The FCC was never built but it inspired the first-gen A-Class. Continue reading
1990s / Chinese / German / Mercedes-Benz
Category Archives: Chinese
Botoxed in China: Citroën ZX
Eager to expand in China, PSA Peugeot-Citroën formed a joint-venture called Guangzhou Peugeot Automobile Company in 1985. The joint-venture assembled the 505 in China using complete knock-down (CKD) kits shipped from France, but the sedan failed to grab a significant share of the burgeoning Chinese market and buyers increasingly turned towards the Volkswagen Santana. In … Continue reading
1980s / 1990s / Chery / Chinese / Citroen / Daewoo / French / German / South Korean / Suzuki / Volkswagen
Rust in peace: Forgotten cars on the streets of Beijing
We recently traveled to China to attend the lone press day of the hectic Beijing Motor Show. Walking around the city in our downtime, we were surprised to find that there are more abandoned cars in Beijing than we initially thought. Most of these cars are hiding away in residential neighborhoods, you won’t see them … Continue reading
A look at the experimental Porsche C88 sedan
The Chinese government invited about twenty foreign automakers to present an experimental family car at a conference held in Beijing in November of 1994. Period reports indicate government officials promised the best project would be selected and cleared to start production under a joint-venture with state-owned manufacturer First Automotive Works (FAW) at the turn of … Continue reading
Made in China: Audi 200
It’s not because of a random stroke of luck that Audi sells more cars in China than in any other market worldwide, including Germany and the United States. While rivals like Mercedes-Benz and BMW recently opened up shop in the world’s largest auto market, Audi made its first steps there in the 1980s when parent … Continue reading
Botoxed in China: Volkswagen Jetta (mk2)
Volkswagen has a habit of keeping old models around for as long as there is a demand for them regardless of how outdated they are compared to the competition. The obvious examples are the Type 2/Transporter, which is still part of the Volkswagen lineup in Brazil, the Type 1/Beetle, finally phased out in 2003 in … Continue reading
1990s / 2000s / Chinese / Driven daily / German / Volkswagen
Driven daily: Volkswagen Santana GLi
.The per-capita income in China has been steadily rising over the past couple of years and a sizable middle class with a healthy appetite for consumer goods has emerged. As a result, the few vehicles that were built locally during the 1980s and the 1990s have largely disappeared and automotive landscape is dominated by late-model … Continue reading
汽车, part three
Last November, we published two articles about the modern Chinese auto industry. They covered brands from China, Japan, Europe and the United States, but in the interest of time and space, we purposely left out MG and Rover. Their story is long and complicated, and we felt that these once-iconic British brands deserved their own … Continue reading
1980s / 1990s / 2000s / 2010s / Chinese / Honda / Jeep / Mercedes-Benz / Peugeot / Polski-Fiat / Saab / Shuanghuan / Volkswagen / Volvo
汽车, part two
Earlier this week we published the first part of our series on Chinese cars. The second follows the same format but it also covers a couple of odds and ends, including some of the older cars we spotted. As a reminder, old cars are few and far between since most outside manufacturers were not present … Continue reading
汽车, part one
Those who were fortunate enough to travel to China in the 1980s came back absolutely amazed at how many bicycles were circulating throughout cities. Until the government democratized automobile ownership in the 1990s, cars were strictly reserved for members of the governments and diplomats and the bicycle (sometimes fitted with an electric motor) was the … Continue reading
Ran When Parked 