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Ford's basically quitting the car business, and it looks like GM's right on their heels. Trucks and SUVs only now. Makes me think GAC's about to cross the Pacific for real this time. I had no doubt they'd get there eventually. If the Chinese state plans something, the Chinese state-owned auto manufacturer does it. So here's a piece of the overcapacity plan--start dumping heavy goods on the states. Never drove a GAC, so no comments on the quality. But I guess they're doing alright in Bahrain and Kuwait and a few other places. Curious to see them in the wild. Rumor's been around that they'll either do a partnership or a straight buyout of Fiat-Chrysler. They rejected a bid a few months back. But new plan looks like they want to be selling at least one model by Q4 2019, and they plan to do it through Chrysler dealerships. After turning down GAC, Marchionne went running to GM who told him they didn't want to buy the thing. And he promises to step down one way or the other by a year from now. Meanwhile they're reducing debt and trying to get cash positive by Q1 2019.
Feels like a seismic shift is about to happen in the auto market. Rumbles are already out there. I'm not as worried about Tesla or super-cruise control. But if there ends up being a $16-18k state subsidized Chinese Camry killer, that's be a curious thing indeed. And the GAC-8 rear seat looks like a poor man's Rolls (with a 4-banger), which is a weird design choice, but I can see how it might be attractive if they drop it down to ~$25-28k and keep it cheeper than other full-sizes, even with the ostentatious interior. And GM's fastest growing auto is the all-Chinese-made Envision now.
Have to say, I rented an early one of those Chinese Envisions, and I drove the hell out of it all over New England and Atlantic Canada, including up Mt. Washington, and I hated the thing, so did the better half. Just 100 ways to nag you or be super-annoying and uncomfortable to boot. It had every bell and whistle you can think of, but they all poked or prodded or dinged or flashed at you in a way that made the thing feel like they let Rube Goldberg rig the AV system at the planetarium laser show. Just total design failure. 2" protruding airbags in plastic adjustable seatbelt shoulder shuttle with sharp corners that jam anyone over 6' in the shoulder no matter how high you move it. Flashing star symbols in the side views as blindspot warnings that sort of flicker like a passing firefly more than make it obvious something's trying to warn you. Horrible touch screen navigation and digital speedometer that required the passenger reading the manual, at least 4 touch screen menus, and the driver to hit some buttons behind the wheel in order to switch the sucker from MPH to KPH. And then everything switches metric, and the clocks switch to military, which is not what I wanted, but whatever. Was much easier when they just drew both the MPH and KPH scales on the dash for you.
What else? Oh, apparently to save gas, or pretend it's a hybrid? I don't know which, but the damned thing shuts off every time you stop. Red light? Engine shuts off. Stop sign? Off. Now, you hit the gas, it starts again, and you're good to go. But want to take one of those classic Massachusetts fast lefts into traffic off the stop line? No go. You can't start fast. It probably doubles the 0-60 time, because the starter has to turn over ever time you go again. Just a big long delay. So you have to wait until there's a super wide opening to go anywhere. What else? Want to make a bet how often you have to replace the starter in those suckers over 10 or 20 years? Lane keep assist is terrifying! and not the easiest thing to determine whether it's on or off. Why would you put the button smack in the middle of the car in front of the shifter and underneath the climate controls? So kids can push it and scare the shit out of you?! This is a thing like cruise control--nobody but the driver should have access to it ever, if you ask me. But they made it a black button, with no little LED indicator, that just looks kind of like this: /H/. Doesn't tell you anything. It's right next to a P button that you'd think might be some sort of emergency brake, but is a similar kind of monster. What do these buttons actually do? One makes the car beep at you and shakes your seat in different directions if you cross a white or yellow line on the road. The other does something similar for when you're parking. Of course, these are big honking buttons right in front of the shifter that are easy to hit if you put your phone or glasses there or just by accident fiddling with the temperature controls or whatever. And they don't do anything noticeable right away. Until you're up in north country and you decide to pass a slow truck or something. Then panic as the thing screams at you and shakes you. Not in a pleasing, "are you sure you want to do this?" way, but in a panicked, frenetic, "we're all gonna die!" sort of way. I can't believe that feature won't kill more people than it saves.
Anyways, the thing was also underpowered with brakes the heated up pretty quickly and just generally uncomfortable to be in. Figured something that big would be good enough to catch a quick late afternoon nap after a long morning out at sea but before a long night of driving. I mean, it feels like 2 tons trying to get up those hills with its little 4 cylinder. So there ought to be room right? But no. Pretty much we couldn't sleep in it. Not even really in the back with the seats folded down. It's like they give you a almost a 4' by 4' square, which at least one of us should have been able to use on the diagonal, but with protrusions and uneven surfaces (almost fold flat--almost) that just make it hopeless. Lots of cheap, hard, grainy plastics and thin, rough, cheap carpet. Oh yeah, the back of the front seats has that too, so that kids can kick and scratch it and make that loud noise, I guess. Plus there's basically no cargo space. Way less than a trunk. I mean, this was basically a brand new $40k car, and I could only think, "Who in their right mind would buy this piece of crap?
That was last year. This year? It's GM's fastest growing model. Sales are up from 14k last year to 41k this year and it's still growing; they did something like 6k last month. So what the hell do I know? Apparently there is a huge US market for overpriced, uncomfortable, underpowered, poorly-designed SUVs made in China. Apparently having a touchscreen system that syncs with Apple Play is more important to people with 40 grand to burn than having a car that doesn't suck...
Feels like a seismic shift is about to happen in the auto market. Rumbles are already out there. I'm not as worried about Tesla or super-cruise control. But if there ends up being a $16-18k state subsidized Chinese Camry killer, that's be a curious thing indeed. And the GAC-8 rear seat looks like a poor man's Rolls (with a 4-banger), which is a weird design choice, but I can see how it might be attractive if they drop it down to ~$25-28k and keep it cheeper than other full-sizes, even with the ostentatious interior. And GM's fastest growing auto is the all-Chinese-made Envision now.
Have to say, I rented an early one of those Chinese Envisions, and I drove the hell out of it all over New England and Atlantic Canada, including up Mt. Washington, and I hated the thing, so did the better half. Just 100 ways to nag you or be super-annoying and uncomfortable to boot. It had every bell and whistle you can think of, but they all poked or prodded or dinged or flashed at you in a way that made the thing feel like they let Rube Goldberg rig the AV system at the planetarium laser show. Just total design failure. 2" protruding airbags in plastic adjustable seatbelt shoulder shuttle with sharp corners that jam anyone over 6' in the shoulder no matter how high you move it. Flashing star symbols in the side views as blindspot warnings that sort of flicker like a passing firefly more than make it obvious something's trying to warn you. Horrible touch screen navigation and digital speedometer that required the passenger reading the manual, at least 4 touch screen menus, and the driver to hit some buttons behind the wheel in order to switch the sucker from MPH to KPH. And then everything switches metric, and the clocks switch to military, which is not what I wanted, but whatever. Was much easier when they just drew both the MPH and KPH scales on the dash for you.
What else? Oh, apparently to save gas, or pretend it's a hybrid? I don't know which, but the damned thing shuts off every time you stop. Red light? Engine shuts off. Stop sign? Off. Now, you hit the gas, it starts again, and you're good to go. But want to take one of those classic Massachusetts fast lefts into traffic off the stop line? No go. You can't start fast. It probably doubles the 0-60 time, because the starter has to turn over ever time you go again. Just a big long delay. So you have to wait until there's a super wide opening to go anywhere. What else? Want to make a bet how often you have to replace the starter in those suckers over 10 or 20 years? Lane keep assist is terrifying! and not the easiest thing to determine whether it's on or off. Why would you put the button smack in the middle of the car in front of the shifter and underneath the climate controls? So kids can push it and scare the shit out of you?! This is a thing like cruise control--nobody but the driver should have access to it ever, if you ask me. But they made it a black button, with no little LED indicator, that just looks kind of like this: /H/. Doesn't tell you anything. It's right next to a P button that you'd think might be some sort of emergency brake, but is a similar kind of monster. What do these buttons actually do? One makes the car beep at you and shakes your seat in different directions if you cross a white or yellow line on the road. The other does something similar for when you're parking. Of course, these are big honking buttons right in front of the shifter that are easy to hit if you put your phone or glasses there or just by accident fiddling with the temperature controls or whatever. And they don't do anything noticeable right away. Until you're up in north country and you decide to pass a slow truck or something. Then panic as the thing screams at you and shakes you. Not in a pleasing, "are you sure you want to do this?" way, but in a panicked, frenetic, "we're all gonna die!" sort of way. I can't believe that feature won't kill more people than it saves.
Anyways, the thing was also underpowered with brakes the heated up pretty quickly and just generally uncomfortable to be in. Figured something that big would be good enough to catch a quick late afternoon nap after a long morning out at sea but before a long night of driving. I mean, it feels like 2 tons trying to get up those hills with its little 4 cylinder. So there ought to be room right? But no. Pretty much we couldn't sleep in it. Not even really in the back with the seats folded down. It's like they give you a almost a 4' by 4' square, which at least one of us should have been able to use on the diagonal, but with protrusions and uneven surfaces (almost fold flat--almost) that just make it hopeless. Lots of cheap, hard, grainy plastics and thin, rough, cheap carpet. Oh yeah, the back of the front seats has that too, so that kids can kick and scratch it and make that loud noise, I guess. Plus there's basically no cargo space. Way less than a trunk. I mean, this was basically a brand new $40k car, and I could only think, "Who in their right mind would buy this piece of crap?
That was last year. This year? It's GM's fastest growing model. Sales are up from 14k last year to 41k this year and it's still growing; they did something like 6k last month. So what the hell do I know? Apparently there is a huge US market for overpriced, uncomfortable, underpowered, poorly-designed SUVs made in China. Apparently having a touchscreen system that syncs with Apple Play is more important to people with 40 grand to burn than having a car that doesn't suck...
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