#carnewschina

It’s a thing in China: You don’t get the car service you expect, and instead of waiting for the J.D. Power questionnaire, you hire thugs with sledgehammers. Not to beat the dealer to pulp. No, to smash your car in front of a lot of cameras. It so recently happened to a Maserati Quattroporte. According to Carnewschina, the owner of the car (starting at 423,000 USD in China) disagreed with the dealer over a $390 repair. After a flurry of letters, the car was smashed.

“Sources close to Porsche” told Tycho de Feyter at Carnewschina that the new 991 Porsche 911 Turbo will get a start-stop system for the Chinese market. This explains why the new 911 Turbo was seen testing in Beijing. The sources, who also provided the new spy shots in this article, said the system is necessary because the Chinese government is working on new very strict emission rules for 2015. If a car maker fails to meet the new regulations, China will impose a quota on the number of cars this car maker can import.

China is the land where you have a choice of two kinds of Red Bull, both equally fake. The Austrian maker of the stuff has been in court for years, did win, and still can’t sell the original stuff in China, because the other party appealed. Now, Jaguar Land Rover is faced with starting its own arduous battle against the fakers: There is an energy drink called “Land Rover.”

Ford and TTAC think alike. A few days ago, we told you that “the Chinese government wants its joint ventures to venture into China-only brands, and even a Ford won’t succeed in resisting governmental charms.” And a few days thereafter, Carnewschina reports that Ford has succumbed: No longer One Ford adds a new brand to its stable. It is called ‘Jia yue’, which Carnewschina translates as ‘Good Leap’.

If the road outside of your house gets a new layer of blacktop, and you forget to move your car before the work crews arrive, what would happen? In America, you’d probably have to look for your vehicle in to impound lot. In China, the car would still be there. But it would wear asphalt shoes.

Some of you may remember the “No Audi” signs at U.S. parking garages at the height of the unintended acceleration craze of the late 80s. In a garage in China, one can see the reverse: Only Audis, other cars go elsewhere.

GM is smarter than Ford when it comes to exploiting rich Chinese, says Tycho de Feyter of Carnewschina. While GM sells is Camaro in China for a whopping $72,000 on up, Ford is leaving money on the table and profits to grey importers.

The Chinese government reprimanded organizers of the Chengdu Motor Show for showing way too much flesh than what’s appropriate for a harmonious society. The exhibitionist exhibits were all foreign. A finger-wagging received the display of female charms at Citroen and Kia, and a serious finger-wagging was directed at an “almost-naked Ms Yan Yu who briefly posed with a Toyota Camry before things got so mad with ‘journalists’ taking pictures that she was quickly taken back-stage,” as Tycho de Feyter reports at Carnewschina.

The showing of almost naked ladies is standard fare at communist China car shows, but could trigger arrested hearts and mass firing in the allegedly free West. Therefore, the almost naked Camry lady was trafficked below the fold. Don’t click if you are under age, easily offended, or easily fired. Your have been warned.

A few days ago, an anonymous source told us that Lincolns have been in China for years, and that Ford won’t admit it. Ford said they probably were grey imports. Before the Chengdu Motor Show opened its doors, three Lincolns were seen entering the hall with big grins on their faces, and everybody thought they were brought by Ford. No they were not.

It looks like news of the sacking of Joel Ewanick has not reached China. Or at least not Chengdu.

We continue our coverage of the 15th Chengdu Motor Show, brought to you courtesy of China coverer extraordinaire Tycho de Feyter of Carnewschina.

“ The BMW M6 Coupe, decked out in China’s national color, was launched today on the China auto market during the Chengdu Auto Show. There is only one, priced at a rather sick 2.33 million yuan, or 367.000 USD. Not cheap indeed and most of da money goes directly to the Chinese tax office. Big engined cars are taxed up to 40% of value in China. But no matter, the M6 Coupe is worth it, just for that brilliant 4.4 twin-turbo V8 with 550hp and 680nm.“

Of course, there are the female product specialists of the Chengdu Motor Show. They bring them out en masse on the second press day. Warning: If you are offended by insufficiently dressed Asian females with garters, DO NOT click the jump. We promise it won’t be a picture of big – ears.

“A model poses beside a car by Beijing-Hyundai during the 15th Chengdu Motor Show (CDMS) in Chengdu City, southwest China’s Sichuan Province,” writes China’s state-owned Xinhua news agency under a spread that is long on long legged girls and short on cars. Well, we aren’t Xinhua.

Carnewschina spotted this looooooooooooog Ford F650 streeeeeeeeetch in front of a swank Beijing hotel. This is a good place to spot outrageous cars in China, sometimes, it feels as if they get imported only to be permanently parked in front of a fivestar. As you can see, even the rope wasn’t long enough to completely rope off the monstrosity.

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.

Black taxis are a menace, in China and elsewhere. The criminal taxi element and Chinese rip-off artists joined forces and created a whole fleet of fake taxis, Carnewschina reports.