Chinese cars

[kkelly]

If the main issue with them is lack of galvanising then i dont suppose those kind of issues will show until the car is over 5 years old. I fully admit its a very valid concern. The main point of EVs is they are better environmentally, but this is absolutely not the case if penny pinching a few hundred quid on manufacture costs means the cars are fit for scrap at 10 years old because of rust.

Mud sticks as well. I had a 1998 fiat. Fiat were (according to the main dealer and i havent fact checked) the 1st mass produced car company to galvanise their car bodies to stop rust, but even so, even now decades later they still have the reputation for being rust buckets even tho it isnt the case any more.

but that reputation earned in the 1980s is still their to a degree.

I think today though it's super rare to see cars over ten years old, and most will be bought on pcp cars are becoming more and more like phones.

 

[Rilot]

I think today though it's super rare to see cars over ten years old, and most will be bought on pcp cars are becoming more and more like phones.

Really? I was only thinking the other day how much longer cars last these days due to the sheer volume of cars over 10 years old on the roads.

 

[bigmike20vt]

I think today though it's super rare to see cars over ten years old, and most will be bought on pcp cars are becoming more and more like phones.

i disagree...... the cars still go somewhere, there is plenty of a market for cheaper 2nd hand cars. Maybe you are fortunate enough to work for a company which allows you to do this, as well as an affluent area where most people have new cars.

our work carpark has a huge percentage of vehicles all under £5000 , many of which are over 10 years old. IF cars do become a disposible item, scrapped after single digit number of years then society is stuffed imo.

 

[Yaayuh!]

I think today though it's super rare to see cars over ten years old, and most will be bought on pcp cars are becoming more and more like phones.

Definitely do not agree.
Even looking out of my window at work, there is a 10 car high street parking bay. 5 of them are older than 10 years, 1 of which is a van.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Where is the evidence that this is even the case?

Given the ‘source’ is Nasher, I’d be taking anything said with the heaviest helping of salt you can possible find.

Ultimately all cars rust, my old so called ultra high quality Japanese car was showing signs of rust on the body at 10 years old. My Wife’s old Ford was a complete shed by the time it was 13 years old.

 

[lordrobs]

Where is the evidence that this is even the case?

Given the ‘source’ is Nasher, I’d be taking anything said with the heaviest helping of salt you can possible find.

Ultimately all cars rust, my old so called ultra high quality Japanese car was showing signs of rust on the body at 10 years old. My Wife’s old Ford was a complete shed by the time it was 13 years old.

No rust on my 1997 MX5...

... Admittedly it has been coated in about 50kg of Dinatrol since it was 4 years old

 

[bigmike20vt]

No rust on my 1997 MX5...

... Admittedly it has been coated in about 50kg of Dinatrol since it was 4 years old

my mates MX5 and his wifes mazda 6, are both affected by rust, the mazda 6 needs some welding doing..... the MX5 he had before that (the one after the one with pop up lights) also had to have significant welding underneath to keep on the road.

not that it put him off the car, but he did consider undercar rot to be a significant weakness of the car.

 

[TheVoice]

At heart I just have a huge problem with what China is doing in the world and I don't want it dominating / taking what's left of manufacturing from us or Europe. So on that basis alone I won't buy a Chinese car no matter how good it is. But if they are crazy good value for money I understand why many others will.. and that's what China will do, and at some point will do it right. Just hope it's a few decades off.

The European manufacturers have brought a lot of it on themselves, they've killed off small cars like the Fiesta and driven up the price of EV equivalents of the family cars are used to buying; a new electric Astra is £38k!

my mates MX5 and his wifes mazda 6, are both affected by rust, the mazda 6 needs some welding doing..... the MX5 he had before that (the one after the one with pop up lights) also had to have significant welding underneath to keep on the road.

not that it put him off the car, but he did consider undercar rot to be a significant weakness of the car.

Mazda wheels seem to corrode like crazy too, I had a 2007 Mazda3 Sport ages back and the wheels would rust as you watched. My parents have a 2015 Mazda3 with horrendously corroded wheels which they recently got refurbed, yet my year-older SEAT Leon's wheels haven't got a spec of corrosiion on them.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

No rust on my 1997 MX5...

... Admittedly it has been coated in about 50kg of Dinatrol since it was 4 years old

The car I was referring to was a MK3.5 MX-5

Mazda wheels seem to corrode like crazy too, I had a 2007 Mazda3 Sport ages back and the wheels would rust as you watched. My parents have a 2015 Mazda3 with horrendously corroded wheels which they recently got refurbed, yet my year-older SEAT Leon's wheels haven't got a spec of corrosiion on them.

Yup, the wheels were pretty bad when we sold it.

The European manufacturers have brought a lot of it on themselves, they've killed off small cars like the Fiesta and driven up the price of EV equivalents of the family cars are used to buying; a new electric Astra is £38k!

List prices are meaningless (for most manufacturers), no one is paying that for an Astra. Corsa electric is something daft like around £30k, you can pick them up for under £20k. The same applies to ICE though.

 

[TheVoice]

List prices are meaningless (for most manufacturers), no one is paying that for an Astra. Corsa electric is something daft like around £30k, you can pick them up for under £20k. The same applies to ICE though.

Absolutely, but for people initially shopping around the various manufacturers drawing up a shortlist of cars, those higher list prices are likely to put some people off when they see an MG5 listed for £7-8k less. Stellantis haven't earned their recent reputation for being overpriced for nothing.

 

[jpaul]

engine tech in the geely mg phev does look good - supercharger ! if the reliability is there, can always get spares & haynes on aliexpress

Geely DHE1.5 Engine Beats BYD Xiaoyun With Thermal Efficiency of 43.32%

Now you will not have to make an effort to remember the exotic name BYD chose for its 1.5-liter engine: Geely reached slightly better numbers

www.autoevolution.com

All three examples are remarkable compared to regular engines, which have an average thermal efficiency of 20%. Mazda promised to make that number reach 56% with the Skyactiv-3 mill. Whe you compare that to the efficiency of electric vehicles, you get a good picture of why governments are pushing for electric cars. The latest EV disclosed by Geely is the Polestar 6. Although the company did not mention how efficient its electric motors are, they can convert around 90% of electricity into movement. ABB said it developed one that reached a 99.05% efficiency. And people keep trying to improve them. If Mazda ever reaches 56%, it will be quite an achievement. For the time being, 43.32% already sounds pretty good.
..
The new Geely mill is part of a hybrid powertrain called Leishen Hi-X. The 1.5-liter, three-cylinder engine uses a supercharger, high-pressure direct injection, and the so-called Miller cycle. It is not the proper Miller cycle but rather an adaptation of the Otto cycle in which admission valves stay open a little longer so that the compression stroke is shorter than the expansion stroke. With less resistance while compressing gases, the mill gets more efficient.

Lynk & Co details E-Motive hybrid, PHEV systems - up to 180 km EV range, 4.5 l/100 km; first debut in the 01 - paultan.org

Lynk & Co, the automotive joint venture between Geely and Volvo, recently launched its new E-Motive electrified powertrains at a recent event that also saw the debut of The Next Day concept. Developed based on …

paultan.org

The Road to the 50% Thermally Efficient Internal Combustion Engine​

 

[Nasher]

If it goes the way VW's small supercharged engines went, that won't be great

 

[Conscript]

Bit of a thread bump, as I've not much interest in Chinese cars in general....but as I sat down for my breakfast today, I saw this video come up on my Youtube suggestions. And I have to admit, I'm watching it now, thinking that, silly name aside...it's actually a pretty good looking car.

Obviously there's a lot of homework being copied here; I can see styling elements of Jag, Corvette, Alpine, MX5 and of course, Lambo with the silly doors...but I genuinely think this is quite a smart looking "roadster".

 

[Nasher]

I think these Chinese MGs look like Toyotas knock-offs tbh. They look ok from one or two angles, then ew.

Anyway, the issue with an EV roadster is it's just going to be 100% tyre and wind noise and its most likely going to be pretty heavy. So a lot of the character is missing.

 

[jpaul]

will be interesting to see how the chassis rigidity and weight impact cyber's genuine appeal as sporty ...
block of batteries in metal case without a roof, you'll need some expensive special steels and engineering - which will be a challenge for any manufacturer.
(were any of the western ev chassis designed for open top)
refinement & roof fit too, even though brits drive with top down at any opportunity - climate warming may change that.

(watched autogefeul review of new electric G-wagon which like rangerover electric will have dual motors on same axle, should address ev torque steer/traction control significantly,
rather than inefficient braking of wheels/vectoring that are slipping - what are economic to introduce that in everyday ev's)

 

[Nasher]

It would need to be one solid tub with double wishbone suspension I think. Like what Lotus did, otherwise it's going to flex all over the place. But that is expensive to do.

 

[Conscript]

I doubt it has many genuine sporting intentions. He says in the review, its definitely more GT than sports car. It's probably aimed at people who want to waft around a bit in an open top, who aren't really going to care about a bit of chassis flex. Neither will they care about weight. But I still think it looks good.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

will be interesting to see how the chassis rigidity and weight impact cyber's genuine appeal as sporty ...
block of batteries in metal case without a roof, you'll need some expensive special steels and engineering - which will be a challenge for any manufacturer.
(were any of the western ev chassis designed for open top)
refinement & roof fit too, even though brits drive with top down at any opportunity - climate warming may change that.

(watched autogefeul review of new electric G-wagon which like rangerover electric will have dual motors on same axle, should address ev torque steer/traction control significantly,
rather than inefficient braking of wheels/vectoring that are slipping - what are economic to introduce that in everyday ev's)

I hope you’ve picked up that the Cyberster was designed in London and the G-Waggon isn’t Chinese since posting.

 

[Nasher]

I hope you’ve picked up that the Cyberster was designed in London and the G-Waggon isn’t Chinese since posting.

Designed is one thing, built is another

Many things designed in Europe or the US on paper look great, but when China build them it doesn't turn out so great.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Designed is one thing, built is another

Many things designed in Europe or the US on paper look great, but when China build them it doesn't turn out so great.

Another perfect demonstration of total nonsense posted by Nasher.