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Post Info TOPIC: Chinese Cherys to sell for $7,000 in US
Kevin


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Chinese Cherys to sell for $7,000 in US
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China cars start at $7,000

The models, ranging from compact coupes to upscale sedans, will be sold at 250 dealers.


By Ed Garsten / The Detroit News






 



CHICAGO -- Malcolm Bricklin, the man who brought the notorious Yugo to America in the 1980s, will sell a line of Chinese-built cars beginning in 2007 with starting prices as low as $6,900, the entrepreneur said Wednesday.


The cars, which range from compact coupes to upscale sedans, will be sold through a network of 250 dealerships that will feature test tracks, customer lounges and a jumbo video screen that will double as a drive-in movie theater, Bricklin said


Each dealership, located far from rivals, will be 20,000 square feet. About 1,000 people already have inquired about buying a franchise, he said.


"If I can get enough people looking at my car and driving my car at these prices, people are going to be buying," Bricklin said in an interview at the Chicago Auto Show.


Under an exclusive deal, the cars will be built by Chinese automaker Chery Automobile Co. and distributed by Bricklin's new company, New York-based Visionary Vehicles LLC. Top-end models will sell for between $20,000 and $25,000.


Bricklin expects to introduce one new model every two months for three years -- for a total of 20 new vehicles. He has set a sales target of 250,000 units in 2007, and sales of 1 million a year within four years.


Production for each model will be limited to 50,000 vehicles and product line will include vehicles with four, six-, and eight-cylinder engines.


Bricklin, who has had moments of spectacular success and failure in the auto business over the years, insists the Chery-built cars will be free of the horrid quality problems that plagued the Yugo when it was introduced in the 1980. The Yugo, Bricklin said, was built in an old factory by untrained workers in a war-torn country.


"This is a company that has quality," Bricklin said of Chery, which sold slightly less than 90,000 vehicles last year. Chery is one of China's second-tier automakers, and the eighth-biggest in the country.


As a hedge, however, the Chinese cars will carry a warranty good for 100,000 miles or 10 years from purchase. Hyundai Motor Co. and other automakers have offered similar warranties in the U.S. market to overcome customer concerns about quality.


Value is the hook, however. Prototypes of the models have been designed by renowned Italian designer Bertone. The curvy, sleek vehicles are aimed at going head-to-head with every major automaker -- from Subaru to BMW -- at a fraction of the price.


For example, Bricklin said a Chery-made car aimed at BMW AG's 6-series would be priced at less than $20,000 and include a V-8 turbocharged engine.


The first models to be sold here will be unveiled next year at auto shows in Detroit, Chicago and New York.


Visionary Vehicles is receiving financial backing from New York investment firm Allen & Co.


Privately held Visionary Vehicles has committed to invest $200 million in the product program at Chery for the U.S. market.


Visionary Vehicles hasn't decided what brand will be used to market the Chery-built vehicles, but make no mistake, says Bricklin, sales will begin in 2007.


"We're committed," he said. "This is in fast gear."






Designed by Bertone and they aren't too bad looking, just hope that they're reasonably reliable.



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ifcar


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Did he say a turbocharged V8 coupe for under $20,000? If they look nice, they'll sell extremely well.

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Kevin


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quote:
Originally posted by: ifcar
"Did he say a turbocharged V8 coupe for under $20,000? If they look nice, they'll sell extremely well."
Whoa, I think so.  Hell ya!

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Fire It Up


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That looks fugly.



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Kevin


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I think it looks pretty good, especially for a $7000 car.

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thewizard16


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Originally posted by: Kevin
"I think it looks pretty good, especially for a $7000 car."

Which is exactly why I don't think they should be allowed to be sold in the US. Now that we have a complete lack of import taxes, etc, if this guy can start a company, build good cars with good materials and good reliability, and sell them for, oh, half (at most) of a competitive model because of extremely cheap labor costs, it would be successful, and in turn, have the potential to start a chain reaction that just kills the American car manufacturing business. I hope he fails, because if he reaches a million cars a year in four years (half of Toyota's US sales) I think there will be big problems with our industry here.

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I liked how they made sure to throw in how Bricklin was responsible for bringing Yugo to the US, but left out that he was also responsible for setting up Subaru NA, which has done pretty well.

As far as these cars go, I'd be wary of a $7,000 car promising to be a match for cars costing several times as much, or a $20K turbo V8 coupe that can rival a BMW 6er. I like a good deal as much as the next guy, but if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

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ifcar


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quote:
Originally posted by: thewizard16
"
Which is exactly why I don't think they should be allowed to be sold in the US. Now that we have a complete lack of import taxes, etc, if this guy can start a company, build good cars with good materials and good reliability, and sell them for, oh, half (at most) of a competitive model because of extremely cheap labor costs, it would be successful, and in turn, have the potential to start a chain reaction that just kills the American car manufacturing business. I hope he fails, because if he reaches a million cars a year in four years (half of Toyota's US sales) I think there will be big problems with our industry here."


The cars aren't going to be that much cheaper than their competitors. The $7,000 car will be an Aveo/Accent/Rio competitor, not the cars pictured.

And what do you have against building good cars with good materials and good reliability to be sold at a low price? If the other manufacturers want to compete, they'll have to either improve their cars or lower their prices. Sounds like a good deal to me.

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thewizard16


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quote:
Originally posted by: ifcar
"

The cars aren't going to be that much cheaper than their competitors. The $7,000 car will be an Aveo/Accent/Rio competitor, not the cars pictured.

And what do you have against building good cars with good materials and good reliability to be sold at a low price? If the other manufacturers want to compete, they'll have to either improve their cars or lower their prices. Sounds like a good deal to me."

What I'm saying is that the other automakers won't be able to lower their prices enough without moving production to somewhere cheap, like China. But even if the 7,000 dollar car is just another subcompact, if that car pictured is $20,000, it's still going to be a LOT less than a competitive vehicle. You can't find a $20,000 car with an interior similar to that. I've got nothing against inexpensive, good vehicles, unless they're too good and inexpensive, and force our own manufacturering facilities to move elsewhere to be able to compete. They can't just slash the price on their cars, because to make it very competitive, they'd be losing money. Chinese people work for a lot less than Americans, and with our costs of living, etc, you can't expect that to change.

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ifcar


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quote:
Originally posted by: thewizard16
"
What I'm saying is that the other automakers won't be able to lower their prices enough without moving production to somewhere cheap, like China. But even if the 7,000 dollar car is just another subcompact, if that car pictured is $20,000, it's still going to be a LOT less than a competitive vehicle. You can't find a $20,000 car with an interior similar to that. I've got nothing against inexpensive, good vehicles, unless they're too good and inexpensive, and force our own manufacturering facilities to move elsewhere to be able to compete. They can't just slash the price on their cars, because to make it very competitive, they'd be losing money. Chinese people work for a lot less than Americans, and with our costs of living, etc, you can't expect that to change."


It's called "free trade". If they can do it for cheaper, so be it. Lots of other cars sold in the US are made in parts of the world where labor is cheaper, go on a tirade against VW or GM for manufacturing in Mexico instead.

It's also a free market. There will be enough people who decide that they'd rather support an American company or those who wouldn't trust a Chery's reliability that they won't turn the whole market upside down (Hyundai/Kia has made a splash, but even they haven't accomplished that).

Basically, if a car is inexpensive and good, everyone else will just have to make something less-expensive or better. That's good for the consumer, and I don't give a damn if it isn't for the manufacturer.

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thewizard16


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quote:
Originally posted by: ifcar
"

It's called "free trade". If they can do it for cheaper, so be it. Lots of other cars sold in the US are made in parts of the world where labor is cheaper, go on a tirade against VW or GM for manufacturing in Mexico instead.

It's also a free market. There will be enough people who decide that they'd rather support an American company or those who wouldn't trust a Chery's reliability that they won't turn the whole market upside down (Hyundai/Kia has made a splash, but even they haven't accomplished that).

Basically, if a car is inexpensive and good, everyone else will just have to make something less-expensive or better. That's good for the consumer, and I don't give a damn if it isn't for the manufacturer."

Yeah, I understand free market and free trade. Part of my feelings against this enterprise probably come from my dislike for the cheap labor exploitation. NAFTA kicked that into high gear, and the US has lost many, many, manufacturing jobs as a result. I realize that GM and the others are already outsourcing to places like Mexico, which I'm annoyed with, and have said repeatedly at C&D, companies like Nissan and Toyota and the like are moving production TO the US, while the ones we have seem determined to get out. I don't understand it, but as long as we can kindof keep a balance of jobs here, that's great. But if a company like Chery were good enough, it could make all other vehicles seem uncompetitive by price comparison, making them have to figure out ways to cut costs (like outsourcing to China) to make them more competitive. And it's not good for the consumer if the consumer no longer has a job. I personally wouldn't be affected by such a change, but I remember my parents losing one set of jobs to outsourcing and my father losing another as well. As someone who has parents that are definitely in the blue-collar category, the loss of more US manufacturing jobs bothers me. I'm not really afraid of Chery alone causing a huge problem, but it's the idea of Chinese-based manufacturers in the US that could signal a distinctly bad trend for US auto manufacturing. I don't buy a car based on where it's built, but the trend that Chery could signal distinctly bothers me.

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Fire It Up


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“As far as these cars go, I'd be wary of a $7,000 car promising to be a match for cars costing several times as much, or a $20K turbo V8 coupe that can rival a BMW 6er. I like a good deal as much as the next guy, but if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.”




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Kevin


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Originally posted by: Fire It Up
"“As far as these cars go, I'd be wary of a $7,000 car promising to be a match for cars costing several times as much, or a $20K turbo V8 coupe that can rival a BMW 6er. I like a good deal as much as the next guy, but if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.” "
LMAO!

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ifcar


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quote:
Originally posted by: thewizard16
"
Yeah, I understand free market and free trade. Part of my feelings against this enterprise probably come from my dislike for the cheap labor exploitation. NAFTA kicked that into high gear, and the US has lost many, many, manufacturing jobs as a result. I realize that GM and the others are already outsourcing to places like Mexico, which I'm annoyed with, and have said repeatedly at C&D, companies like Nissan and Toyota and the like are moving production TO the US, while the ones we have seem determined to get out. I don't understand it, but as long as we can kindof keep a balance of jobs here, that's great. But if a company like Chery were good enough, it could make all other vehicles seem uncompetitive by price comparison, making them have to figure out ways to cut costs (like outsourcing to China) to make them more competitive. And it's not good for the consumer if the consumer no longer has a job. I personally wouldn't be affected by such a change, but I remember my parents losing one set of jobs to outsourcing and my father losing another as well. As someone who has parents that are definitely in the blue-collar category, the loss of more US manufacturing jobs bothers me. I'm not really afraid of Chery alone causing a huge problem, but it's the idea of Chinese-based manufacturers in the US that could signal a distinctly bad trend for US auto manufacturing. I don't buy a car based on where it's built, but the trend that Chery could signal distinctly bothers me."


I'm sure people said that same thing when Japan started to introduce their products that were cheaper, more efficient, and more reliable than the American barges currently (then) available. The domestic manufacturers had serious problems in dealing with this new competition, but they made it, and the market significantly improved.

I don't think this brand will lead to changes close to as major as the Japanese influx did. More like Hyundai/Kia, which haven't really caused any major changes at all.

Also, I think you're a bit too worried about the cars being good and reliable. Though there isn't any reason to doubt them yet, there isn't any reason to trust them yet either.

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thewizard16


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quote:
Originally posted by: ifcar
"

I'm sure people said that same thing when Japan started to introduce their products that were cheaper, more efficient, and more reliable than the American barges currently (then) available. The domestic manufacturers had serious problems in dealing with this new competition, but they made it, and the market significantly improved.
Hmm... You're probably right.
I don't think this brand will lead to changes close to as major as the Japanese influx did. More like Hyundai/Kia, which haven't really caused any major changes at all.
I don't really think it will either, but (once again, I know, broken record) if they can make the cars good starting off, then I think they'll do considerably better than Hyundai/Kia did in the beginning.
Also, I think you're a bit too worried about the cars being good and reliable. Though there isn't any reason to doubt them yet, there isn't any reason to trust them yet either. Oh, I probably am overreacting, I'm just believing the Bricklin guy, and I probably should be more skeptical. "


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ifcar


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It remains to be seen whether or not the cars will be good, but even if they're not, they'll have the one advantage over Hyundai, Kia, Honda, Toyota, Datsun, and Volkswagen of a wide range of products. All of the above started out with just one small car.

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thewizard16


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quote:
Originally posted by: ifcar
"It remains to be seen whether or not the cars will be good, but even if they're not, they'll have the one advantage over Hyundai, Kia, Honda, Toyota, Datsun, and Volkswagen of a wide range of products. All of the above started out with just one small car."

Very true. I wasn't around when Toyota started, but I remember Hyundai/Kia, and I remember thinking, "yeah, like they're ever going to be worth something" and I was very wrong. Chery might be able to skip the whole image problem that Kia and Hyundai had if they pull off their first couple years right.

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ifcar


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Originally posted by: thewizard16
"
Very true. I wasn't around when Toyota started, but I remember Hyundai/Kia, and I remember thinking, "yeah, like they're ever going to be worth something" and I was very wrong. Chery might be able to skip the whole image problem that Kia and Hyundai had if they pull off their first couple years right."


Chery will have a terrible image problem, have you seen what many people were saying about C/D? And those are car enthusiasts, imagine what a standard consumer would think of a new, unproven Chinese brand. They'll have a rocky first few years too, even if they do start with good products.

I'm looking forward to them myself, I hope they make a nice splash in the market.

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thewizard16


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quote:
Originally posted by: ifcar
"

Chery will have a terrible image problem, have you seen what many people were saying about C/D? And those are car enthusiasts, imagine what a standard consumer would think of a new, unproven Chinese brand. They'll have a rocky first few years too, even if they do start with good products.

I'm looking forward to them myself, I hope they make a nice splash in the market."

I've noticed you seem excited about them, where I'm more like one of the C/D people, as hard as I try not to be. I was just thinking that they surely couldn't start off worse than Hyundai/Kia, China can't be considered that much worse than Korea. Though, when I told a friend about Chery, they jokingly asked if they'd come with little gold foil stickers on the bottom that said "Made in China". I guess that's the image issue Chery will have to overcome.

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ifcar


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quote:
Originally posted by: thewizard16
"
I've noticed you seem excited about them, where I'm more like one of the C/D people, as hard as I try not to be. I was just thinking that they surely couldn't start off worse than Hyundai/Kia, China can't be considered that much worse than Korea. Though, when I told a friend about Chery, they jokingly asked if they'd come with little gold foil stickers on the bottom that said "Made in China". I guess that's the image issue Chery will have to overcome."


They'll have a terrible image problem, but the 10 year warranty coming right away should help tremendously. Good reviews will also help, but as much as I'm hoping, I don't think they'll get them.

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