Two Jinbei-GM Chevrolet Blazer SUVs, seen on a car market in Beijing in January 2017, one in dark green and one in silver. Both cars were a bit dusty but otherwise in a very good shape.
The Chevrolet Blazer was manufactured in China by a complicated joint venture called the Jinbei GM Automotive Corporation, Jinbei-GM for short. The ‘Jinbei’ part of the name stood for ‘FAW Jinbei Automotive’, which was a joint venture in itself between the Jinbei Automotive Corporation and First Auto Works (FAW), established in 1995.
Jinbei-GM was founded in 1998 with a $230 million investment. Production of the Blazer and the related Chevrolet S10 pickup truck started in 2000 in a new factory in the city of Shenyang in Liaoning Province. Annual capacity was 50.000 units.
The Jinbei-GM joint venture was sadly not a success, sales were much lower than expected. The main reason were the high prices. In 2001 they were: 185.000 yuan for the pickup truck, 285.000 yuan for the 2.4, and a hefty 385.000 yuan (46.000 USD in 2001 exchange rates) for the 4.3. Furthermore, the thirsty and dirty engines of the Blazer ran into trouble with environment agencies in big cities, including in Beijing.
After muddling on for almost four years production was halted in early 2004 and the joint venture was disbanded. The shares of Jinbei were sold on to the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), GM’s partner in the Shanghai-GM joint venture, and the factory in Shenyang went on to make the first generation Buick GL8 MPV. General Motors still has a small joint venture with FAW, making the Kuncheng pickup truck.
The Chinese Blazer was design-wise similar to the Brazilian-made Blazer, with a rounded front end and square-shaped headlights (compare with the US version). It was available with two engines: a MPFI 2.4 liter four cylinder and a Vortec 4.3 liter V6, both mated to a four-speed automatic or a five-speed manual. The two Blazers I met had the 4.3 under the bonnet. It had an output of 165hp and 320nm, which was good enough for a 160 km/h top speed.
The DLX trim level came from Brazil as well, where it was the highest level available. In China, it was the only trim level available for the 4.3 V6 model.
The interior of the black car. Bit of a mess inside! The faux wood was factory standard and there is a lot of leather around, on the seats, doors, and around the gear lever. The radio-cassette player is original. The owner added seat covers to protect the leather of his seat, these kinds of covers are very common in China.
The Blazer was merely assembled, contrary to manufactured. Most of the parts were shipped in from the US in CKD kits, and put together in the ‘factory’ in northern China. You can always spot CKD cars by looking at thing like window stickers and window-glass brands. For example, the Blazers had an English-language child security lock sticker on the window.
Besides the aforementioned problems with price, there was an even bigger problem for the Blazer in Beijing. I remember back in 2004, the Beijing Municipal Government suddenly announced a new set of emission regulations that in one bang banned several kinds of cars from the road, including the Chevrolet Blazer.
One of my colleagues had one too. There was a rare public protest near my home. I got photos of that protest and I will post them in another story. A few months later, the rules were changed again and the Blazer was back in business. The Beijing government was a bit too early with their regulatory fever!
The interior of the silver car. Less messy and without seat covers. The seats were large and especially wide compared to Chinese SUVs of the time. There are two cup holders in front of the lever.
The 4×4 badge on the rear fender. With fancy yellow striping.
I am currently working on a big story on Jinbei GMC and Jinbei GM for our sister site ChinaCarHistory.com. I hope to publish it soon! But busy…
The Chinese and the Communist flags on a tiny pole atop the dashboard. Very common in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. Still common today down countryside, but not so much in the cities anymore. Note the reflection of a McDonald’s restaurant and a Carrefour supermarket.