Author: Chairman MacPherson

Cadillac Fleetwood Stretched Limousine Is Grey In China

Cadillac Fleetwood Stretched Limousine
Cadillac Fleetwood Stretched Limousine

A gigantic Cadillac Fleetwood stretched limousine, seen on a car market on the South Fourth Ring Road in Beijing in 2007. It was in perfect shape, with flag poles on the bumpers, just missing the hub caps.

The second generation Fleetwood was made from 1993 until 1996, powered by a fat 5.7 liter V8, good for a very decent 260hp and 450nm.

These limousines were actually officially offered by General Motors China in period. Most were sold to high-end hotels and some to the Chinese government. This particular car is a bit more special because of its pretty gray color scheme. All the others were black.

Most of these great American cars eventually ended up at wedding-car companies and such. Today, just a few survive.

The 京A Ford Ka

Here we have a first generation Ford Ka with black license plates, painted in purple with gray bumpers, sporty five-spoke wheels, a red grille, and with 京A license plates. I saw it on a dreary morning on the road right across the building where I lived at the time, in the Chinese capital Beijing in 2005.

The first generation Ford Ka was made from 1996 until 2008. It was never officially sold in China.

Black license plates were issued to foreign owned companies from the 1980’s to the early 00’s. These companies could buy a car locally, and they were also allowed to import their own cars. When they sold these cars, the license plate would go with it. This only changed in 2016, when a new rule ruled out any continuation of the old 京A license plates.

The 京A Ford Ka became somewhat of a famous car in Beijing later on. I remember seeing it on all sorts of local car websites and such, and it took me a while before I realized I had met it first. Great Ford, and a good Ka.

A very Early Beijing-Jeep Beijing BJ2020 N In Blue

Beijing-Jeep Beijing BJ2020 N

The Beijing-Jeep joint venture, or fully the Beijing Jeep Corporation (BJC), is best known making the Jeep Cherokee XJ and Jeep Grand Cherokee in China. But this busy joint venture also manufactured the Beijing BJ2020-series, based on the long-running Beijing BJ212-series.

The BJC badge on the grille.

The idea was to use American technology to gradually improve the BJ212/2020. The blue car we have here, which I saw in 2006 in Yunnan Province, is a Beijing-Jeep Beijing 2020 N.

The N model was the second improved variant of the BJ212 made by BJC. It was launched in 1990. Compared to the BJ212, it had better brake ad cooling systems, new mirrors, new lights, and new wheels.

It was powered by the 2.4 liter Beijing 492 QA engine, good for 70 hp and 160 Nm. Transmission was a four-speed manual, four-wheel drive. With that, the 1530 kilo heavy vehicle could reach a top speed of 100 kilometers per hour.

A Fiery Red Pontiac Firebird And Some Other Great Cars In Beijing

Pontiac Firebird

And on that day in 2003, I went to an old housing complex in Beijing. It is very beautiful and fully accessible but tourists have never found out about it, and as far as I know the place still exists. Luckily, I saw some great cars.

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The Hongqi CA7221 L Is A Long-wheelbase Chinese-German Limousine

Hongqi CA7221 L
Hongqi CA7221 L

A beautiful black Hongqi CA7221 L long-wheelbase limousine, seen in central Beijing in 2010. The Hongqi was in a fine shape, with the original hood ornament and the factory-standard alloys.

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Checking Out The Lamborghini Dealer In Beijing, China, in 2010

Lamborghini Dealer In Beijing

Back in ’10 I went to the Lamborghini dealer in Beijing, where they had some proper metal on show. The shop was in the Jinbao Street in the center of town and also sold Bugatti. There was an Aston Martin shop next door and a Wiesmann dealer a bit further down the road.

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Tianjin Xiali TJ7100 Is A Small Red Sedan In China

Tianjin Xiali TJ7100

A red Xiali TJ7100 sedan, seen near the Agricultural Exhibition Center in Beijing in 2009, parked next to a white Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL. The good old Xiali was a bit dirty and dusty but otherwise in a fine shape.

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