Digging for News on the China Automotive Market
May 15, 2012 Automotive News
image by BASF – The Chemical Company
Digging for News on the China Automotive Market –
Article by Brian Hager
So where should you go when you want news and insight on the China automotive industry?
Actually, there are several good news sites focused exclusively on China automobile makers, the China auto parts industry, and the local consumer markets. Not a big surprise when you think about the size and growth rate of the China auto sector.
We’ve listed several of the more prominent sites here and tried to highlight a few of the ways that they differ from each other. China Car TimesGasgoo Auto NewsGo China AutoChina Automotive ReviewAutomotive News China
China Car Times (http://www.chinacartimes.com) has been up since 2006 and is one of the larger English-language sites to focus on the China Auto industry. It provides daily news, covers new model launches, industry trends, and industry events. It also has a neat little section titled Spy Shots, which shows photos of the latest cars spotted on the roads in China. The site also has a decent little section with statistics.
The Gasgoo news section (http://autonews.gasgoo.com/) is fairly comprehensive as well. Gasgoo is targeted more toward importers and exporters of car parts and its main business is to try and help primarily China suppliers hook up with buyers. However, that doesn’t take away from the fact that it puts up some good industry news, blogs, interviews, and commentary on the China auto industry.
Go China Auto (http://www.gochinaauto.com) is a typical content site with China industry news pulled from a variety of sources and statistics from the China government. However, there is also an interesting blog with a nice view of the auto sector from the local China perspective.
A site that has been around quite a bit longer and originated with print publications is the China Automotive Review (http://www.chinaautoreview.com). It’s been publishing weekly newsletters since 1995, has a monthly 4-color magazine, and organizes international conferences on the auto industry. The site is less elegant visually but is very content rich and a good source of news, insight and statistics.
One more site you may want to glance at is Automotive News China (http://www.autonewschina.com). The site looks to built around its weekly newsletter covering domestic China automakers that export as well as the parts industry in China. It includes commentary and opinion as well as covers government regulations.
If you think we’ve missed one of the big sites (or you think your site should be listed), please add your suggestions to the comments section below.
For auto parts manufacturers, search here: http://www.tradesparq.com/user_search.php?keywords=auto%20parts&search=all
Tags: Automotive, China, Digging, Market, News
Ralph Gilles’ Talk at Automotive News World Congress 2011
Feb 23, 2012 Automotive News
Excerpts of speech by Ralph Gilles, President /CEO Dodge Brand & Senior VP Product Design Chrysler Group at the Automotive News World Congress, Jan. 12, 2011.
Tags: 2011, Automotive, Congress, Gilles', News, Ralph, Talk, World
Recent movie pictures with movie news – Cars 2
Feb 13, 2012 Cars The Movie
Pixar has another winner with upcoming movie “Cars 2.” “Cars”, the 2006 model from Pixar, is considered by movie news to be one of its best efforts and it seems that director John Lasseter has gone a couple of steps further to make “Cars 2″ even better. Animated characters Lightning McQueen and pick-up truck Mater have left Radiator Springs and have joined the Grand Prix circuit in this new movie. The “friends” go around the world on the circuit and get involved in some international intrigue. The cars in “Cars 2″ are plenty sweeter than the cars in “Fast Five,” and new movierelease “Cars 2″ runs more smoothly than a lot of Pixar’s recent moviepictures. This movie is going to do well both at home and internationally.
This sequel just fine on its own and it’s not necessary to see the first movie to understand the second.
Lasseter is a car fancier and uses the international locations to add all sorts of vintage cars to the show from an Aston Martin to an East German Trabant. He also dresses up Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower and the end credits to the movie. Lasseter manages to have something special or beautiful to look at in every scene and to listen to as well.
Co-directors Brad Lewis and Dan Fogelman, along with Lasseter, and screenwriter Ben Queen, have come up with a story that’s simple but not too simple. The movie begins on the ocean and is full of scary oil rigs and British spies, Finn McMissile (Michael Caine’s interpretation of an Aston Martin), and Holley Shiftwell, a Miata-type car voiced by Emily Mortimer.
These “cars” use their special enhancements like wings and weapons to make a nighttime escape from the sea.
Back in the desert, red car Lightning McQueen, voiced by Owen Wilson, is hanging out with buddy tow-truck Mater, voiced by Larry the Cable Guy. Here Lightning is talked into entering some races where a Land Rover named Sir Miles Axelrod, voiced by Eddie Izzard, plans to prove that his clean fuel called Allinol is a good substitute for gas. There are loads of jokes here: verbal, visual, and musical.
The first international scene takes place in Tokyo. Cars are involved in sumo wrestling here and the lights of Ginza are extraordinarily bright. The lights (Pixar makes them preternaturally bright to make up for the dimming effect of 3D glasses) are so bright you’ll be glad for your 3D glasses.
In Paris, Les Halles is a spare parts marketplace, you’ll see Gusteau’s from Ratatouille, and the tops of the Eiffel Tower, and the Arch de Triomphe are re-imagined. Mater is back after returning home after Tokyo and his laugh can get pretty old and take over the film a bit.
Then on to Porto Corsa, Italy: it tends to look like a Monaca if it were a theme park. Francesco, the Italian champ voiced by John Turturro, plans to run over Lightning McQueen and Mater, in disguise, plans to get in with a bunch of Euro cars who are going to discredit Allinol so as to keep oil markets high. You’ll get the message.
