Month: December 2017

The Story Of Sanxing Part 1: History & Background

The Story Of Sanxing
Sanxing Mitsubishi Pajero V6 (V31).

This the first part of the Story of Sanxing, about an almost forgotten company that made a crazy selection of cars, including the Dodge Caravan, the Mitsubishi Pajero, the Mercedes-Benz MB100, and a range of Daihatsu-based trucks.

Sanxing Auto was based in the great city of Zhanjiang in Guangdong Province. They were the Big Thing for a while, visited by big wits from China and abroad. But then it all went wrong due to politics and rivalries between Guangdong and Beijing. Their cars are virtually unknown today, descending into anonymity. This series of articles will bring them back.

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Li Shufu, mr. Geely, and the first car he made; a Mercedes Benz!

Li Shufu’s first car was not a Daihatsu Charade copy but a Mercedes-Benz!
Read here how mr. Li started with taking photos of tourists with a Seagull camera to end up as the owner of five car manufacturers.

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The Nushen JB6500 Is A Chinese Chevrolet Lumina APV Copy With A Chrysler Engine

Nusheng JB6500

This is not a Chevrolet Lumina. This is a Nushen JB6500. And it has a Chrysler engine under the bonnet.

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Chinese Car Brands That Time Forgot: Chengdu Shanlu

Today in Chinese Car Brands That Time Forgot (CCBTTF™): Chengdu Shanlu, a  brand so unknown that most of my period catalogs don’t even mention it. The brand made a series of wagons and pickup trucks in the early 1990’s. Car on the first picture is a Shanlu CJY 6420B.

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Chinese Car Brands That Time Forgot: Shijiazhuang Automobile Works – Zhengtian

Shijiazhuang Automobile Works
Photo by Erik van Ingen Schenau

Today in Chinese Car Brands That Time Forgot (CCBTTF™): Zhengtian, a fascinating brand that made a series of station wagons and pickup trucks in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.

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The BJ6490 – A Chinese made Holden Commodore

There are some things that we just never expect to say or hear. Although there were rumours a few years ago the next generation Holden Commodore would be produced in China, that never came to fruition, it would not have been the first time a Commodore was made in the People’s Republic. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the BJ6490. Did I mention there was also an electric version?  AND a hybrid version? Read on!

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All The Audi 100-based Hongqi Parade Cars From China

Hongqi Parade Cars

A Hongqi CA7202 A9E3L2 Century Star parade car, painted in a beautiful shade of red. The parade car is based on the Hongqi CA7202 Century Star sedan, which in turn was based on the C3 Audi 100.

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About the cars made by Great Wall: a history before their official history.

This is the rear of car which looks like a Toyota Crown S130 but which is in fact a Great Wall CC1020s!


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Jeep identified after 37 years: the Wuqi products from the Beijing PLA 3401 Factory.

In 1980 the Englishman Oliver Barnham travelled through China and took pictures of every local made vehicle he could find. He took pictures of a BJ212-style jeep in Chonqging and Shanghai.
Both cars had military plates.

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Spotted in China: Tianjin Sanfeng TJ6481AJQ3

Today we have a Tianjin Sanfeng TJ6481AJQ3, living out its remaining days as someone’s house in Yinchuan. The once pretty Sanfeng was in a very sorry state with all sorts of patchwork repairs to keep it watertight. Continue reading “Spotted in China: Tianjin Sanfeng TJ6481AJQ3”