Author: Harry Helmsman

Beijing-Hyundai Sonata Police Car In Beijing

A very pretty Hyundai Sonata police car in Beijing, painted blue-white with large lights & siren unit on the roof. I saw it in 2005 near Tiananmen Square, parked on a narrow street.

The fourth-generation (EF) Sonata was the first-generation Sonata that was made in China, by the Beijing-Hyundai joint venture. Production started in 2002 and continued all the way, with various updates, until 2017!

The police car has the 2.5-liter V6 under the bonnet, which was good for 164 hp and 225 Nm. The gearbox was a 4-speed automatic. The China-made Sonata was also available with various other engines, including a 2.0 and a 3.0 V6.

A Silver W126 Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL In China

W126 Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL
W126 Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL

A very beautiful Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL in China, seen at a small car restoration shop north of Northern Section of the Fifth Ring Road in Beijing. The great Mercedes was in very good shape and fully original.

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A Beijing BJ130 Water Tank Truck In The Forbidden City In Beijing

A Beijing BJ130 water tank truck, seen inside the Forbidden City in Beijing in 2004. The truck belonged to the Forbidden City’s own fire department and stood in a somewhat faraway area of the enormous palace complex.

The truck comes with yellow inner-headlights, tiny narrow wheels, mirrors on the front fenders, and superbly basic 5-yuan reflectors on each side of the grille.

The Beijing BJ130 was manufactured by Beijing No.2 Auto Works from the mid-1970s until the late 1980s. It was powered by the famous 4-cylinder North 492 gasoline engine that was used in many vehicles made in those days. The engine was mated to a four-speed manual.

Until 2010 or so, you could still see these great trucks standing around in the older areas of Beijing, but these days most are gone and forgotten. I don’t think our fire truck is in the Forbidden City anymore, but at least she will be remembered!

Shopping For A Police Car In China

A Volkswagen Passat Lingyu police car on the 2010 China International Exhibition on Police Equipment (CIEPE), held in the beautiful Beijing Exhibition Center in northwest Beijing. Sadly, the show has since moved to the less pretty China National Convention Center.

The show was about all sorts of police equipment, ranging from guns to uniforms to surveillance cameras. Great fun. But even better were the police cars, displayed by car makers hoping for a deal with the cops. Some of these cars did eventually make it into real police cars; others didn’t. The Passat Lingyu, like the Passats before it, would have a long police career. Continue reading “Shopping For A Police Car In China”

Beijing-Hyundai Sonata With Black Shandong License Plates

Here we have a black Hyundai Sonata with black Shandong Province license plates, seen at a small car shop in the far east of Beijing.

The man on the left is the shop’s owner, and the two younger gentlemen are his employees. They were all from Shandong, shipping vehicles from there and selling them in the capital.

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Hyundai Coupe Is Pink In China

Hyundai Coupe
Hyundai Coupe

Pink cars always look good. Proof: Check this pink Hyundai Coupe. Without pink, nobody would see it. Now we do. It is a wrap and the original color was white; note the areas around the door handle and mirror stalk.

The second generation Hyundai Coupe was made from 2002 until 2008, with facelifts in 2005 and 2007. Our pinkie is a pre-facelift example. The Coupe was sold in China from 2004 until 2007. It was available with a 140 hp 2.0 and with a 170 hp 2.7 V6.

They were quite popular and quite a few are still around today, most of them modified in one way or the other.