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It is amazing to see how many small factories and workshops have developed cross-country vehicles in the 1950 and 1960s. I wrote already about them: “Jeeps made before the production of the BJ212.”
But it stopped not after the introduction of the BJ212. That was in 1966, at the beginning of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.
I will show you here some of the more exotic cross country vehicles made during and just after the Cultural Revolution.

Continue reading “Jeeps made after the production start of the Beijing BJ212.”

This is the history of the Dandong Auto Works.

The Andong Automobile Refit Works had the guts to make a copy of one of China’s most important cars: the Dongfeng CA71 made by the First Auto Works. It was chairman Mao Zedong himself who had ordered the design and production of the Dongfeng and Mao personally sat in the backseat of the first car on  May 21, 1958.

Continue reading “The Andong car.”

Our research is most often a success, this is a story of a failure. Till today I am unable to solve the problem I am going to describe here.

I showed you some time ago the products exhibition in 1959 of the Nanjing Auto Works. I wrote about the two cars present: a clear copy of the Russian GAZ M20 Pobeda and an American style sedan.

Continue reading “The Mystery car from Nanjing.”

During the late 1970s Shanghai Auto Works worked in two directions: developing a successor for its SH760/SH760A saloon and filling in the gap between the Shanghai saloon and the Hongqi limousine.
We have seen already the bigger models (SH762/SH763) developed during the Cultural Revolution.

This story is about  the Shanghai SH771, according my opinion a wonderful project which flirted with the Mercedes Benz W116 S-Klasse (1972-1980). Continue reading “The Chinese Mercedes S-Klasse”

The history of the factory with the proud name “Chengdu Auto Works” goes back to September 1970, when there is a small reel in Renmin Ribao (People’s Daily): “Chengdu 120 lorries are being made in Chengdu”. The Cultural Revolution is there, what that means for the automobile industry we have decribed before.

Continue reading “The Morris Ital Made in China.”

In the early years of the 21st century Chery is a rapidly growing company. Chery shows SUV, MPV, sedan, van, so many concepts of different models. Including a larger sedan, via Italy a picture comes to China and arrives at my desk. It is the Chery F11 concept, a slim car design done by Pininfarina.

The photo has been taken at the roof of the Pininfarina design studios, and somehow it escaped the secrecy. The car has a fancy German license plate and an unknown logo.  There is nothing known about engine, details etc. I don’t even know if it has an engine, or that you can ride it.

Continue reading “Meeting mr. Yin Tongyao.”

At least four projects were undertaken by FAW (First Auto Works) to develop a small family car. Well, to be exactly it was either FAW itself or the Changchun Research Institute, which functioned as the research and development department of FAW.

Continue reading “Four attempts to make a Hongqi family car.”

In the early years of the twentieth century there were a lot of factories that made car chassis and engines. These chassis and engines were exported to other countries where local bodybuilders assembled and finished these automobiles.

The International Concession in Shanghai city was an important place where several body builders were settled.

Continue reading “The Shanghai Horse Bazaar and Motor Company Limited”

In June 1958 Beijing First Automobile Accessory Works surprised with the introduction of the quite modern Jinggangshan, a Volkswagen Beetle-based rear-engined car.

Deng Xiaoping meets the first Jinggangshan, June 1958. Chinese press photo. 

Continue reading “A second Jinggangshan prototype?”

 

The oldest automobile show in China I know is the exhibition organised by the National Good Road Association of China in Shanghai, September 1931.

Continue reading “Early Exhibitions with Chinese automobiles.”