[isldhn]

Originally Posted by VeluM

+1 to ^

Ultimately it is the product that will be evaluated. And I don't think there are many who'd make "national pride" an issue, since our "Own" Maruti is Suzuki

Well Said!! and +100 to that.
Couple of posts before, someone mentioned about some chinese companies exporting duplicate medicines to Africa. You cannot generalize a few companies misdeeds and make them as a benchmark for your chinese products bashing. There are many ( Lakhs ) of companies making fake brands like - Reebok, Puma, Nike, A&F, Gap etc.in our country itself. You can get all kinds of qualities made from China. Maximium number of products available in the U.S. - be it electronics or clothes etc. are made in south east Asia or China.
Getting back to point, the thing where GM can take advantage from their Chinese venture is- the economies of scale, the Chinese are masters in. They have the capacity to mass produce any product at any given quality parameters. ( Apple, anyone!!)

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by Mpower

BTW, Optra,Aveo and Spark were not old but current products sold in other countries.

Agreed. But these are developed by Daewoo and not Chevy.

Originally Posted by Mpower

belongs to Chinese who? Government?? When are you releasing this top secret information to CNN and BBC

CNN & BBC got more interesting news to cover. Chinese now own 50% of GM India. 50% is a start. Unless GMs fortunes improve drastically in the US, I think they may have to end up selling more that the current 50% to Chinese. BTW, 50% may not be a majority stake but it is enough to exert enough influence in the board/strategy of the GM India. Why do you think SIAC took a 50% stake in GM India? They obviously want to bring their products into India via this route. SIAC won't be sit by and watch GM India sell Korean products given they own 50% of the GM India.

Chevy USA has some great models, not to be confused with the Indian product offering. People tend to look at their India product portfolio with the same glasses, but it is a different product range. In my opinion, if I wanted *American* tag in India, I would stick to Ford, given that their parent in usa is the most stable of the *Big Three* US auto majors.

"A team of workers from the Chinese auto firm, led by a “senior” official, is coming down to India. The “senior” would report to the JV’s board of directors in Hong Kong and not to GM India president and managing director Karl Slym."

Chinese move in at General Motors India - dnaindia.com

Originally Posted by Fillmore

hmm.. how come when they launched the Aveo CNG recently it was their President and Managing Director Karl Slym who came for the launch and not someone from China ?

For now Slym continues, but let us revisit this thread in a year. Do you recall that Lenovo took over IBM's personal computer business? How long did the senior management of IBM continue to run the business or have say in the products? In my view, the chinese are not that silly to take a 50% stake in GM India and allow a weakened GM to run the show. SAIC will be flexing their muscles in GM India.

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

Chevy USA has some great models, not to be confused with the Indian product offering.

In my opinion, if I wanted *American* tag in India, I would stick to Ford, given that their parent in usa is the most stable of the *Big Three* US auto majors.

GM USA has great models none of which are suited for India. The smallest car they manufacture is bigger and heavier than a Corolla and has a 2.2 liter petrol. BTW, the Ford you see in India has nothing American about it.

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

Agreed. But these are developed by Daewoo and not Chevy.

Here's a little secret! Daewoo is much better at developing small cars than GM USA. (at least back 10 years ago) I've done a long trip in a rental 2002 Cavalier and trust me its a P.O.S

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by Mpower

BTW, the Ford you see in India has nothing American about it.

True, but it is still in house Ford Products based on mostly successful European Ford Products. Not re-badged products from a company that is now defunct.

Originally Posted by Mpower

Here's a little secret! Daewoo is much better at developing small cars than GM USA. (at least back 10 years ago) I've done a long trip in a rental 2002 Cavalier and trust me its a P.O.S

Fine, Chevy is not as good at making small cars, but they could have got some cool products from their European arm Opel. It would require some engineering modifications to suit the Indian market like was done on the Focus/Fiesta/Figo. However, the easiest thing to do was to grab the Daewoo product and re-badge it.

To go back to my first posting, I do agree that they have been making some effort lately with good products like the Cruze, etc. But given how long they have been in the Indian market, they have a sorry product portfolio. The biggest concern now is how SAIC will influence the product portfolio. I feel the first kill will be the Tavera as GM no longer owns a stake in Isuzu and it will be replaced by this product from Wuling Knockomotive:
GM India to launch Chinese MPV | Autocar India

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by airbender

Can you please explain how chevy is no longer american?

Chevy's strategy of using chinese products for india is bound to fail. Even though they are rebadged as chevy, customer knows they are chinese products. That's actually going to take the brand value of chevy down. Atleast some indians will have a problem in associating themselves with Chinese cars(i am not talking about commercial vehicles). I think Ford strategy (top to bottom) is working well in India. That's the way to go for any automaker not what chevy is trying. Even Toyota seems to launch sedan first and compact next with Etios.

It is right to say Chevy is not serious about India. Beat(which does not look to be doing good) is the first and only serious product they launched in India(custom made for india) after being here for close to 15 years.

If Beat, a decent nice looking, VFM original chevy car is not doing well, what are the chances of chinese copy cats.

I told specifically that chevrolet in "INDIA" is not american to me. When chevrolet comes to my mind,i have images of caprice classic n suburbans, not korean cars.That's all i meant.

[mxx]

Originally Posted by isldhn

Well Said!! and +100 to that.
Couple of posts before, someone mentioned about some chinese companies exporting duplicate medicines to Africa. You cannot generalize a few companies misdeeds and make them as a benchmark for your chinese products bashing. There are many ( Lakhs ) of companies making fake brands like - Reebok, Puma, Nike, A&F, Gap etc.in our country itself. You can get all kinds of qualities made from China. Maximium number of products available in the U.S. - be it electronics or clothes etc. are made in south east Asia or China.
Getting back to point, the thing where GM can take advantage from their Chinese venture is- the economies of scale, the Chinese are masters in. They have the capacity to mass produce any product at any given quality parameters. ( Apple, anyone!!)

Everyone confuses between chinese engineered and chinese manufactured(read assembled) products.
The brands that you mentioned here and almost all electronics brand are manufactured/assembled in china. They are engineered somewhere else and thses brands go thru a stringent QC process. And that is what makes a difference. Eg: try using a ipod and ipod look alike made in china, u will find the difference. ]
There is occasional ZTE, Huwai but these are not easy to find. I used to buy thinkpad, which is very bad in quality after chinese takeover that i have switched to HP. Even my regular dealer advises against it because he receives too many complaints.
It is not about national pride. None of the companies here except tata and mahindra in Indian, yet we buy their stuff.

Back to the topic.
If GM manufactures a car in China, and sells it, it will be good because it goes thru GM QC.
But chinese engineered stuff, that is suspect.

Now please dont think this is all hypothesis or suspicion.
I have seen the chinese cars sold in middle east. I know people who use it. Almost all cars are clones of some foreign manufacturer. And it is unreliable and terribly unsafe(reason why you wont find many chinese cars in US & europe). Even in accidents at relatively small speeds that damage to the passenger shell is too much, I even know an engineer who said he will walk rather than go in chinese cars after he met with an accident in a Hover CUV(his construction site company vehicle) because he was lucky to escape with minor injury.

Now for some entertainment , check out chinese clones
Can China Conquer Detroit with its Cheap Car Clones

[Gansan]

Did someone say 50% of all products we use in everyday life are Chinese made? Well, I look around me and see barely 5%. I see just the peripherals / parts of my PC and my mobile handset. But they are brands with their own reputation, R&D and QC, with just the mfg facility in China. I am not yet ready to buy an exclusive Chinese brand, leave alone one that masquerades as an American one! They have a long way to go to catch up with Indian made goods.

In our minds Chinese products = cheap rip offs. Read toys, battery cells etc, which we are better off keeping away from the hands of our kids. And not to forget chappals that turn the wearer's skin in to rainbow hues and peels it off.