Shanghai Auto Show: BYD, Get A Handle On This

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

This is the BYD F0. I’ll leave it to the experts which other car this resembles. It reminds me a bit of that car, but maybe only because it’s so small and red. It should be red. It’s embarrassing.

The dashboard is a bit like this. But that’s what you get when mounting freestanding gauges.

That’s not the point of the story. When this guy climbed of the car, I saw an odd piece of plastic.

This was a door handle. If your car doesn’t survive the first day of the auto show without the door handle getting ripped off …

… if the door handle remains unfixed on the second day of the show, and if your people turn their backs on the problem in their own booth, then you have no business making cars.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Type57SC Type57SC on Apr 22, 2011

    the Dodge Durango at the detroit show this year had a loose door handle too. not as bad as this, but loose on the exterior and not hitting the strike plate well.

  • MrBostn MrBostn on Apr 22, 2011

    I look forward to the "Hello Kitty" Edition

    • Bertel Schmitt Bertel Schmitt on Apr 22, 2011

      Even BYD would not copy that. The Chery "Hello Kitty" QQ is several years past.

  • Slavuta Inflation creation act... 2 thoughts1, Are you saying Biden admin goes on the Trump's MAGA program?2, Protectionism rephrased: "Act incentivizes automakers to source materials from free-trade-compliant countries and build EVs in North America"Question: can non-free-trade country be a member of WTO?
  • EBFlex China can F right off.
  • MrIcky And tbh, this is why I don't mind a little subsidization of our battery industry. If the American or at least free trade companies don't get some sort of good start, they'll never be able to float long enough to become competitive.
  • SCE to AUX Does the WTO have any teeth? Seems like countries just flail it at each other like a soft rubber stick for internal political purposes.
  • Peter You know we’ve entered the age of self driving vehicles When KIAs go from being stolen to rolling away by themselves.
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