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Filed under: Minivans/MPVs , China , Government/Legal , Marketing/Advertising , Videos , FIAT , Celebrities According to Olivier Francois, Chief Executive Officer of Lancia, Richard Gere was chosen for a recent ad for the Lancia Delta because he "is not merely a fine actor; not merely one of the most famous men in the world. He is a man with a great difference: the ability to combine talent, fame and style with great character. I'm talking about his commitment to peace." That affinity for peace stretches especially towards the people of Tibet, a people who's autonomy from China Gere supports. This commercial, which you can watch after the break, features Gere driving a new Lancia Delta from Hollywood to Tibet in just 30 seconds and aired in Italy. After reports of the commercial appeared in Chinese newspapers, China was apparently none too happy about it. Fiat has decided to apologize, with a company spokesman saying, "Fiat Group extends its apologies to the Government...
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Filed under: China , Government/Legal , Plants/Manufacturing , Chrysler , Ford , GM , Earnings/Financials American automotive companies have been doing rather well for themselves these last few years in China. Still, the majority of manufacturing those vehicles is done in China using locally sourced parts. For this reason, the Chinese government has been facing pressure to ink more deals with American companies for the export of goods there, which is apparently now beginning to take place. Ford, for instance, has announced that it will be sending 30,000 complete vehicles (no word on which ones) to China along with other various auto parts. General Motors has also signed on with about $1 billion in vehicles and parts for export to China. Chrysler too will get in on the trading, though its deals will likely be smaller than either Ford's or General Motors'. All in all, the automotive sector will make up about $2 billion of the recently announced deals, which total more than $8.3 billion...
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Filed under: Gadgets , China , Government/Legal James Bond used them to elude Goldfinger's foot soldiers, but now revolving license plates have hit the open market in (where else?) China. Apparently over half of all speeders caught on camera in the south of the country get away scot-free by using false or occluded plates. A basic remote controlled plate switcher costs just 800 Yuan ($115), but more sophisticated gadgets that get the job done in just three seconds cost over twice that amount. So, would fitting one of these make your vehicle a Q Car? [Source: Reuters ] Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: China , Etc. , Government/Legal , Green , Safety The city of Beijing has drawn widely-publicized controversy due to its poor air-quality leading up to the 2008 Summer Olympic games. In fact, the air pollution is at least two to three times higher than levels deemed safe by the World Health Organization at this very moment. To ease the minds of the competing athletes, the city of Beijing is taking steps to improve the situation and has promised clean air for the games. Officials in Beijing have already cut the number of vehicles driving in the city in half by alternating what vehicles are allowed to drive each day and have asked more people to ride bikes . Now, they've banned car repairs and spray painting until after the games are over. We are all for the athletes rights to breathe clean air, but we also have to wonder about the economic cost associated with cutting out all automotive repairs and painting. [Source: Motor Authority ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Trends , China , Government/Legal Automakers worldwide spend millions of dollars perfecting and updating their logos . Study groups offer input to help capture that timeless design and color that precisely represents their product. Once approved, the automakers drop tens of millions of dollars into promoting the new look in product and advertising. What happens when another company arrives with a mildly-modified copy-cat version of the same logo? Apparently, if the country is in Asia, not much. A reader tipped us off to a site loaded with proprietary logos from some well-know automotive corporations, and their not-so-original Chinese, Philippine, Korean, and German... well, look-alikes. Sure, they aren't exact copies, but some of them are close enough to be kissing cousins. Thanks for the tip, Alex! [Source: Cartype ] Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Euro , Government/Legal , SMART Daimler's not taking the close resemblance of a Chinese minicar to a smart fortwo lightly. The German automaker has gotten a court order forbidding Martin Motors, the European distributor for China's Shuanghuan Automobile, from displaying the Shuanghuan Noble at the upcoming Bologna Auto Show. This is the second time Daimler has blocked the Noble from being displayed, having taken similar action at the Frankfurt show. Martin Motors is calling the Noble the Bubble in Europe, since there's already another Noble . Martin contends that the Bubble is not a copy of the fortwo, citing the four seats and front engine configuration among the differentiating details. Martin Motors has also demanded in Italian courts that Daimler prove its exclusive rights to the design of the smart. If a resolution can be reached, the Bubble will go on sale for about $10,000 euros across Europe. The resemblance is striking, but copying the look isn't the...
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Filed under: Etc. , Government/Legal It's a banner day for car safety advocates around the world -- or at least, wherever Chinese cars are sold. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) and China last week signed a Memorandum of...
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