About China's Coolest Cars
A black Volkswagen Magotan sedan, seen near Volkswagen’s former China headquarters in Sanlitun District in Beijing. The Magotan is a China-only sedan produced over several generations since 2007. The Magotan in the photo is a first-generation car, which was based on the Volkswagen Passat B6.
Continue reading “Volkswagen Magotan 2.0 TSI On Black Plates In China”
A beautiful black Hawtai Terracan, seen in Beijing in 2016. The big SUV was in a fine shape, with smooth paint, the original wheels, the ultra cool fender mirror, and old period license plates.
A Guangzhou-Honda Odyssey MPV, seen in Beijing in 2016, with Liaoning Province license plates. The good Honda was in a great shape, painted in a classy dark green, with the original wheel covers still on the car.
Continue reading “Second Generation Guangzhou-Honda Odyssey Is A Rare Japanese MPV In China”
I was very happy to find this Dongfeng Yueda Kia Pride hatchback in China. The hatchback is much rarer than the sedan. The Pride was in a fine general shape but it was seemingly abandoned, with the license plates taken off.
Continue reading “Dongfeng Yueda Kia Pride Hatchback In China”
An incredible well-conserved Mercedes-Benz E240, seen in Beijing back in 2016. The great Mercedes was in a perfect shape, painted in a light shade of gold and fitted with the original factory wheel covers.
Continue reading “Mercedes-Benz E240 Is A Golden Oldie In China”
Back in April I wrote about a 4th generation Honda Accord sedan with black 京A·03383 license plates. When digging through my archives I found another and very similar car, with 京A·07472 black license plates.
Continue reading “Fourth Generation Honda Accord Sedan In China With Black Plates – 2”
An almost sinister BMW Z4 sDrive35i, seen in Beijing in 2016. The speedy Bimmer is painted in a very dark shade of black, and further darkened by dark light visors, dark windows, and dark wheels.
Continue reading “BMW Z4 sDrive35i Is Black With An Unlucky License Plate”
A very nice Besturn B30 sedan, seen in Beijing in 2016. The good Besturn was painted in white and fitted with factory-standard sporty five spoke wheels. Besturn was a brand under First Auto Works (FAW). In 2018 the English name changed to Bestune but the Chinese name remained the same (奔腾, Benteng).
Continue reading “The Besturn B30 Is An Unknown Chinese Sedan”
A Fiat Palio 1.3 EDX hatchback, seen in Beijing in 2016. The fine Fiat was in a good shape, with a clean body and with the original wheel covers. The owner had added a very dark kind of window film for extra privacy.
Continue reading “Nanjing-Fiat Palio 1.3 EDX Is A Chinese-Italian Hatchback In China”
A Mercedes-Benz GL63 AMG, seen in Beijing in 2016. The monster SUV has a very special license plate: 京L·92222. This sort of sequences are very rare in China and those who have ‘m do everything to keep ‘m.
Happily, these days license plates numbers are attached to persons and not to cars anymore. So even if the owner sells this Benz, he still keeps the plate and can use it on another car. But why sell? The GL63 AMG is brilliant. Power comes from a twin-turbocharged 5.5 liter V8 engine with an output of 558 hp and 760 Nm. The engine works with a 7-speed automatic, sending horses to all wheels. It seats seven and has a 2500 kilo curb weight, yet in sprints from 0-100 in 4.9 seconds.
Somewhat badly, the Mercedes-Benz GL63 AMG drinks 13 liters per 100 kilometers and that makes it an expensive drive, even in China, where petrol prices are reasonable. The high weight and big engine = high taxes, adding up to a crazy purchase price of 1.98 million yuan in 2014. It is therefore pretty rare in China, and there is only one with 京L·92222.
