BYD Launches Remote Controlled Car

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

BYD’s F3 received worldwide acclaim for being a Corolla ripoff. When the new F3 was announced at the Beijing Auto Show, Carnewschina wrote: “The new F3 is design-wise slightly better than the old BYD F3 which was a copy of the old Toyota Corolla, the new F3 is a copy of the new Corolla but slightly less obvious. For BYD, we call that a huge improvement!” Come on, Carnewschina, the new BYD F3 has something the Corolla does not have: A remote control. Not a remote control for doors. You can drive the car remotely like a toy.

According to a new Carnewschina report, BYD says it is handy for parking, or when it rains and you don’t have an umbrella to walk to your car. The distance is 10 meters, and the speed is limited to a 2 km/h crawl.

The rest of the car is run of the mill: 1.5 liter engine with 109hp and 145nm, 5-speed manual, or a 1.5 turbo with 154hp and 240nm, mated to a 6-speed manual or 6-speed DCT. Says an incredulous Carnewschina: “This high-tech engine is, says BYD, developed by BYD.“

Probably because the F3 name is a bit tainted, BYD ditched the F3 and calls the new remote controlled car “Su Rui.” Which is Chinese for “quick and sharp.”

China’s sharpest minds probably already are working on taking the speed limiter out of the remote control function, for, well, starters.

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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  • Ethan Gaines Ethan Gaines on Aug 21, 2012

    Call me a racist, but I'm already concerned about the amount of accidents the drivers in this cars home market are creating from behind the wheel, better yet with a remote control.

  • BrentNelson BrentNelson on Aug 24, 2012

    It is amazing technology.!!! As the technology gets advanced we are getting more and more features and advanced cars .. remote car is one of them. To avoid accidents and road crash this cars are helpful. To controlling this cars is like playing games on computer . It Amazing . And thanks for sharing this great post!!!

  • ToolGuy 9 miles a day for 20 years. You didn't drive it, why should I? 😉
  • Brian Uchida Laguna Seca, corkscrew, (drying track off in rental car prior to Superbike test session), at speed - turn 9 big Willow Springs racing a motorcycle,- at greater speed (but riding shotgun) - The Carrousel at Sears Point in a 1981 PA9 Osella 2 litre FIA racer with Eddie Lawson at the wheel! (apologies for not being brief!)
  • Mister It wasn't helped any by the horrible fuel economy for what it was... something like 22mpg city, iirc.
  • Lorenzo I shop for all-season tires that have good wet and dry pavement grip and use them year-round. Nothing works on black ice, and I stopped driving in snow long ago - I'll wait until the streets and highways are plowed, when all-seasons are good enough. After all, I don't live in Canada or deep in the snow zone.
  • FormerFF I’m in Atlanta. The summers go on in April and come off in October. I have a Cayman that stays on summer tires year round and gets driven on winter days when the temperature gets above 45 F and it’s dry, which is usually at least once a week.
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