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China quality is a mixed bag. The quality control is all over the place, from superb to totally sketchy. Yes, you have wonderful products that are meticulously made, like an iPhone. But there are stories I hear in my business (furniture) of how quality wavers unless you stay on top of them by being on-site frequently.
When you do business in China at the manufacturing level, you MUST to through a broker for two reasons. 1) You probably don't speak the language and your business partner may not speak English. 2) You can't navigate the laws and shipping without the broker. When there is a problem with an order, you can't simply call the factory in China, you have to do everything through your broker. Also, there are no terms in China, you pay for the order before it ships in full.
By BIL owns a hydraulic hose business in Canada, once ot the largest suppliers in that country. He tried China for production, and had to make several trips over there to get set up, with a broker and translator. He would order $ 300,000 worth of hoses per batch. Because he sells to oil rigs and miners in northern Canada running big equipment, he has to be sure the product can withstand below freezing temps so he lab tests each batch. The first two batches were great and passed all the tests. The third batch failed the cold weather lab tests and was unsaleable. They had switched the hose content to a cheap material that cracked when below freezing. He made phone calls to the Broker and Factory, and they ghosted him, all went silent. He was out $ 300K. So he sold that batch of hoses to a wholesaler in South America for $ 50K and took a quarter million dollar loss. He was done with China and spend the money to set up production in Winnipeg and now makes all his hoses and will never produce anything in China again.
China is already a huge manufacturer of cars, motorcycles, and anything else with wheels. Lest anyone forget, China is the biggest manufacturer of anything in the world.
Initially, as with other products, China put a lot of energy into knock-off vehicles -- see below for the Macan knock-off that I spotted on the streets of Dongguan back in 2017. Now, they're making unique vehicles designed in China.
In the coming years, we will see more Chinese cars on US roads, but you can expect them to be almost exclusively EVs to simplify homologation. It won't just be Chinese brands. Volvo/Polestar was mentioned above. The next generation electric Mini's look like they will all be made in China.
I am not planning to ever buy a Chinese car, but as Hyundai and Kia have moved up market in the US, you can expect China to fill the void at the lower end of the market.
I am not planning to ever buy a Chinese car, but as Hyundai and Kia have moved up market in the US, you can expect China to fill the void at the lower end of the market.
Things will change. 25 years ago, I would have said the same thing about Hyundai and Kia but some of their latest generation vehicles are pretty damn good surpassing Japanese, American and German vehicles in the same price classes.
Things will change. 25 years ago, I would have said the same thing about Hyundai and Kia but some of their latest generation vehicles are pretty damn good surpassing Japanese, American and German vehicles in the same price classes.
I am sure that they will be great.
I'll likely be dead by then, so, knock yourself out. Like many here, middle aged and older, 25 years isn't a time horizon that I care much about, ie. those will be things for the younger folks to deal with. :P
And yes, Polestar. Drive one and be prepared to be impressed.
I have one…so does my son and his wife….and we are very impressed. Just got back from accompanying them in their P2 from Seattle to Salem, Oregon (son was a participant in the iron man competition on Sunday). The P2 accommodated all of our stuff, his race bike, with no need for a roof rack. Surprisingly very roomy. Round trip drive cost $0 to charge (2 years free charging). No issues, No complaints.
I could care less where it’s made, so long as it’s well built, reliable and rattle free (unlike my 992). 😎
Last edited by CodyBigdog; 07-11-2022 at 01:22 PM.
I have one…so does my son and his wife….and we are very impressed. Just got back from accompanying them in their their P2 from Seattle to Salem, Oregon (son was a participant in the iron man competition on Sunday). The P2 accommodated all of our stuff, his race bike, with no need for a roof rack. Surprisingly very roomy. Round trip drive cost $0 to charge (2 years free charging). No issues.
I could care less where it’s made, so long as it’s well built, reliable and rattle free (unlike my 992). 😎
You've got yours already? I'm still waiting....I'm being told late September.
You've got yours already? I'm still waiting....I'm being told late September.
Yes. We’ve had ours for about 3+ weeks. Long story short - we went to the Polestar/Volvo dealership to look at colors (they had a few cars on the lot with the colors we were considering…waiting delivery to their owners). Turned out that the day prior, one of the buyers (a lawyer from DC, who my wife said, “he had great taste”), changed his order and wanted the single motor, instead of the double motor…..so this car had the “sold” sign on the window, but the SA said it had just become available. It was optioned exactly the way we wanted (color, trailer hitch, roof rack, leather, etc). No markup. No haggle. Had already been prepped for delivery to the lawyer, so it was ready to go. Right place, at the right time…as when we were there, there were 4 other couples looking at Polestars….so, I have no doubt the car would go that afternoon. I had looked at what changes were coming for ‘23 model, but nothing significant….but still with a $1500 increase in price. So, we jumped. The one peddle driving is a trip.
Last edited by CodyBigdog; 07-11-2022 at 01:41 PM.
Yes. We’ve had ours for about 3+ weeks. Long story short - we went to the Polestar/Volvo dealership to look at colors (they had a few cars on the lot with the colors we were considering…waiting delivery to their owners). Turned out that the day prior, one of the buyers (a lawyer from DC, who my wife said, “he had great taste”), changed his order and wanted the single motor, instead of the double motor…..so this car had the “sold” sign on the window, but the SA said it had just become available. It was optioned exactly the way we wanted (color, trailer hitch, roof rack, leather, etc). No markup. No haggle. Had already been prepped for delivery to the lawyer, so it was ready to go. Right place, at the right time…as when we were there, there were 4 other couples looking at Polestars….so, I have no doubt the car would go that afternoon. I had looked at what changes were coming for ‘23 model, but nothing significant.
Everything is more expensive now. There is no greener gas when it comes to the other performance marques.
Porsche never made a 911 for the “everyman”. New 911s have always been about exclusivity. Used examples were as close as you could get to an affordable one. The only thing that has changed is that so many people now want one, having the cash to do so and the YOLO from the pandemic.
Lotus? Enthusiast awesome, but never in the same tier in Porsche. Anyone who thinks otherwise hasn’t really spent time with one. I am totally bemused that Lotus is entering the “luxury” space now. Fantastic fun. However, it will never cross your mind that it is some kind of fantastic piece of kit.
McLaren? McLaren makes cars where 2 year old examples already have 5 or more owners. The steering is lovely and power delivery is glorious, but McLaren makes a car that you can park in the garage one Sunday and by next weekend, it doesn’t run. Yes, I am sure that someone can chime in that their McLaren is great. They’re spectacular cars until they aren’t.
Lamborghini? Uh, you’re not avoiding anything that you aren’t experiencing with Porsche. ADM, waitlists, and limited availability. The brand is popular with the crypto kiddies and rappers for the same reason — they don’t vet or choose their customers like Ferrari.
Ferrari? Do you know why you constantly come across very low mileage Portofino, Romas, and GTC4Lusso’s? Ferrari may not permit ADM, but they’ve institutionalized pay for access. You have to buy your way in by picking up those lower tier cars to get access to the higher tiers. You need to establish a history with the brand and once you’re in, it’s great, especially if you have some older cars in the mix as well. That being said, more often than not, that very same dealer gets right of first refusal when it comes to sell that car. So, they can sell it to someone else that wants in the club.
None of the above produce a car as comfortable, usable, and reliable as the 911. There is no greener grass. Porsche is where it’s at and a relative bargain compared to the alternatives, even with ADM, etc.
07-11-2022, 09:28 AM
