China’s endless highways are a paradise for those who like to break the law, in any way. There is basically no police or police camera’s outside the city limits so you can drive and transport however you want. Here we have another brilliant way of transporting tucks, seen near the great city of Nanchong in Sichuan Province. One mother ship carries two babies and an unpainted cabin.

Same highway, just a few minutes later. Slightly less extreme but still impressive. The way the third truck is balanced on the second one is innovative, with four tires… The road better not become too bumpy! See our earlier stories on strange Chinese truck transport here and here.

Thanks to MZ for the pics!

New spy shots of the Buick Encore SUV testing in China. The Encore will be launched at the Chinese car market near the end of this year. It will be positioned high, price will start around 140.000 yuan, Buick will only offer the top-spec versions.

The Buick Encore will be made in China by the Shanghai-GM joint venture. Engines: 1.4 turbo, 1.6 turbo, and probably a 2.0 for buyers who prefer a big engine. This is important in China where buyers still think an expensive car should have a big engine, no matter if it is less advanced than a smaller one. Earlier on we heard about the possibility of a naturally-aspirated 1.6 as an entry level model but that engine seems now uncertain considering the positioning of the Encore. The 1.6 however might be offered later if sales disappoint.

Via: Sohu.com.

Seen at the Worker’s Stadium in Beijing, home of the Beijing Guoan Football Club, the strongest team in the capital. This fine lime-green Citroen C2 is clearly a Guoan fan, it is painted in the team’s colors with a large logo on the ‘carbon fiber’ bonnet. Dedication, we dig.

The C1 is otherwise sexed up with a very sporty body-kit, twin exhaust pipes, a roof spoiler, blacked-out alloys and low profile tires. If is was allowed on the field the club wouldn’t lose any game, anymore. The Citroen C2 is a China-only Citroen based on the Peugeot 207. Both cars are made in China by the Dongfeng-PSA joint venture. Power comes from a 1.4 or a 1.6, mated to a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic. Price of the current China-made C2 starts at 70.800 yuan and ends at 103.800 yuan.

Beijing Guoan (website), aka FC Guoan, was established under its current name in 1992. The club however is much older than that. Its predecessor North China Team was born in 1952, in 1956 it changed its name to Beijing Football Club. Beijing Guoan plays in Jia A, the highest league in the Chinese national football competition. Current trainer is Jaime Pacheco from Portugal. More on Wikipedia.

The new Xiali N3 has been launched on the Chinese car market. It didn’t happen at the Beijing Auto Show last month but rather sneakingly at the very local Qingdao Auto Show in Shandong Province. Strangely Xiali only showed the sedan but announced pricing for both the sedan and hatchback. The Xiali N3 is made by Tianjin-FAW Automobile, a subsidiary of First Auto Works (FAW).

The Xiali is one of the longest running cars in China. It all started in1995 as the Tianjin Auto Xiali, which was basically a rebadged Daihatsu Charade. Tianjin Auto had a license for the Charade which by that time was already considered very old by the Japanse. Daihatsu was happy it could still earn a few yen by licensing it to the Chinese. Well, the Charade is still around and Daihatsu is nowhere in China.

Price for the yet invisible hatchback starts at 31.990 yuan and ends at 33.990 yuan, price for the sedan starts at 33.990 yuan and ends at 37.990 yuan. The N3 is one of the very cheapest cars on the Chinese market. In big rich cities such as Beijing and Shanghai sales are minimal these days, but the N3 continues to be very poplar in the rest of the country where hundreds of millions of people are still saving money for their first car.

Only engine is a 1.0 four-cylinder with 65hp and 89nm, mated to a 5-speed manual. The previous N3 was also available with a slightly stronger 1.4 but that engine seems gone, at least for now. I guess Xiali will launch it a bit later, to get some media attention yet again…

Via: Autohome.

The Chinese government has allocated 6 billion yuan ($949 million) to subsidise consumer purchases of fuel-saving cars, Xinhua News Agency reported late on Wednesday, putting a cumulative figure for the first time on the handouts as it moves to cut emissions in the world’s biggest auto market.

Beijing started offering a 3,000 yuan rebate on consumer purchases of small, fuel-efficient cars in June 2010, but has not previously indicated the total cost of the subsidy.

In September last year, the government raised the bar to make the subsidy available only to purchases of cars with an engine displacement of 1.6 litres or smaller that consume 6.3 litres of gasoline or less per 100 km, compared with the previous limit of 6.9 litres.

Beijing has also been encouraging its fledgling electric car industry with hefty incentives, including subsidies of up to 60,000 yuan for each vehicle sold.

A green vehicle development plan approved by the State Council in April set a cumulative output target of 5 million hybrid and electric vehicles (EV) by 2020.

Via: Reuters.

New spy shots from the new Range Rover testing in China, it will likely debut late this year and hit the market in early 2013. China is now the third biggest market worldwide for Range Rover so it wants to make sure the new car behaves on Chinese roads. The new Range Rover will also be longer for more space in the back, something that especially Chinese car buyers have been asking for.

Price of the current Range Rover starts at 1.5 million yuan. The new Range will move upmarket so price is expected to start around 1.8 million. Engines for the Chinese market, all patrol: V6 (from Jaguar), V8 and supercharged V8.

The new Range Rover will be imported into China. Jaguar-Land Rover (JLR) is still working to get permission for a joint venture with Chery. Production is at least two years away, when permission is secured the joint venture still needs to build a factory. The cars that will most likely made in China first are the Evoque and Freelander.

Longer tail easy to see here.

Via: Autohome.

Bling in Beijing! Seen yesterday evening on a parking lot in front of a kareoke bar, a very shiny Lamborghini Gallardo. The gold was painted, no wrapping here, and it was in fact so shiny I saw it beaming from 200 meters afar.

China will likely become Lamborghini’s biggest market this year. The Murcielago sold like hot rice, the Aventador will do even better, the Urus SUV will go like super stink but it is the Gallardo that has constantly been Lamborghini’s best-seller over all these years.

China loves the Gallardo, but a standard car ain’t good enough, it needs to show off more! We got a fine collection by now: pink,  another pink, lime-green, one  in gold, one purple, another purple and because it looks so good a standard-orange Spyder Performante..

Fantastic machine, approved!

The summer is coming up steam, at least here in Beijing, so Volkswagen is perfectly in time launching the new Volkswagen Golf Cabrio on the Chinese car market. The market for convertibles is still small, thanks to air-pollution, noise and traffic jams, but it is growing among the young ‘n cool who don’t want the same boring sedan as their parents have.

The Golf Cabrio is imported and therefore expensive but in this segment that doesn’t really matter. The few foreign competitors who also sell convertibles all import them from abroad. The local Chinese auto makers make, all together, just one convertible which isn’t very dangerous for the Golf.

Volkswagen keeps things easy when it comes to price: 349.800 yuan for the Cabrio Comfort and 379.800 yuan for the Cabrio Luxe. Lone engine is the 1.4 TSI with 160hp and 240nm, mated to a 7-speed DSG. Main competition: the BMW 1-series convertible which starts at 320.000 yuan and the Mini Cooper cabrio which starts at a completely ridiculous 355.000 yuan.

Via: Autohome.

The new Chery Eastar sedan has been launched on the Chinese car market. The Eastar is a very important car for Chery. The old one was on the market for some eight years and very popular among budget buyers and taxi drivers who wanted a no-frills big car for little money. Chery made the new one much better, much better looking and it is still incredible cheap. Price starts at only 95.800 yuan and ends at 135.800 yuan.

Big car! Size: 4866/1840/1500, wheelbase is 2768. Engines: 1.8 with 132hp and 170nm or a 2.0 with 139hp and 182nm. Transmission: 5-speed manual or CVT. It comes standard with ABS+EDB, dual front airbags, electric windows and mirrors, USB-ports and a six-speaker sound system, and much more… The platform however is rather old and basically the same, but improved, as under the old Eastar. This saved Chery a lot of money and so they still earn a few bucks on each car they sell. It won’t be that much however so Chery needs to sell high volumes, but looking at this car and its price it seems they will do just that.

Via: Autohome.

The China-made BMW X1 was launched on the Chinese car market in March. Sales however are not very good because buyers find it too expensive. BMW is therefore working on a cheaper entry-level X1 that will be launched later this year. The X1 is made in China by the Brilliance-BMW joint venture.

Price of the current X1 range starts at 282.000 yuan, this cheaper version will start around 260.000 yuan. Cheaper indeed but buyers will loose a lot. As you can see the screen is gone, meaning the airco and radio/cd will be manually controlled. Furthermore, all the LED-light-thingies disappear, there will ne no leather and no wood. Worst thing is the engine and the gearbox: a 2.0 four-cylinder with only 150hp and 250nm, mated to a six-speed manual.

Well, this won’t work. The absence of a screen and automatic gearbox will make this BMW basically unsellable. Even the smallest Geely’s come with huge screens and sorta advanced 6-speed automatics these days! What is BMW thinking here? The X1 range is just too expensive, BMW better be happy with a smaller margin and make it cheaper quickly.

Via: Autohome.