It’s that time of year again, time for a visit to Cobo and to the 2008 North American International Auto Show. (Past shows can be found here: 2007 & 2006
First thing you see this year in the lobby is Geely. Geely was the first Chinese Company to exhibit in Detroit, when they showed up in 2006. They were only here for the press preview days, and were like this year, set up in the lobby.
The FC looks like their flagship sedan. One of my favourite things about the Chinese Cars is the “engrish” in their brochures.
Some of the interior “features” include a “Central Storage Box” (Centre Console), “Electric Windiws (sic) & Central Locking” (Power windows and locks) as well as an “Intelligent Remoter” (Keyless Entry Key fob). đŸ™‚
All kidding aside, Geely recently announced they plan to build a factory in Mexico to build cards for North America. Also on display was their TX4, which they are building as shipping to London England for use as their Taxi cabs.
Anyone that doubts that we’ll have Chinese Cars on the road in North America is living in a bubble.
A couple of shots of both the 3 door and 5 door versions of the Ford Verve “concept”. The 3 door’s debut was in September at the Frankfurt Autoshow. It will be going into production in Europe, and will be replacing the Ford Fiesta which was still being made in Europe despite its failure in North America. The 5 door concept was created to unveil in North America as a sedan instead of a hatchback. If they went to the trouble to make two of them, I think it’s a good bet they’ll be going into production.
The Ford Explorer America Concept. Keep pumping out those massive SUV’s…
…Like the all new Ford Flex! This former concept will be rolling off the assembly line for purchase in the summer.
The new redesigned Ford F-150.
The Honda CR-Z Concept.
->
The Fisker Karma, plug in hybrid.
A Mercedes McLaren
A little Lambo, in flat black…
This Rolls-Royce Drophead CoupĂƒÂ©, could be yours for only $458,950. But it has a V-12… đŸ™‚
The Audi TTS – Unveiled in Detroit
The VW Rabbit.
The Nissan Forum Minivan concept. The rear seats can face each other… Just like the ones in the Windsor built Chrysler Van…
Speaking of Chrysler, it’s nice to see the familiar Pentastar Logo back in use.
The interior of the 2008 Town and Country…
The pride of Windsor Assembly.
An interesting concept, the R/T version of the Mini-van…
The all new Toyota Venza.
The Toyota A-Bat Hybrid concept. A-Bat – stands for Advance Breakthrough Aerodynamic Truck.
The Lexus LF-A Roadster concept. Very sharp. It’s undergoing rigorous testing in Japan, and probably has a good shot at being a production model.
The European Opel Corsa, at the GM display.
The Chevy Volt Electric Car. A Concept last year, it has been given the green light from production. It plugs into a regular 110 volt socket.
Not to be outdone, the Saturn Flextreme plug-in concept. So far the range on this car is only 34 miles…
The Buick Riviera concept. Designed in China, the car made its debut at the Shanghai Auto Show in 2007. For some reason the Buick sells like crazy and is one of the most popular nameplates in China.
Now down to the basement to see the cars on display from Chinese Manufacturers.
As well as being in the lobby, Geely also had a booth in the lower level.
The Geely MK
BYD Auto? Build Your Dreams? Wow that’s cheesy.
The BYD F8, or as the promotional material proclaims: “EXHILARATION HARMONIOUS”
the F3R exterior…
… and interior. Very spartan and plain, but no worse than a low end car from any other manufacturer.
Some of the other models had nicer interior options.
Chanfeng Motor, was at the show last year too. Not only did they return this year, but they brought a few other companies with them.
“Move you in a moment – No splurge, nor scrupulousness, but only pureness.” The CS6
The Kylin – new this year
The CS7, like the CS6 this is also a returning model from last year.
That’s all for another year!
So, here I am looking for the new $2,500 Tato Nano that gets 50 miles to the gallon thinking it was at the Detroit Autoshow and when I didn’t find it, I did an Internet search and found out that it wasn’t even at the Detrot Autoshow. But, I also found out that today that Chrysler signed an agreement to export from India to the US 10,000 units of Tata’s Ace minitruck, with an option for 50,000 more, which looks a lot like a minivan. http://in.news.yahoo.com/reuters_ids_new/20080123/r_t_rtrs_bs_markets/tbs-tata-to-make-electric-vehicles-with-e16deae.html
I think Chrysler Windsor’s Minivan plant is heading for disaster in the next couple of years. And Buzz still doesn’t want to budge on a two-tier salary system like the UAW. Too bad they couldn’t offer a sample at the DAS. I wonder how much it’s gonna cost.
Do you actually think a car is going to sell for only $2,500 dollars in the US and Canada you are living in dream land.
They have already said those cars will not meet our safety standards and would need more investment in order to comply to our standards.
Do some research and see some of the crash test results.
At least the fire departments will be busy extricating people like you.
The US has had that two tier now since September did you notice the large drop in price in their vehicles yet? Another dream of yours.
What?? The Chrysler minivan has _27% foreign content?_
Does that mean 27% of the people that bought them should be “out of a job”?
(Referring to those silly bumper stickers)
Nice shots of the show though. Saves me from going this year. đŸ™‚
Well, the Nano doesn’t, but the article said the Tato minivan “has passed required safety and reliability tests…”, and, “..will be exported as completely built units”.
Chrysler already signed up and after they start importing this mini truck that looks like a minivan, Tato will probably have made the required investment to get the Nano up to standard and Chrysler will probably sign them up too.
Sure, the Nano is not as safe as a full sized car. But, it’s safer than a 2 wheel motorcycle and those are still quite popular and you can stil drive the Nano in the winter. As I recall, Harley Davidson is planning to open up another dealership at the other end of the city.
Of course there wasn’t a drop in price in their vehicle after the UAW voted for the two-tier wage system. They were losing money before and now they’re trying to make the numbers work to survive and break even instead of folding up and leaving Windsor like Ford and GM. It’s been in the papers for a while now that after UAW accepted the two-tier system that Canada is now the most expensive place to make cars in the world. With Chrysler signing up to import the Tato minivan, it looks like Chrysler too has thrown down the gauntlet that they’re getting ready to pack their bags and wipe their hands clean of unionville Windsor. And, you guys continue to ignore what’s going on by continuing to uphold the current union agreements and you’ll suffer for it in the long-term. Nah, but you guys think it’s still a dream that this could possibly happen to Windsor. Let’s just milk the cow ’till it’s dead instead of giving it time to rest.
At least, one company is starting to see the light. Page A2 of today’s Windsor Star said the Truck Parts plant in Lakeshore on Patillo Rd, G.W. Anglin, voted to decertify its 86 members from CAW.
As for the rest of the stubborn CAW crew, you better start putting your McMansions on the market and packing your bags for the freezing oil rigs in North Alberta ‘cuz the CAW will have wiped out the rest of the auto industry in Windsor, and don’t let the door hit yourselves on the way out.
They won’t sell a car here for $2,500 because people will pay more, and they can make more profits. Why sell for 2500 when people expect to pay at least 7500, maybe 10500 or more?
It’s like electronics. Would you pay a LCD TV for 129 bucks? You would think it’s cheap, won’t last, or stolen.
All the Chinese have to do is undercut the Koreans. Offer a big warranty. All of their companies have government support – direct, not “tax incentives” or a freeway off-ramp. So the Chinese govt will do whatever (I mean whatever) it takes for these cars to be successful. They studied the Japanese and Korean entries into NA. They are taking their time and will be ready.
Usedtobee that all TVs were made in the USA. Now none are. People don’t care where their TV comes from, and shortly the same will be true of cars. To a lot people, they are just appliances anyway, like the dishwasher or toaster. Use it, and toss it.
There are some seismic shifts in the auto market coming. I’m glad I switched careers when I did. It’s much better to look in on the chaos then be caught up in it.
Great! So China is going to open a plant in Mexico and how does that help us? It sure gives access to our markets but we sure as shit can’t send vehicles over to China, they have to be built there.
Manufacturing in N. America (Canada & USA) is going to be greatly reduced due to the clamouring of CEO’s trying to make even more money. Just how much is enough is what I would like to know.
Say good bye to the middle class…
David said: At least, one company is starting to see the light. Page A2 of todayĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s Windsor Star said the Truck Parts plant in Lakeshore on Patillo Rd, G.W. Anglin, voted to decertify its 86 members from CAW.
Why don’t we wait a few months until we see the repurcusions of this decision. I will bet it will not be good for most of these employees.
david you idoit chryslers isnt leaving windsor the minivan was number 1 in 2007did you read gord hendersons commenets yesterday probaly not i hope you lose your job and go on welfare because you wish windsors largest employer would leave and put 5000 people out of work if you hate windsor so much because how you put unionville then pack your bages and leave and dont let the door hit you on the way nobody wants to listen to your stupidity
See Paul, I knew that you were gonna say that. It’s your stupid arrogance and others like you that’s gonna cost Windsor its Chrysler plant. We export Chrysler minivans to the US. Tata in India is gonna export minitrucks which look like minivans to Chrysler in the US. The deal’s been already signed because Chrysler lost faith in changing Windsor. The Indian version will be undoubtly cheaper. So, what do you think’s gonna happen to Chrysler? As Lee Iaccoca, the former President and chairman of Chrysler said, “You either lead, follow or get out of the way.” Since CAW locals can’t see that and follow UAWs lead, it’s people like you that’s gonna cost us those 5,000 jobs. But, stupid people like you can’t see that.
Oh, and I’m staying. It’s people like you that’s going to have to pack their bags for Alberta.
Please try to keep it clean… No Personal attacks or name calling.
I allow this blog to be one of the few unmoderated ones in the City. I allow comments to be posted and viewed as they occur. Please keep the comments civil.
Thanks.
no david its dumb people like you that is going to cost us those 5000 jobs why dont you just get out of town move back to toronto.based on your comments in the forum it seems to me your are jealouly of what plant workers make and have never worked in a auto plant so you are clueless when it comes to unions and why do care so much about what autoworkers make?they dont care what you make maybe you should visit http://www.autoworkers.net and tell those guys about your hatred for the caw/big three and they would grill compared to what i have said on here to you .I hate to break it to you but even hotel dieu is unionzed with of course your”evil caw”so what you are going to hope that closes as well?since when did chryslers sign a deal with tata motors?I heard about chery automotive there was nothing on the news re tata.and if chryslers lost so much faith in windsor they would send all the operations to st louis where they also make the minivans and windsor would never of gotten the new vw minivan as well as a matter of fact st louis is down to one shift and they have been told get your act together or we will close that plant and windsor would be the sole producer of the minivan and i bet you didnt know that.oh and by the way i am not part of the caw and thousands of windsor residents are leaving for alberta and i will probably would have to leave too thanks to people like yourself who are buying thse foregins pieces of crap and putting your neighbours out of work for you own well being thanks again neighbour for making life difficult for me and thousands of windsor workers.
to wish 5000 windsor residents to lose thier jobs just because they work in a uniozed enviorment speaks volumes of your character david
After asking nicely, I have no choice but to close the comments on this entry.
Apologies to the reader.