but now I think they're overpriced mid range cars
That's pretty much exactly what they are. Outside of the 9/11 which is an actual icon in its class / category amidst its competition, everything else, well, the real luxury / budget / mid range car makers usually have something better / nicer at a more reasonable price - be it cheaper for normal cars or be it pricier in the ultra-luxury end. I know collectors (actual collectors with multistory garages and portfolios that worry more about the value of the collection and it going UP over decades - not YouTube channel owners) would favour some niche Ferrari any day over a 90s onwards VAG car as small details even such as some stupid one-off engine piece
only made for that car / engine makes it worth more than something sharing parts with.. ...
a Golf.
I have mixed views on the coming Chinese cars. I can remember the big fanfare of the 1980s when Nissan, Honda and Toyota opened giant car factories in the UK, it felt like quite a coup for the country. So would it be so bad if we got loads of cars from the Chinese? Putting tariffs on Chinese cars would be protecting who exactly? The German car companies, Japanese?
Yeah, people draw comparisons to the Japanese brands entering the US and Europe as starting off fairly basic, cheap, not really desirable. It's nothing like that with the Chinese though. Unfortunately, it's all to do with its government. At the end of the day, Japan wasn't subsidising the prices to destroy our domestic brands (the UK ones were good enough at that themselves), they were cheap because, they were basic. They also didn't use slave labour or child labour to cut costs. That's why you can be sure the CCP companies will
never open a factory in the free world. Wouldn't be able to make the sort of humans rights violations that make it all possible. And unfortunately, you just can't separate regime governments like that from things like companies how we can in the EU / US and free world. They're
always involved. They're smart. They are coming for the worlds car makers and they'll use destruction pricing to do it.
Our government will simply see low priced cars and think it's some sort of solution to the 'cost of living' crisis. Sadly, 'cost of living' has so much more gravitas than just money in those parts of the world...
Sadly people are flocking to them. Each one of them will indeed, learn their lesson when bits fall off that never fell off before on previous cars, and when their modern SUV has the fuel consumption of a 90s GM (since they tend to use old engines like those in them in the case of MG). And when they're seeing things like new gearboxes being invoiced for under warranty - fine since it's free - but not fine in a few years time when it's going to fail again and their problem to pay for. But until then, can the big companies hold out? Hopefully so...
Honestly if it was
any other country without the brutal, horrific atrocities of the CCP I'd welcome any new car brand with open arms if they're genuinely innovating, finding ways to produce the same or better at a better price than the likes of GM / Ford / Toyota and all - then they'd deserve the cash. But the skulls they're stepping on to do this, how our society who claim to care so much about rights and freedom and the planet can go around protesting every weekend, but
can't see what they're doing here with their wallets, is astounding to me. Not a big fan of the Korean brands myself, but they've done their 'invasion' right, much as I personally wouldn't want to sacrifice some of the quality things they've done, they aren't violating anyone by doing it other than the profit of the competitors which is fair game. Same with the buyers, not contributing to anything nasty in the grand scheme.
Yeah yeah, only cars, who cares. But it's not. Look at phones, same thing, £50 smartphones... the civilised country companies can't even compete with that - how do you think they're getting them that cheap? State subsidised. We're creating / we've created a monster Say what you want about Trump, but he's bloody right to keep them out - despite how crap GM is lol Any other governments and the EU, also perfectly reasonable to take precautions. They're not keeping out fair competition here, they're keeping out a monster.
I'd rather drive a VAG car than some of the crap I'm seeing on the road coming from there. And all our domestic brands and companies can do is bend over backwards to try and enter
their market. Bizarre. Looks like Apple will be the biggest case study in the near future as a 101 lesson in why putting your eggs in that basket is a no-go. May they and their shareholders learn it hard..
