade if we do not put on the brakes.

I like to travel, but every time I get home from an overseas trip, I thank God for the USA.

[Bob D]

>As China becomes a first-world country, their natural resource demands and their pollution will begin to have a great impact on the U.S. and the rest of the world<

It already does, in significant amounts. With all of the pollution controls in the USA and especially California, they’ve been wondering why the levels are continuing to increase on the west coast, not decrease. Turns out it’s’ being delivered by the jetstream…from China.

[Bob D]

>The "Chery" auto company in China somehow got blueprints and information about the car<

and put it into production before GM did. IT IS A CARBON COPY OF THE GM CAR.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would hope this is being investigated?

[CadiKing]

>The "Chery" auto company in China somehow got blueprints and information about the car<

and put it into production before GM did.  IT IS A CARBON COPY OF THE GM CAR.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would hope this is being investigated?

Gee Bob,

Just like everything else to do with China,

it was investigated to no avail!

Surprised...???

Sorry, but

F China...

Bob,

I'm sure you heard that Lockheed Martin employees

were able to tell the Chinese why their third stage rocket

kept crashing... for freeeeee...over coffee!

NOW THE CHINESE CAN REACH OUR SHORES WITH A WARHEAD!

I heard, NOTHING ever happened to the employees..!!!

Stange, How the term " RED Chinese " doesn't seem to matter anymore!

I grew up thinkig RED Chinese were Communist, not our allies...

The list goes on....

[Bob D]

>The "Chery" auto company in China somehow got blueprints and information about the car<

and put it into production before GM did.  IT IS A CARBON COPY OF THE GM CAR.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would hope this is being investigated?

Gee Bob,

Just like everything else to do with China,

it was investigated to no avail!

I was referring to internally, at Gm.

[Bob D]

Someone may have just driven a prototype over to Chery and it disappeared there. Who knows.

..Long drive...

That's some darn good reverse engineering to get all those tolerances that close in that short amount of time.

A LOT of specs, drawings,etc can go out in a pocket these days on a dvd..

[Bob D]

The fact that they copied the car so exactly is not what is surprising

> The fact that the Chinese courts allowed it is what is so amazing.<

Actually Guru, that's the part I find the least surprising.