About China's Coolest Cars
This is a Beijing Auto D280 sedan, as seen in Beijing in 2014. It was painted in a classy shade of black with darkened windows and gray alloy wheels. The license plates are from Shandong Province.
Continue reading “Beijing Auto Senova D280 Is A Chinese-Swedish Saab 9-5”
This is an ArcFox Alpha S, a full-electric Chinese sedan-coupe, or you could call it an SUV-coupe. ArcFox calls it a sedan. I met this light-gray Alpha S in Beijing on a rainy day in the summer of 2023.
Continue reading “ArcFox Alpha S Is A Chinese Electric Sedan-Coupe”
A Changhe A6, seen in front of a Changhe dealer in Tai’an in Shandong Province in the summer of 2018. The A6 was painted bright red with darkened windows and black mirror stalks. The car stood on a light red carpet, a rather crappy carpet for that matter. And faded. It was once as red as the car, probably, but it had almost turned into pink.
This is a Beijing Weiwang 306 police van, seen in the Sanlitun embassy area in Beijing in December 2011. The van was brand new and looked very nice in police livery. It had a police light-siren unit on the roof but I didn’t see any additional lights on the bumpers.
Continue reading “Beijing Weiwang 306 Is A Cool Police Van In China”
A cool Changhe Beidouxing X5E EV268, seen on a car dealer area in north Beijing in late 2019. The X5E looked nice in white with blue trim in grille and lights, which is very common Chinese on electric cars.
The Changhe Beidouxing X5E is an electric panel van. It is based on the petrol powered Changhe Beidouxing X5, which, in turn, is based on the first generation Suzuki Wagon R.
Continue reading “The Changhe Beidouxing X5E EV268 Is An Electric Van Based On The Suzuki Wagon R”
A Beijing EV200 electric car, seen in a BAIC BJEV dealer in Beijing in 2016. The small EV looked nice in white, with minuscule wheels, blue detailing, and a bright red interior. Handily, the price was displayed on a display on the roof: 116.900 yuan, and after paying I could go home with that very car at that very moment. But I didn’t.
Continue reading “Beijing EV200 Was A Small EV Based On A Smart-Mitsubishi”
A Beijing Auto Beijing BJ20 Off-Road Edition, seen in Beijing in 2018. The vehicle looked brand new and was perfectly clean inside and out. The Beijing Auto BJ20 was conceived in a night of madness and debuted in standard form in 2016, featuring a polarizing design that didn’t look like anything else in the Beijing Auto lineup.
A sweet Beijing Auto BJ40 F40, seen on a cold winter’s day in January 2020 in Beijing. The Beijing Auto BJ40 F40 launched in 2019 as a sporty and cool variant of the 3-door version of the BJ40 SUV.
The name was a tad confusing so Beijing has since re-launched it as a stand-alone model, simply called the Beijing Auto F40. It received a facelift in late 2020. The car I saw is a rare early model with the original messy name.
Continue reading “Beijing Auto BJ40 F40 3-Door Hardtop Convertible Is As Cool As It Gets In China”
A Weiwang 407 EV, seen at sunset in the far east of Beijing in early 2020. The Weiwang 407 EV is an electric minivan with an aerodynamic body. Design is very nice, with a black ‘grille, secondary lights on each side of the grille, and the real headlights in the bumper.
Continue reading “The Weiwang 407 EV Was An Aerodynamic Electric Minivan From China”
And that day in 2010 I went to a new-energy show in Beijing. Local hero Beijing Auto Industry Corporation (BAIC) had a big booth on the show with all sorts of Beijing-branded concept cars including two EVs.
BAIC was on a roll those days. They had just purchased the rights to the Saab 9-5 and Saab 9-3 from General Motors, including the 2.0 and 2.3 turbo engines. The Beijing C71 was a concept car based on the Saab 9-5. It got a modernized new front, a new rear, new badges, and new wheels.
