About China's Coolest Cars
This beauty is a very rare BAM BJ2020SA, a two-door 4×4 off-road vehicle. I saw it in Beijing back in 2003, just across the street from the Workers’ Stadium. The building on the left has long been razed to the ground and replaced by something new, and recently the stadium went down as well! Note the purple trousers and the old 京C license plates.
Continue reading “A Rare BAM BJ2020SA In Yellow Brown In Beijing”
A truly rare car for China this is. A light blue Moskvitch Aleko 2141S, seen at a small car repair shop in north Beijing, back in 2011. The good Moskvitch was very dusty and looked neglected. Staff at the store told me they were planning to restore it. Well, they always say that when I ask…
Here we have a pretty white car with a long and complicated name. This indeed is a Citroen ZX Shenglong Fukang 1.6i AX, seen in Beijing in 2018, painted in white with the factory wheel covers.
Continue reading “A White Citroen ZX Shenlong-Fukang 1.6i AX In China”
Here we have a big Dongfeng truck, in the correct worker’s blue, loaded with about a hundred crates of delicious Yanjing beer, standing in front of a restaurant in central Beijing.
I saw the truck in 2007, when Yanjing beer bottles still contained 0.645 liter of easy drinkable beer with an alcohol percentage of 3.6%. In my good old days I drunk a truck of the stuff each week. Sadly, most Chinese beermakers have since changed their bottle size to the internationally more acceptable 0.5 liter.
The Dongfeng was already an oldie in 2007, and it was clearly not having an easy day with its heavy load of booze! I love the frames on the sides, with reflective 3M tape, intended to prevent bicyclist from ending up underneath. Cheers old Dongfeng, hope you are still around somewhere.
Back in the summer of the great year 2004, I was invited to the launch event of Dutch supercar maker Spyker in China. The company shipped in a beautiful Spyker C8 Spyder, painted in purple with a red-beige interior. It was unveiled to the media at the capital’s famous Zhengyangmen Gate.
Back into July 2003 I went to the great Goldenport circuit in northeast Beijing to see some speedy racing. In those days, the track wasn’t in a very good shape but the atmosphere was fantastic. Lots of on and off track action below, with fast cars, cool cars, and some babes.
Continue reading “Going To The Races At Goldenport In Beijing In 2003”
A fantastic dark blue Wuling LZ 100 mini truck, seen in the great city of Dali in Yunnan Province in 2006 during a long trip through southern China. The car was likely made in the late 1990’s. It was in a very good shape, with the original decals, and wheels. The rear freight container was a factory option. Note the Changan-Suzuki Alto City Baby on the left side of the road.
Continue reading “Three Fantastic Wuling Mini-cars In Southern China”
A Hafei Songhuajiang police van parked behind an intriguing partially-home made dual-axle 5-wheel flat-bed motorbike. I saw these two cars in a small village on the far west of Beijing back in the summer of 2006.
The Hafei has the word ‘police’ in English above the windshield, which is rather unusual. Normally there would be a Chinese term in that place. Songhhuajiang police minivans usually seat four officers + a bunch of criminals in a cage in the back. It didn’t seem on active duty anymore.
The motorbike was clearly in use and available for rent. The owner likely got his inspiration from these monsters. Note the extensions on the handlebars to protect the driver’s hands from sunshine. In winter, these will be replaced with thick gloves against the cold.
In the old villages around the capital you can still find all sorts of fascinating old vehicles, even today, but it is getting less and less. With the electrification of everything the old petrol cars are slowly disappearing. Go there before it is too late!
A white Jaguar XJ6 sedan, seen on a very cold winter’s day in the far north of the Chinese capital Beijing. The single-wiper Jag’ was covered with the typical Beijing dust but otherwise in a fine shape.
Here we have a very pretty Volkswagen Individual Touareg W12, seen on a second-hand car market in the great city of Chengdu in China in 2016. The massively impressive SUV was on sale for a steep 520.500 yuan. Good deal! When new in 2006, price was a far steeper 1.58 million yuan. Not many were sold in China, so seeing one in the wild is very special.
Continue reading “Volkswagen Individual Touareg W12 Is Dark Blue In China”
