Bugatti brought their Veyron to the 2008 Beijing Auto Show, and sold one within two hours.

The buyer put forth $3.6 million—which is more than twice the asking price to be the first on the block to own one; actually, to be the first in the country; to own one. Must be nice...

Full story here.

Now before anyone screams that it's just another Chinese rip-off, remember that Beijing Jeep was a joint venture that was originally set up by Beijing Automobile Works and the then-owner of Jeep, American Motors Corporation (AMC), in the early 1980s.

Frankly, I'm pretty impressed by this B40, at least in terms of styling. I think it's way better looking than the current Wrangler. Not much has been reported as to what's under the skin, but it's probably pretty similar to what Jeep offers.

Full story here.

China's auto industry is picking up steam, and is about to launch its products upon the global marketplace.

Well, they're almost ready to do so, as AutoObserver elaborates on in today's editorial on the 2008 Beijing Auto Show. The show is almost world-class, and the cars that they are planning to export are almost world-class. Well, maybe not quite  "world-class," but at least almost ready for prime time.

Beijing Auto Show and China's Auto Industry: Life in Fast-Forward

So today the operative word is "almost." Next year don't be surprised if we hear that replaced with "lead, follow, or get out of the way."

Porsche obviously sees plenty of potential in the Chinese market. So much so that it staged the world premiere of its most expensive SUV, the 2009 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, here in Beijing.

This new Cayenne Turbo S gets a slight bump in horsepower along with a few minor mechanical and cosmetic upgrades. The twin turbo 4.8-liter in the Turbo S produces 550 horsepower, a 50-hp bump compared to the standard Turbo. Porsche says a revised exhaust system and "improvements in engine control" account for the increase. Torque is up to 553 pound-feet as well.

Continue reading...

We managed to snag a little face time with Nissan super boss Carlos Ghosn here in Beijing. As we expected, he talked mostly about business stuff given that he runs two of the world's biggest automakers, Nissan and Renault. He did, however, spend a few minutes talking about Nissan's electric vehicle program, and it's clear he sees it as a must-have technology for the future survival of the company.

His basic premise? There's a huge chunk of the world population that doesn't currently own cars, but they want to own one eventually and nobody is going to stop them. That means millions of additional cars on the world's roads in the coming decades, a situation that makes zero-emission vehicles absolutely essential.

That leaves two paths: pure electric cars and hydrogen fuel cells. As far as Ghosn is concerned, pure electric is the way to go. The infrastructure is already there with no need for new fueling stations, transport systems or training for consumers. Everybody already knows how to plug stuff into the wall; it's too simple to ignore.

According to Ghosn, Nissan will have an electric vehicle in the U.S. by 2010 followed up by a pilot program in Israel in 2011 and worldwide sales in 2012. He says his confidence in the program comes from the fact that the engineers working on it know they have a shot at changing the very nature of the industry.

Of course, good intentions only go so far, but as Ghosn also noted, "We are spending a lot of money on this program." We'll see if it's enough in a couple years. -- Ed Hellwig, Lead Senior Editor, Inside Line

Maybe you remember the name Geely? It was the first Chinese car company to show a car at the Detroit auto show in 2006. The display vehicle was a pathetic attempt at a sedan that left many wondering if it was a serious car company.

Now take a look at this Geely concept. It's called the Tiger GT and it's the one car at the show that always has a crowd around it. Sure, the models hanging on it help, but most of the credit goes to the Italian-looking bodywork that makes it look like a misshapen Maserati.

According to the brief spec sheet, the Geely GT has a 3.5-liter V6 up front that produces 225 horsepower and 340 pound-feet of torque. It sends power to the rear wheels that measure 19 inches in diameter and wear 255/40ZR tires. The suspension is only described as "multilink" front and rear.

It will be a long time before a car like the Geely Tiger GT ever hits the road. The fact that it even exists in concept form is probably a triumph for Geely's designers and accountants. The company is moving fast, though, so don't be surprised if Geely's next Detroit concept gets more claps than laughs. -- Ed Hellwig, Lead Senior Editor, Inside Line

Nissan's head honcho Carlos Ghosn was on hand here in Beijing to preside over the company's short but sweet press conference. Although Mr. Ghosn rode onto the stage in the Pivo 2 concept car, he only spent a minute or two talking about Nissan's electric vehicle plans.

Most of the press conference was dedicated to the introduction of the latest Nissan Teana. It's a midsize luxury sedan roughly equivalent to our Altima in terms of size and power. Some of these cars have been spotted testing in the U.S., but there are no plans to bring it to the U.S. as it would split the difference between the Altima and the Maxima a little too closely. -- Ed Hellwig, Lead Senior Editor, Inside Line

After seeing the lackluster lines of the Audi Q5, the sharply creased sheetmetal of the 2010 Mercedes-Benz GLK actually looked pretty good. When we first saw this new compact SUV as a concept, it looked a little overstyled, like Mercedes was trying too hard to give it some personality.

In person, however, the GLK works. Instead of looking like a shrunken down M-Class, the GLK has enough original lines to keep you interested. Even if you don’t come to like it, there’s no doubt it has something going on. Compare that to the Audi which just sits there and hopes you’ll like it because it’s an SUV, and the GLK is the clear winner. -- Ed Hellwig, Lead Senior Editor, Inside Line

One of the most anticipated introductions at the show was the 2009 Audi Q5 SUV. Instead of a full-blown press conference, however, Audi just put a couple of Q5s out on the show floor and let the vehicles speak for themselves. After taking a closer look, they should’ve made a bigger effort.

Maybe it was the colors or the chrome wheels of the main display model, but the Q5 looks too anonymous in person, especially for a company that’s trying to re-create itself as the anti-establishment luxury brand. There’s not a memorable line on it from the front, and the only notable styling feature in back are the big LED taillights.

There’s nothing wrong with the interior, as it’s basically borrowed straight from the new A4 sedan and wagon. Passenger room is about average and the cargo area is a useful size. With Audi’s 3.2-liter V6 under the hood, the Q5 should have reasonable performance, too. In other words, nothing unexpected here, and nothing very exciting either. -- Ed Hellwig, Lead Senior Editor, Inside Line



Continue reading...

For all the hype surrounding the introduction of the Buick Invicta concept, it’s not getting much attention in Beijing. There’s rarely much of a crowd around it despite the fact that this concept was developed with input from both U.S. and Chinese designers.

Rumors suggest the Invicta is a preview of the next Buick LaCrosse. We can barely remember what the current LaCrosse looks like, so anything that resembles the Invicta should be an improvement. Although this concept has a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder under the hood, expect a more traditional V6 when it arrives in production form sometime next year. -- Ed Hellwig, Lead Senior Editor, Inside Line



Continue reading...