Chinese Vehicles

Yup...spec out a cheap product based mainly on 'cheapest at any cost' by any OEM who sells in the USA and you will get "El Cheapo" product...

Exact same scenario a few decades ago when "Made in Japan" was considered lesser than anything produced here in America...many laughed at those products from Japan...but today...OEMs importing to the USA are spec'ing higher quality of Japanese goods...to become the defacto quality standard for much of what we 'can'purchase in The USA...even blindly loyal to it...and even on this/these forums...

Note that the non-American content of all vehicles sold here in The USA has a high probability of "Made in China" labeling buried in it's food chain...even though it is listed as 'built and assemblied in the USA'...

FYI...note that today....the highly touted "Japanese quality" in their products...comes from their trips to our manufacturing plants at Ford and GE quality manual (one is 13 volumes) that the Japanese got their hands on back in the 50's or 60's...

jshupe wrote:
Chinese factories build to specification. The reason you find so many poor quality items coming out of China is because consumers want items as inexpensively as possible, and companies are shipping production over there with the minimum specifications they can get away with. Some things made in China are of good quality, but you pay for it, just like you would pay more for an item of similar quality made here in the states.

There are a few exceptions, like ball point pens, where Chinese manufacturing wasn't able to reliably produce high quality tips until very recently. With something like an automobile, where production is fairly well defined and streamlined there already, with many imported parts (to China, from Japan, Germany, and others), this goes back to whatever tolerances and specifications are sent over by the companies placing the orders. Don't look at the manufacturing location and turn it away, but look at the company placing the orders from China, and the product itself on the lot. That'll tell you miles more than the origin sticker.

Chinese factories build to specification. The reason you find so many poor quality items coming out of China is because consumers want items as inexpensively as possible, and companies are shipping production over there with the minimum specifications they can get away with. Some things made in China are of good quality, but you pay for it, just like you would pay more for an item of similar quality made here in the states.

There are a few exceptions, like ball point pens, where Chinese manufacturing wasn't able to reliably produce high quality tips until very recently. With something like an automobile, where production is fairly well defined and streamlined there already, with many imported parts (to China, from Japan, Germany, and others), this goes back to whatever tolerances and specifications are sent over by the companies placing the orders. Don't look at the manufacturing location and turn it away, but look at the company placing the orders from China, and the product itself on the lot. That'll tell you miles more than the origin sticker.

sgip2000 wrote:
Probably no worse than a Chevy.

Ouch! Now that hurt! :D

Volvo is owned by Geely from China. Jaguar is owned by Tata from India. Both are still based and built in Sweden and Britain. Both Geely and Tata have put a lot of money into these companies and their cars have never been better.

We were about to test drive an envision Buick because it felt like a premium luxury car but as the license was about to be installed the door sticker said made in China. We ran from that idea and felt the 2018 equinox felt the same. Not USA made but not from across the pond . Then the new car had china made tires but not for long.

chevman

Chinese own Volvo, Jaguar, and Land Rover- they seem to be doing fine, quality and perception wise.

romore wrote:
Can you imagine the uproar after being bailed out by the government? We know who would go ballistic.:R

Fiat bought Chrysler and I didn't hear much uproar then.

About quality, Buick is importing the Envision from China and Ford will import the Focus from China starting with the 2019 model year.

Probably no worse than a Chevy.

FishOnOne wrote:
Chinese quality is a figment of your imagination.

Tell that to all the fans of Apple products.
Quality there is getting steadily better, just as it did with Japan, in the 60's and 70's Datsun and Toyota were seen as junk, my my how times are a changin.

romore wrote:
Can you imagine the uproar after being bailed out by the government? We know who would go ballistic.:R
I worked for a distributor that handled Chinese built products for a well known manufacturer. The American parent owned and ran the plant yet quality was definitely not up to North American standards.

Unless they came in and changed how they currently operate I think quality would remain the same. But there definitely would be a perception problem they may need to work through.