Fake In China: The $6,700 Eight Seater Cadillac. Or: What Would Have Happened Without The Bailout
China’s most popular color
Forget the ATS. Now you can show that you are fiscally prudent and still project the Cadillac look. All you need is a ticket to China and $6,700 in pocket money. This will buy you the Guizhou Hangtian Chenggong (never mind) GHT6400. Says Carnewschina (buy Tycho a beer as a thank you for finding this Asian beauty):
“The nose of the GHT6400 is very Cadillac, the rest of the vehicle is very Chinese-minivan. Is Cadillac missing a market here yet again?”
Wood from certified sustainable plastic
On the inside, the GHT6400 sports a lot of fake wood and copious amounts of hard plastic to delight all budding car reviewers. Seats you and at least seven Chinese girlfriends. (Probably more.)
With those powerful looks, who needs an engine?
The engine, well, the engine is a 1.2 liter (some say 1.3 liter) four-banger that makes 60hp. Sounds more at home in a Suzuki. Actually, Tycho says the Guizhou Hangtian Chenggong company based the engine on an old Suzuki unit. “Maybe they paid for that, or maybe not…”
Comes in a range of attractive colors, including RED
GM fans, UAW members, and Democratic Party fundraisers: Bookmark this page! This is a perfect example of what would have happened to Cadillac if GM would not have been bailed out!
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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The lack of the pesky carpeting/floormats is a feature, to prevent unintended acceleration. The warm, inviting, wood grain Contact® film dash trim reminds one of home, mainly a 1970's steel kitchen cabinet redux. The high center of gravity is a fuel-saving feature, relying on driver "pucker-pain" to reduce speed (hemorrhoid sufferers save even more!) Dual-Zone Climate Control (Driver, and everyone else) Optional 14" chrome wheels available (with bling-bling package) A Cadillac minivan, at 1/8th the price!
Talk about high center of gravity! My brother used to have a van that looks so much like this thing (minus the Cadillac styling cues) that I'm convinced they're based on the same design. Talk about being tippy! Trust me, you won't want to drive faster than about 50mph in that thing. Rock hard suspension too. It successfully combines nasty ride with awful handling.