About China's Coolest Cars
China has a colorful car wrap culture. Wraps are cheap here and there are zillions of places that can do the job in no time. Over the years I have seen wraps of all color and quality. But a poop brown wrap is rare. Still, it looks rather nice on this Mercedes-Benz C-Class that I saw in Beijing in 2017.
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Volkswagen was a sponsor of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. To celebrate handing over hundreds of millions of dollars to enable exciting sports like weight lifting and volleyball, Volkswagen had dressed up a bunch of New Beetles in arty farty Olympic wraps. The cars were lined up at Volkswagen’s China headquarters in the Sanlitun District in Beijing.
The New Beetle on the first pic came with a somewhat traditional Chinese painting-style tree and flower wrap, combined with a Beijing 2008 Olympics logo and a bar code.
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Three generations Buick GL8 MPV in one shot, seen the Second Ring Road in Beijing. From left to right: third generation, second, and first.
The Buick GL8 is one of the greatest successes for General Motors in China. It was launched in 1999, made in China by the Shanghai-GM joint venture, known today as SAIC GM.
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A flashy Suzuki Alto Happy Prince, seen in central Beijing in 2003. The good Suzuki was slightly modified with a new bonnet, red painted wheels, red mirrors, red light units, a new grille, fake shark fin antennas on the roof, and most of all a load of stickers.
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Back in the great days of 2009 there were regular tuning and dealer shows in the Agricultural Exhibition Center in Beijing. Naturally, I went to each and every one of them. These shows had a very local character and were great fun. These days the Agricultural isn’t used anymore for such low-key events and tuning shows have mostly moved to locations out of town. No matter! Things change. On the first photo a bizarre Spider Man-themed machine, with enclosed wheel arches and a very impressive paint job.
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I have always loved fuzzy factory decals on all sorts of vehicles in China. The best such decals can be found on electric scooters, especially on scooters made in until 2015 or so. Today, somewhat sadly, most Chinese scooter makers have vastly improved their branding efforts. This red Sunra scooter I found in Beijing is fantastically old school decal-wise. It comes with a wild ‘Racing Fast and Furious’ decal on the rear fender.
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A dark blue Volvo 850, seen in the 798 art district in Beijing. The good Volvo was still used as a daily driver and that is always a great thing. It was in a reasonable shape but in dire need of some love and maintenance. The Volvo 850 was manufactured from 1991 until 1997 with a facelift in 1994. Our blue Swede is a facelifted example, with the new grille, bumpers, and alloys.
A poop brown Smart ForTwo, seen in Beijing in 2015. The good Smart was fitted with all-black mirror housings, the typical old-school antenna, and ultra cool Hello Kitty seat covers.
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A Beijing-Jeep Grand Cherokee, seen on the road in Beijing in 2017. The big Jeep was dusty but otherwise in a good shape, and its best part was, without a doubt, the rare white 京·A MWZ-001 license plate.
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A red Volkswagen Polo sedan, seen parked at a charging station in Beijing in 2017. Well, Volkswagen still doesn’t make an electric Polo even today, so we can be sure our red car is in the wrong lot. Happily, it was in a reasonable shape for its years. Paint was fading a bit, some damage here and there, and the original wheel covers were gone. But that’s okay, as black steelies always look great on red cars.
Continue reading “Mk4 Volkswagen Polo Is A Rare Sedan In China”