Was "the" Bugatti there?

 

Don't worry too much about Chinese cars just yet. Apparently, they might be cheap, but they are not very good. Geely has no aspirations to sell cars here before 2008, as the car displayed will not meet US regulations. And, as the Japanese and Koreans have both learned, this is a very tough market. It takes about two decades to get established here, and many makes (Yugo, Sterling, Fiat, Renault, Peugeot, Alfa Romeo, Daihatsu, etc) have tried and not succeeded. It takes a long, steady commitment to make it here; a low price or high style is not enough. Only the very bests car companies get to play in this market. That said, at some point the Chinese will have a few brands offering good quality cars at reasonable prices. Just don't expect it anytime soon.

 

As the Japanese and Koreans are taking the American market (check the American automobile manufacture's continuing percent of market decline on an annual basis), I certainly wouldn't say that they have found it very difficult to penetrate.

The Chinese can look at how the Japanese and Koreans have advanced their interests and cut time off of the learning curve. Don't sell the Chinese short. There aren't many things that they don't make and export to the U.S.

You do realize all of the failed ventures that you high-light above are European companies except for Daihatsu?

 

As I noted, it took nearly all of the Japanese makes nearly two decades (not to mention two fuel crises) to get a firm toe hold in this market. Toyota sold its first car here in 1957, if memory serves correctly. It look a long, concerted effort to become what they are today. Ditto Hyundai, which began selling the humble Excel here way back in 1986. They almost ceased to do business here in the early nineties, when their market share was a wafer of what it was in their debut year. Their phenomenal growth came about in only the past five years, the result of massive quality improvements, recognition, and a great warranty package. I wouldn't say that it was easy to penetrate this market (simply because they did). Honestly, I would say their success has a lot more to do with consistent improvements, putting their customers first, and taking the bad years in stride. Even long established Volkswagen ebbs between phenomenal success and barely hanging on by a thread in this market, every ten years or so.

I don't doubt the Chinese will be selling cars here, but I wouldn't look for them to become overnight successes. That takes a lot of experience, it takes a marketplace that knows and trusts the brands, and it takes a proven track record in terms of quality. And, no doubt the learning curve is shorter now. However, I think that has a lot more to do with the fact that a majority of the core engineering in modern automobiles is developed by the global supply base, and can be purchased for a price. However, it still takes a lot of know how to tie it all together and make it work well, how to build hundreds of thousands of cars without quality concerns, and how to tailor features and content to a specific culture.

Let me put it one more way. You've got $15K to blow on a new car. Are you going to be the first guy to sign up for some brand new thing coming out of China, or are you more likely to buy the car that your friends and relatives recommend, that has gotten red dots consistently from Consumer Reports over the last decade?

 

In reality the Japanese could put the U.S. manufactures out of business if they wanted. They have at least a $2000 per car advantage over the American manufacturers on the cars built in the U.S. More on the foreign built cars. What keeps them at bay is the fact there may be a severe backlash if GM and Ford go under due to being undercut in prices. They way it is going now, Ford and GM are slowly dismantling their companies and nobody is blaming foreign manufactures for any of their troubles. Just poor management and lack of product the public wants.

I wouldn't discount China for a minute. Theirs is a national priority, not an individual company priority. Cost won't matter but market penetration will. You will hear from the Chinese.

 

I don't think the Fed's will ever let a car manufacturer (from another country) under cut an American car builder enough to put them out of business.
Just look at what they did for Harley Davidson.
30 years ago when I bought a brand new Gold Wing when they first came out, you couldn't buy a comparable Harley for anywhere near the $2,800 I paid for my Honda. H.D. finally lobbied congress enough to get them to pass a high enough tariffs on foreign motorcycles to create a level playing field.
GM,Ford, & Chrysler will continue to cut jobs right here in the good old U.S.of A. as long as they can have the very same work done for a fraction of the cost in other countries.
Alot of people have told me that I have no room to talk, since I own a couple of Hondas that I bought brand new. That's when I tell them, that at least they were built right here in Ohio, and 2000 "Ohio" Honda employees benefited by me doing so. Then I usually go over and look at their G.M. cars serial # and show them that their car was built either in Mexico or Canada.
It's a world market, but unfortunately, our piece of the pie seems to be getting smaller and smaller.

 

and daewoo...nissan is doing horrible and so is mitsubishi. alot of asian car companies struggle here.

 

I don't agree with your statement about Nissan doing poorly. They have turned around their entire global enterprise in the last five years after being bought out by Renault, and are among the most profitable automakers in the world right now. Daewoo stopped selling cars in the USA under their own name and now sell cars under the Chevrolet and Suzuki names, because they were purchased by General Motors and Suzuki. Now, Daewoo has been folded into a new GM company named "GM Daewoo Automotive Technology". Recent Daewoo-built products include the Chevy Aveo, Suzuki Forenza, Suzuki Verona, and several Canadian Chevrolets (Optra). Further, Daewoo is being marketed in Europe now under the Chevrolet brand, and is growing faster than anyone expected by selling budget Korean-built cars. Mitsubishi is still in tough shape both in Japan and here, but recently their sales have been on the uptick. The future for Mitsubishi is far from certain, but perhaps more promising than it was. All of this shows that the auto biz is highly unpredictable, and boom and bust cycles tend to occur for most automakers (with notable exception of Honda and Toyota, both of which have never been in a "bust" cycle).

 

Bullseye, to answer your question a day and half later, (sorry). I think the answer would be a negative on the Bugatti. But just because I didn't see it, doesn't mean I'm positive it wasn't there. I missed several cars. But it wasn't anywhere around the other "big ticket" Euro bling.