They wouldn’t be able to take the heatHe definitely said that was the intent. Maybe these writers should join the forum
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The U.S. Wants to Ban China’s High-Tech Cars, but They’re Already Here in El Paso — The Wall Street Journal
Mexican dealers are selling cutting-edge Chinese cars that U.S. consumers can’t buy. Americans are warming to the idea of them.
VW ID Polo premiers tomorrow
electrek.co
Volkswagen will unveil the first EV from its entry-level lineup tomorrow: What to expect
The ID. Polo is set to kick off a new chapter at Volkswagen as the first model from its new...
electrek.co
Even that logo is a cheap imitation, it so annoying how these Chinese cars might be high tech and cheap because of where they’re made, but it says allot when they all look like if, every “Western Vehicle” were made up of of drag and drop design elements
The U.S. Wants to Ban China’s High-Tech Cars, but They’re Already Here in El Paso — The Wall Street Journal
Mexican dealers are selling cutting-edge Chinese cars that U.S. consumers can’t buy. Americans are warming to the idea of them.apple.news
For consideration, a few links from Howard Yu. I just discovered this guy and so far I am impressed with his written analysis, for a b-school professor he far exceeds expectations. The video in the 2nd link was too long for me and too much "A Current Affair", if you remember that TV show.
Western EV manufacturers have much to learn from their Chinese counterparts - I by IMD
This weekend’s G7 summit will see renewed calls for protectionist measures against Chinese EV manufacturers. But tariffs would be misguided and universally damaging, warns IMD’s Howard Yu
www.imd.org
[VIDEO] The Xiaomi Comeback: From "Unicorpse" to the World's Hottest EV
A video essay on one of the wildest corporate resurrections in history.
howardyu.substack.com
How Xiaomi Broke Every Law of Corporate Death
Before its electric car stunned the world, CEO Lei Jun had to pull off a near-impossible comeback. This is how he did it.
howardyu.substack.com
This was a good read. While Rivian hasn’t quite appealed to me, it is really cool to see and learn about the level of innovation they are striving for on the technical side https://www.msn.com/en-ie/cars/news...webcomponents=1&wcseo=1&bundles=feat-es2020-t
Agreed. But, the premise of the article is interesting. Also, a big point is that American brands have nearly abandoned affordable vehicles. I am very concerned about security risks associated with Chinese vehicles. But, the market is clearly interested in something different and more affordable…like yesterday!
As an aside, I am in the tractor and heavy equipment business. There have been Chinese machines in North America for quite a while now. What I can say is that they look the part and are less expensive. But, they do not hold up. When they need service the support and parts are often unavailable.
So, just imagine your super techy Chinese vehicle needs a software update in a few years and it’s unavailable. Or, you need hard parts due to wear or accident. Even something minor could total the vehicle. That just contributes to the throw away economy.
I had a Chinese made, but USA company branded LSV (street legal golf cart) until it was flooded out in one of Charleston’s many deluges. While it was still operational I needed some suspension parts. Nope! Needed brake lines, nope! Had to make some parts from common brands work. Never again.
They found a loop hole. Cross the border buy the car come back through. Only thing that is questionable is what does the dmv think when they register the car?The U.S. Wants to Ban China’s High-Tech Cars, but They’re Already Here in El Paso — The Wall Street Journal
Mexican dealers are selling cutting-edge Chinese cars that U.S. consumers can’t buy. Americans are warming to the idea of them.
Thats gonna be the endgame, is making the DMVs be able to not register them.
I think you hit the nail on the head. The Chinese can make a more affordable vehicle at the sacrifice of service because they're designed to be disposable, but more and more automakers have been heading that way for some time. My old '85 Toyota is MUCH more serviceable than my '07 Toyota with almost every component able to be disassembled, cleaned, serviced and put back in use with minimal effort. My '07 however is infinitely more serviceable than anything on the market today. We see the same thing with Tesla gigacastings, etc. Kia/Hyundai are notably bad for just having to replace whole assemblies. Mechanics now just replace parts with few actually understanding how to fix things. Thankfully my Kubota is still simple and easy to work on!
I'm generally at the point in life where I'd rather pay more for a higher quality item that will last longer per dollar than the cheaper alternative. This whole planned obsolescence thing is BS and we're just filling landfills with junk.
This lower quality has been a steady trend unfortunately. In the 1990s, maybe late 80s, my Grandmother did not want to replace her York air conditioner for her house because it had been working fine for 50 years and she feared the new ones would only last ten years. She was not wrong.
On the other hand, the thing about some of the Chinese companies is they are able to adapt their businesses very fast. If they can get reliability and servicability up to acceptable standards for export markets, they will displace incumbents, notwithstanding people who are justifiably boycotting the companies for life based on previous bad experiences, a level of grudge which I respect and also engage in.
If you have not read the book The Innovator's Dilemma, I recommend it.
Ive been reading about how dealerships(stealerships) are shitting them selves over DTC. If they are so scared why not adjust, and go all online for sales?
More on auto dealers. These are from March and April 2026, showing that this is not a partisan thing
Dealers Are Advertising Cars They Don’t Have. The FTC Wants It To Stop
A car shopper sees a vehicle online at a great price, clicks, calls or drives over and then learns the car is gone. Whatever the reason, that adds up to aggravation.www.forbes.com
"On March 13, the FTC sent warning letters to 97 auto dealership groups around the country, telling them to review their advertising and pricing practices. Among the agency’s concerns was a simple one that any car shopper can understand immediately - dealers should not be advertising unavailable or non-existent vehicles."
FTC Warns 97 Auto Dealership Groups About Deceptive Pricing
The Federal Trade Commission iswww.ftc.gov
“The Trump-Vance FTC is committed to preventing auto dealers from misleading consumers with low advertised prices and then adding on mandatory fees at the end of the purchasing process,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The FTC will remain focused on monitoring auto dealerships to ensure that the market functions efficiently and competitors are transparently competing on price.”
I might be skeptical of the FTC's ability to follow through on threats, and it is still significant that this is such a political no brainer that politicians from both major parties seem to be on board.
"Aah, that deal was for this specific vehicle and wouldn't you know it, someone just bought it!"
You would think there'd still be a need for storefronts even with DTC, so still a place for "dealerships" - just not the way they currently exist. Which means less money because they won't be able to be sneaky about add-ons, or as was linked above, bait & switch tactics.
It's always about the money.
Rivian has storefronts. Rivian Spaces. You can see panels with all the colors and materials. Schedule test drives. Order your vehicle. It can be done.
Subaru Getaway
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Many of us are here b/c we think Scout has a chance to break that mold and deliver a much more value-oriented & bomb-proof vehicle, with longevity built-in as a feature - particularly if it is easier for owners to take care of their trucks AND they can get great service and support. This is part of the Scout ethos, part of the brand identity, and a competitive advantage - if they deliver.
OEMS's with an intentionally obsolete & cheap mindset are also typically bad for the planet (and owners). They suffer from churn, and continually need to rebuild loyalty. This is expensive for any business. I feel like Volvo intentionally went down this path with Geely Holding Group starting in 2010. They maintained the exterior facade of the tried and true Volvo, then started to underpin vehicles with cheap Chinese parts. This would intentionally create more service tickets. This is no secret, and a tactic employed by many OEM's - Scout will not get sucked into this trap. Volvo just stood out in my mind as one example, and is one vehicle that I will never buy again - any loyalty I once had to the boxy brick$hit house with incredible safety is now gone - even if the cars are still very safe.
OEMS's with an intentionally obsolete & cheap mindset are also typically bad for the planet (and owners). They suffer from churn, and continually need to rebuild loyalty. This is expensive for any business. I feel like Volvo intentionally went down this path with Geely Holding Group starting in 2010. They maintained the exterior facade of the tried and true Volvo, then started to underpin vehicles with cheap Chinese parts. This would intentionally create more service tickets. This is no secret, and a tactic employed by many OEM's - Scout will not get sucked into this trap. Volvo just stood out in my mind as one example, and is one vehicle that I will never buy again - any loyalty I once had to the boxy brick$hit house with incredible safety is now gone - even if the cars are still very safe.
The way that it could work is how National accounts are handled for many brands in the equipment industry. If Kubota sells a machine to national rental company the closest dealer gets a reasonable percentage to set up and deliver the machine. The dealer still gets to sell parts and do any warranty or service work. Something similar would probably go a long way toward satisfying the upset dealer groups.
Not sure I agree with this, maybe we're just lucky, but my wife is on her second post-2010 Volvo (currently a 2022 S60 PHEV) and we've had no problems, service tickets, etc. They have been great cars...
Agreed! This is what concerns me about the Chinese cars. Everyone is ogling the teck and cheap prices, but there is no depth behind them.
Just going online won’t help them. They will have to adjust their attitudes toward customers before they can compete with DTC.
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