PhilGreenspun is talking about the possibility of chinese made cars (an order of magnitude cheaper than current prices) hitting America.
Here : http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2003/06/20#a463
Continues here : http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2003/09/28#a2323
with a link to this article : http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/28/magazine/28ARCHINT.html
Updates :
-
in Brazil : http://carsale.uol.com.br/Novosite/revista/noticias/materia.asp?idnoticia=6097
-
Mexico imports from China : http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/03/would-you-purchase-a-made-in-china-electric-vehicle-on-blue-light-special.php?dcitc=TH_sbr_cars
-
India got there first? : CheapIndianCars
CheapBrasilianCars? Extreme automation in Brazil : (AutomatingMechanicalJobs http://info.detnews.com/video/index.cfm?id=1189 (AutomatingMechanicalJobs means that labour costs are less important than proximity to customers)
CCCs will be electric : http://marshallbrain.blogspot.com/2005/06/cheap-electric-cars-from-china.html
On the US trade defecit with China : http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/FF22Ad06.html
The article makes some nice points about the CambrianExplosion going on in the Chinese automotive industry. And the promiscuous sharing of knowledge and parts :
*Adding to the chaos is that Chinese businesses are rarely stand-alone entities -- so intertwined are many companies, including direct competitors, that it can be hard to tell where one firm begins and another ends. This produces an extremely idiosyncratic industry that baffles and surprises even the most sophisticated foreign companies. VW, for example, found its parts in a domestic rival's cars. G.M. is currently investigating a Chinese manufacturer that released a subcompact car this summer for $6,000 that looks suspiciously like a $9,000 model of their own. China's car industry is like a potluck supper where everyone's technology is sampled by everyone else. So by the time a Chinese car lands here, it may well include features from all the world's top car and parts makers. *
(Also : GlobalProcessNetworkManagement)
Photos from inside chinese toy factory : http://www.mazm.com/2007/09/19/38.toys-manufacture-in-china-25-pics.html
April 2005 : UK looks for Chinese buyer of car company : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/vote_2005/frontpage/4429663.stm
December 2005 : Chines car exports excede imports : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4502098.stm
http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/12/07/crunchgear-in-china-the-factory/
Meanwhile, in the west : http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/23/business/23auto.html?hp&ex=1143176400&en=10c6201d3bba1520&ei=5094&partner=homepage
See also ShanZhai, LowRoad, ClassWarBetweenProductsAndServices, OnChina, WorldMarketPrice, CardboardBikes, OffShoring,ChineseCreativity