New Trends In Chinese Commercial Vehicles: Ragged Top Heavy Trucks

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Tycho of Beijing’s Carnewschina is onto a rapidly trending phenomenon among the big boys of China: Heavy trucks with convertible tops. It appears to be an aftermarket mod that is not always strictly voluntary: Trucks sometimes roll. Due to the amazing build quality of Chinese trucks and the help of a few hundred migrant workers, a rolled truck quickly is back on its many wheels. With parts essential for a repair safely secured, the chop-top truck is back on its merry way.

China has an “insatiable appetite for heavy-duty trucks,” as Forbes’ China-tracking Jack Perkowski wrote. China is the world’s largest market for heavy trucks, with nearly 1 million units of the big (and usually blue) units sold last year.

This brilliant blue FAW (with matching shirt) truck was seen in Xuzhou in Jiangsu Province. The topless trucks usually go unmolested by Chinese law enforcement, Carnewschina says: “Police, if on the road, which is extremely rare, will likely do with just a fine and let it all go, confiscating would be far too much paperwork!”

I you are into trucks that dropped their tops, head on over to Carnewschina, a virtual Topless Central when it comes to trucks.

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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  • Panzerfaust Panzerfaust on Aug 15, 2012

    Odlly enought, the radio works perfectly. (HT Planes trains and automobiles)

  • MrWhopee MrWhopee on Aug 16, 2012

    Hope the driver wasn't the same one who rolled the truck...

    • Crabspirits Crabspirits on Aug 16, 2012

      Nah, they shoveled that guy out of the way, I'm sure. I wonder if he uses his roof debris as a sort of curb feeler when he changes lanes.

  • AZFelix Hilux technical, preferably with a swivel mount.
  • ToolGuy This is the kind of thing you get when you give people faster internet.
  • ToolGuy North America is already the greatest country on the planet, and I have learned to be careful about what I wish for in terms of making changes. I mean, if Greenland wants to buy JDM vehicles, isn't that for the Danes to decide?
  • ToolGuy Once again my home did not catch on fire and my fire extinguisher(s) stayed in the closet, unused. I guess I threw my money away on fire extinguishers.(And by fire extinguishers I mean nuclear missiles.)
  • Carson D The UAW has succeeded in organizing a US VW plant before. There's a reason they don't teach history in the schools any longer. People wouldn't make the same mistakes.
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