Fiat News

Fiat's cute little 500 is taking aim at the Mini Clubman wagon with its own “estate” version expected to be released in 2010.

Australian car-makers have never quite grasped that many of us no longer live on quarter-acre blocks with white picket palisades in suburbs straight from Neighbours.But style, luxury, comfort and even performance needn't be sacrificed at the altar of practicality or forsaken in the pursuit of greenness.Only a decade ago, Volkswagen's Golf was considered a small car, but the current model is quite big enough for a family mobile.Beneath that, there's an emerging class of diminutive but dynamically pleasing, usefully spacious and (of increasing importance) eco-friendly city cars.It's the segment that shows less in terms of horsepower really can be more in terms of liveability and sustainability. In terms of luxury, too: you can downsize but up-spec - and cut quite a figure when you do.When a car weighs not much more than a tonne, low fuel consumption and low emissions are pretty much guaranteed.The Citroen C2 and C3 won't win any traffic-light derbies, but they do tick both those green boxes and the less tangible - but just as important - one marked “style”.In terms of reliability, it's said there's no such thing as French without tears, but it's hard not to be enamoured of the chic siblings.Our selections would be the C2 VTS with 1.6-litre petrol engine or the C3 Hdi with super-frugal, 1.6-litre turbo diesel (both from $23,990).The latter variant would also be the overwhelmingly popular choice in Paris.Italy gave the world the original city car, designed to provide affordable personal transport while being able to park on a postage stamp. It was the Fiat 500.The reborn, and instantly iconic, Fiat 500 fulfils that brief as a chunk of retro chic that's also fun to drive.Our choice is the top-spec Lounge variant, priced from $25,990 with a perky 1.4-litre petrol engine mated to a six-speed manual. If the 500 doesn't raise a smile, you probably don't like sunny days, either.There's also the option of a robotised manual transmission with auto-drive mode. It dispenses with both a clutch pedal and the emission spikes that occur when you change ratios in a conventional gearbox.And, with seven airbags, the ESP-equipped top models in the 500 range have better crash-safety credentials than a Falcodore.The Honda Jazz has been around longer than any other car mentioned here but, in several respects, it remains the benchmark for city cars.Honda's build quality is world-leading; the Jazz's space, practicality and economy are class-leading.Although a small engine combines best with a manual gearbox, it's equally true that changing gears for yourself is a dying art.So try the range-topping VTi-S with continuously variable transmission and 1.5-litre powerplant at $22,920.In the next-size-up Civic range, Honda offers a petrol/electric model which has been submerged beneath the decidedly eco-unfriendly mountain of print devoted to Toyota's Prius.The Civic Hybrid ($32,990) is massively cheaper than the Prius and at least looks like a car rather than a self-conscious eco-statement.Anyone who equates Hyundai with its old $13,990 drive-away-then-chuck-it-away days is labouring under a mighty misapprehension.The new Hyundai i30 has won car-of-the-year awards both here and in Europe (where this, the best car ever built in Korea, was designed).The 1.6-litre diesel-powered models take it up to just about any supposedly more prestigious European equivalent you care to name.The name of our preferred variant, the SX CRDi (from $21,490, plus $1500 for the safety pack) is the only clunky thing about it.More Australians spent their own money on a Mazda3 last year than on any other car. It's the fourth-best seller overall but, unlike the top three, there are no fleet sales among them.Sales-wise, the newer, next-size-down Mazda2 will run its bigger brother close this year. And so it should, being, if anything, an even more convincing package.Diminutive in stance but capacious within, cute to the eye but perhaps the best-driving car here, tolerably rapid but easy on fuel and easy to park, the Mazda2 Maxx (from $18,710) is the ideal city car. Nor will it fall short when freeway trips are required.Frankly, it's brilliant - and a cheaper, lighter, more efficient coupe version will arrive in Australia shortly.Look out also for the Peugeot 107, due mid-year. It will slot under the 207's entry-level ask of $19,990.If you remember the Top Gear episode in which a game of five-a-side football was played using Toyota Aygos, the 107 is the same car, made in the same factory, but with different badges.Actually, it's cars like the 107 and the Fiat 500 that make us look askance at Smart's ForTwo (from $19,990).Yes, it's very clever, but Sydney isn't yet Turin, despite the epic ineptitude of the RTA and our Roads Minister.Besides, you've got an allocated parking space downstairs. So why go without a boot and back seats?Toyota's Yaris shows how a small car can fit a family, although you really need to ignore the base models and go straight to the YRX (from $20,790).Of course, it's the Prius that gets all the attention in Toyota's range; as such, it's the world's most successful automotive marketing exercise.Granted, the hybrid-powered Prius uses staggeringly little petrol in the city, but on the open road we'd take a diesel such as Volkswagen's Polo Match TDI ($22,990). 

Fiat is making the most of its biggest moment since returning to Australia, with the new 500 named as car of the Australian Grand Prix Celebrity Challenge. Thirty-two of the instantly recognisable baby cars will be fitted out for the annual novelty event, in which more cars finish in the kitty litter than over the line.But with the Australian allocation sold out four months beyond the March launch date, the racing 500s will be readapted for road use and sold.Fiat has released full pricing and specification for its instantly famous 500 baby car three months ahead of its local launch.Prices start from $22,990 for the 51kW 1.2-litre petrol model with five-speed manual transmission, rising to $29,990 for the 74kW 1.4-litre petrol with the Dualogic robotised manual.ABS brakes with electronic brake distribution are standard, but not ESP, except on the 1.4-litre cars. These models also get anti-slip regulation, hill holder and brake assist.Then we get to the three trim levels — Pop, Sport and Lounge — and the 17 main options.These are combined with a choice of three engines (apart from the petrol units there is a 1.3-litre turbo diesel, all of which meet Euro V emission standards) and three transmissions (the five- and six-speed manual or the five-speed Dualogic).With such a bewildering array of (mainly cosmetic) embellishments, buyers can personalise their 500s to a Mini Cooper-like degree. Indeed, Fiat has said that it's unlikely any two pieces of this post-modernist motor will be precisely identical.A sell-out success in Europe, this modernised homage to the original 1957 Fiat 500 combines a light kerb weight of less than 1100kg with modest but willing engines. The 1.2 makes 100km/h from standing in a fairly glacial claimed time of 12.5 seconds, but achieves combined-cycle fuel consumption of 5.1 litres per 100km.The 1.4 petrol is a tad thirstier and does it in 10.5 seconds, using 6.3-litres, while the diesel gets there in 11.5 seconds and uses 4.2 litres.Despite its air of novelty, a brief drive on a recent European trip showed carsguide the 500 is a proper car and one that promises to be both a practical urban conveyance and fun to drive. SnapshotFiat 500Price: from $22,990Engines: 1.2L/4-cylinder; 1.4L/4-clyinder petrol; 1.3L/4-cylinder turbo dieselEconomy: 5.1L/100km (1.2); 6.3 (1.4); 4.2 (1.3)Transmission: 5- or 6-speed manual, or 5-speed Dualogic 

The new model sits above the Fiat Punto providing the Italian car maker with a second model in the important and lucrative small car category.Fiat will also launch the turbocharged version of the Punto Sport at the show.David Stone, general manager for Fiat Cars in Australia, said the Brisbane International Motor Show marked the “coming of age” for Fiat's return to the Australia market.“The Ritmo is our move into a market sector that is becoming increasingly important in the Australian market premium and prestige small cars,” he said.Ritmo comes with ABS, stability control, remote central locking, four airbags, electric front windows, CD player, power steering and Follow Me Home headlamps in the Emotion trim level.The Sport version adds dual zone climate air, cruise control, Bluetooth, sports seats, alloy wheels and a body kit.Pricing will be announced at the show.It is powered by a choice of petrol and diesel engines. The 110kW 1.4 litre T-Jet turbocharged petrol engine is the first example of a new family of turbocharged petrol units developed by Fiat Powertrain Technologies.The T-Jet engine offers an over boost button on the centre console in Sport versions and deliver 230Nm at 3000rpm, giving it a 0-100kmh acceleration time of 8.2 seconds.At the same time, Fiat claims fuel economy figures of 7.1L/100 km in the combined cycle and restrict CO2 emissions to 167g/km. Ritmo also comes with a 110kW 1.9 litre JTD turbo diesel with 305Nm of torque at 2000rpm.Fiat claims a 0-100kmh time of 9.0 seconds and fuel consumption of less than 5.6 litres in the combined cycle. These engines are mated to six-speed manual gearboxes with a Dualogic self-shifting gearbox later in the year for the 1.4L T-Jet.The new Fiat Ritmo was created in just 18 months from design freeze to production, using Computer Aided Design Computer Aided Engineering systems.This meant its development was almost entirely achieved through virtual analysis and engineering.Fiat claims this led to consistent build quality, driving dynamics and low noise, vibration and harshness levels.Ritmo has recorded a maximum 5-star rating for adult occupant protection in the Euro NCAP crash test programme, three stars for child protection and two for pedestrian protection. 

The Italian small car boasts a 0-100km/h sprint time of just 8.9 seconds, making it the fastest little Fiat here, until the Abarth arrives midyear. But if you can't wait that long, the T-Jet offers performance and economy, says Fiat. The more aggressive Abarth will also feature a 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine that offers 116kW of power and 206Nm of torque (230Nm on over boost) which, with a six-speed manual gearbox, will sprint from zero to 100km/h in 8.2 seconds. Fiat Australia general manager David Stone says the 1.4-litre T-Jet is the engine of the future. “The highly efficient 1.4 gains a turbocharger to produce power and torque levels the equivalent of a two-litre engine,” he says. Fiat is claiming the Punto Turbo Sport is one of the quickest and one of the most economical sub-$30,000 hot hatches. The low-pressure turbo 1.4-litre engine ups the power from 57kW to 90kW and torque from 115Nm to 206Nm. Fiat says 200Nm is on tap from 1700rpm. But the engine needs just 6.6 litres of petrol to cover 100km while emissions are 155g/km. The turbocharged five-speed manual car has not gained much weight, according to the manufacturer, helping performance, economy and keeping the little Fiat's good road manners intact. The Punto T-Jet will slot into the Fiat range beneath the range-topping Sport 1.9 JTD turbodiesel, with similar equipment levels. Among the features are ABS brakes, stability control, a hill holder, 17in alloy wheels, colour-coded body kit, sports seats, a leather-trimmed sports steering wheel and gear shifter. The T-Jet also gets sports-tuned suspension, power steering, power windows, power mirrors, cruise control, airconditioning and remote central locking. Mr Stone believes the addition of the T-Jet gives the Punto range a car to suit a wide variety of buyers. “Each power unit offers its own blend of performance, economy and purchase price to offer buyers of small cars the ability to tailor a Punto to their own particular budget and motoring needs,” he says. “Whichever Punto they buy, they will own a car with benchmark safety, superb good looks and a small car that has something only a Fiat can offer - Italian soul.” The Fiat Punto Sport T-Jet will carry a $25,990 price tag and deliveries start today  

The choice of such models will steadily increase over the next 18 months as the effects of stringent new emissions laws and environmental initiatives spur a spate of new arrivals from Europe and Asia. Nissan's Micra will be joined in the next few months by the newest Smart Fortwo and Fiat's already iconic 500.They are likely to be meet competition later in 2008 or in early 2009 in the form of Suzuki's sub-Swift-sized Splash and possibly the Peugeot 107, which is identical under the skin to Toyota's Aygo.As for Kia's Picanto, which in Europe has been compared favourably to mainstays such as Fiat's Panda, the Korean manufacturer will consider importing if a business case can be made.The good news, for both carbuyers and for environmentalists, is that these new models combine in varying degrees practicality and economy. And even a degree of luxury.All weigh less than a tonne, are not much more than 3.5m in length and can stay well below 10 litres per 100km in urban conditions for which they were received.In Sydney, Smart cars, when they're seen at all, are usually towing advertising hoardings. Visit any major western European city — in particular Italy — and you'll see not only the Smart, but a range of tiny commuter mobiles that are cheap, affordable and emission light.In the traffic maelstrom of Rome, where a Golf-size parking space is rarer than a slow Italian driver, light cars are almost the only vehicles that make sense. Indeed, production at the factory making the new Fiat 500 has been doubled to meet demand for the acclaimed compact.And as our traffic conditions deteriorate, the local allocation of 500s might not meet demand. Light cars have evolved rapidly recently, says Edward Rowe of Ateco Autmotive, which imports the Fiat and the slightly bigger Citroen C2.“You now have a car that people want to own, one with badge appeal, in addition to needing to own,” he says.“That's the very clever blend of the 500. It's got the visual appeal and cuteness but real substance with that. A five-star NCAP crash rating is better than any Australian-made full-size car.”While buyers are already less interested in big family cars, pressures beyond the marketplace are paving the road for light cars.Having wasted no time in signing the Kyoto Protocol, the Federal Government has promised to set up a $500 million fund to attract investment for Australia to produce environmentally-friendly cars. To be introduced from 2011, the Green Car Innovation Fund aims to generate $2billion worth of investment to manufacture low-emission vehicles in Australia, the automotive industry being asked to match a $500 million government contribution on a one-to-three basis.And last week, President George Bush signed a bill raising fuel efficiency standards for the first time since 1975 in a bid to cut US reliance on oil. The bill requires the automotive industry to reduce fuel consumption in most cars and light trucks by 40per cent, raising the fuel efficiency standard to 15km per litre by 2020.Rowe says to expect a “flock of 1.4-litre” engines, petrol and diesel, such as the twin-charged unit in Volkswagen's Golf GT Sport.“Engine size has become irrelevant,” Rowe says, “look at the power.”Their hands were forced by the Euro 5-emission standard and prestige marques are also embracing the “less is more” aspect with cars that, if not as diminutive as the Fiat, are considerably smaller than any yet seen from Alfa Romeo and Audi.The three-door Alfa Junior sporty supermini will reach us in 2009. Designed by Centro Stile Alfa Romeo, the design is inspired by the 8C Competizione. The Junior will feature a 110kW turbocharged petrol engine.“People are under the impression that this is a new Alfasud,” Rowe says. “It's a size under that, closer to the VW Polo.”Audi's A1, seen in concept form at the Toyko Motor Show, is “definitely” on Audi Australia's wish list, spokeswoman Anna Burgdorf says.One motorist already enjoying the value of a light car is Peggy Polias. She bought a Smart Fortwo a year ago.“I just thought they were really cute and fun and I don't want to spend too much on petrol,” she says. “I like how tiny it is and it's just really fun, it's nippy and really handy for urban driving.”Averaging about 500km on a tank, the 26-year-old only has to visit a petrol station once every three weeks and spends about $40 to refuel.Polias acknowledges she could have bought a car with a lot more space and seats for the $22,700 price tag she paid.And while she looked at other cars, such as the Honda Jazz and Toyota Corolla, she decided the extra space wasn't something she really needed.“I don't drive with other people much and the savings I get with petrol seem to outweigh it, especially if I stick to the car for a while.”

A hectic 2007 proved to be lucrative for the car industry with a plethora of new cars launched and more than a million sales throughout the year. And there's no indication that it will be slowing down in 2008.AUDI The new A4, to rival the 3 Series and C-Class is expected here about April, while July will see the hot sports wagon, the RS6 Avant and the A3 Cabrio. Extra A5 variants will follow. BMWBMW has a busy year ahead, starting with the 320d and 335i touring this month. The 1 Series Coupe will go on sale around April, followed by the convertible in May-June. But its big one for the year will be the new X6 Sports Activity Coupe, arriving between July and September. It comes with three engine variants, all twin-turbo, an in-line six, a 3.0-litre diesel and a 300kW 4.4-litre V8. Pricing is expected to start at just under $100,000. And the X5 scores a new engine in February, with the first variable twin turbo diesel offered in the range. CHRYSLER/JEEPJanuary will be a busy month for Chrysler, with the Sebring Cabrio and Grand Voyager people mover both arriving in Australia. The Jeep Cherokee will also get a total makeover. CITROENBased on the C4 Picasso, but bigger and better equipped, Citroen will introduce the Berlingo van between July and September, with a mainly diesel range. This will make room in the line-up for the new Nemo small van mid-year. The C5 will also get a new V6 diesel engine.FERRARIDeliveries of the exquisite F430 Scuderia, priced at about $550,000, will start mid year. Only about 40 will come to Australia and New Zealand. FIAT The reincarnation of the 1960s Bambino will arrive in March, but Fiat has already sold the first four months' supply. The new Fiat 500 will have three engine choices, a 1.2-litre petrol, a 75kW 1.4-litre petrol engine or a 56kW 1.3-litre turbo diesel. Pricing is expected to start from $22,000. The new Ritmo will join the Fiat 500 in March with pricing from $30,000. FORD One of the biggest launches for the year will be the new Falcon. Ford will release details of the new model in February and it's expected to be followed by an unveiling at the Melbourne motor show in the same month, with the official launch around May.FPV FPV will start the year with a new model, the hot turbo Territory, known as the F6 X model. It's the first non-Falcon model from FPV, with 270kW and 550Nm. The FPV Falcon range will also arrive this year. HOLDEN/CADILLACWith Ford's big year planned, you can't expect Holden to keep quiet. But so far, Holden has only announced it is expecting the VE Sportwagon, due in the first half of the year. GM-Holden is also introducing Cadillac with the first model due late in 2008. HONDA Honda will start the year with the new Accord model, due to be launched in February. The small Jazz is also getting an update after the middle of the year. Details on the new generation will be released closer to the launch. The Accord Euro is also expected to arrive later this year. HYUNDAI No big launches just yet, although an upgraded Sonata is expected mid year. JAGUARJaguar's major release for the year will be the new XF in June, with pricing expected to start from $105,000. It will be available in a V6 diesel, as well as a V6 and V8 petrol. KIAPreviewed at the Sydney motor show last year, Kia will launch its new seven-seater Rondo crossover in February. It is expected to start from as low as the mid-$20,000 mark. LEXUSNew for Lexus will be the LX570 around April or May, followed by the IS-F towards the end of the year. Details still to come. MAZDAThe second-generation Mazda6 will go on sale at the end of February with pricing from less than $30,000. It will be powered by a 2.5-litre, four cylinder engine, with 125kW and 226Nm.MERCEDES-BENZThe first arrival for Mercedes-Benz is expected to be the C 63 AMG in mid March. It will be followed by the S 320CDI, priced at $189,874 and the C-Class wagon, which will carry a $3000 premium over the sedan, coming in just under $60,000. MINIAnother new version of a 1960s cult car is also headed our way, with the Mini Clubman launched in February. The modern successor of the Morris Mini Traveller, the Austin Mini Countryman and the Mini Clubman Estate won't get into showrooms until March or April. Pricing will start in the mid-$30,000 area. MITSUBISHIMitsubishi will release two turbocharged Lancers this year. The top-level Lancer Evo X GSR will be here in April and sell for about $58,000. The 2.0-litre four cylinder turbo engine pumps out 200kW and 422Nm. Joining it will be the detuned version in the Ralliart all-wheel drive, at about $40,000. NISSANNissan's first addition for the year will be the all-wheel-drive wagon, the Dualis. Starting at $28,990 and stretching to $35,990, it's powered by a 102kW, 2.0-litre engine. PEUGEOTThe big launch for Peugeot will be the 308 replacing the 307 range, which will start with the 308 hatch in February in both petrol and diesel guises. The touring will follow in June or July, with the 308cc model a prospect for late 2008 or early 2009. PROTONProton has announced the Persona, based on the Gen2 hatch platform, will make its debut at the Melbourne motor show in late February, going on sale in March. It will be priced around the mid-teens. The Gen2 will also get engine updates and minor styling changes. RENAULTThe all-new Laguna will go on sale mid-year with a 2.0-litre diesel engine. SAABJune sees the arrival of the Turbo X AWD. SSANGYONGThe South Korean company will go completely diesel in 2008, with no more petrol engines on offer in Australia. SMARTThe new Fortwo arrives in Australia in February. The one-model brand will get both the 52kW and 62kW models, in hatch and cabrio, being bigger than the current models. SUBARUThe star WRX STi comes in February with a 2.5-litre turbocharged engine, although pricing is still to come. The third generation Forester arrives in March. SUZUKIFebruary's proving to be a busy month, with Suzuki also launching its Grand Vitara diesel. TOYOTAAfter a big year in 2007, Toyota is expecting a quiet year, with only the TRD Hilux due to be launched in April-June. VOLKSWAGENVolkswagen will kick off the year with the SUV, the Touareg R50, to be released in April. It's powered by a 258kW V10 TDI engine. The Tiguan also arrives about October.  VOLVOThe recently launched XC70 arrives in showrooms this month, joined by the C30 diesel also in January. It's priced at $43,950. A base model C30 will also enter the line-up, at $34,450. A 3.0-litre six-cylinder engined V70 will arrive in March. 

In the city of Wuhu, China, on the Yangtze River, more than 25,000 blue-uniformed workers are busy churning out cars for Chery Automobile. As they motor through double shifts using the latest imported technology, they're also helping to change the dynamics of the global car industry.Barely a decade after it was founded, state-owned Chery has emerged as China's largest independent vehicle maker; and one that is determined to compete against the world's automobile giants.“In the beginning, no one had confidence in us,” says Yin Tongyao, Chery's chairman and general manager, in a rare interview. Now, he says, “we are looking globally for markets.”The tale of Chery's improbable rise is in large part the story of China's ballooning domestic car market, which has roughly doubled in size since 2004. Its products; mostly inexpensive cars and SUVs, which are also gaining a following in developing countries hungry for low-cost vehicles.But rapid growth is already taking its toll, as executives strain to manage the company's expansion amid a shortage of experienced workers. “We are still fighting for our survival,” says Mr Yin. “We didn't get to learn from the books. We have to learn everything by doing it.”In July, the company signed a landmark deal with Chrysler to sell a series of small cars made by Chery under the American car maker's Dodge brand.The pact marks the first time that one of Detroit's Big Three has outsourced the production of entire vehicles to a Chinese company. The deal also sends a warning to high-cost workers in the US and Europe that even more of their jobs could be at risk.Chery's arrangement with Chrysler follows years of breakneck expansion. Sales of Chery cars have increased more than tenfold since 2001. This year, Chery expects to sell more than 400,000 compacts, sedans and sport utility vehicles. By 2010, the company says, it will be turning out a million vehicles annually, for markets both at home and abroad.Holding the reins of this galloping enterprise are Mr Yin and a handful of other men who've been with the company since it started as the brainchild of local Communist Party officials in the poor eastern province of Anhui.The corporate culture they spawned is an odd hybrid of communist state enterprise and entrepreneurial start-up. Party propaganda posters hang on factory walls. “Know plain living and hard struggle,” one poster exhorts workers, “do not wallow in luxuries and pleasures.” In another part of the plant, bulletin boards display quality-survey data from JD Power & Associates comparing Chery's cars with those of its rivals.Inside the gates of Chery's sprawling production complex, where few foreign reporters have been allowed before, assembly lines run 16 hours a day. Much of the equipment is state-of-the-art, imported from Europe.Chery this year expects to export more than 110,000 cars, up from 50,000 in 2006, mainly to emerging markets such as Russia, the Middle East and Latin America, where its low prices are helping to win it business. The company is building a car-shipping port on the Yangtze near its plant to send vehicles to China's coast and overseas.Still, Chery remains far smaller than the world's big car makers. Volkswagen, General Motors, Toyota and Honda, which have each outsold Chery in the China market so far this year. World-wide, GM and Toyota both sell nearly 9 million vehicles a year.At Chery's research and development centre, engineers say they are now developing 40 to 50 new car models, at least 10 of which could be ready for production as soon as next year.Chery says it expects to benefit from Chrysler's technical expertise and established sales and service networks. Even though their cars will be sold under the Dodge brand, they expect consumers will know they are made in China by Chery.“People look down on our products. There are many doubts about our safety and quality,” says Mr Yin. Selling under the Dodge name initially will boost buyers' confidence, he says. “If we work together with Chrysler, we can go global faster.”Chery has combined low wages with massive capital investment and other government-backed support. This recipe is powering the latest phase of China's industrial revolution, helping firms in industries from cars to consumer electronics become significant global players.Junior engineers at Chery earn $US6000 ($6850) a year, and many sleep in bunk beds four to a room in company dormitories. Some don't have driver's licences and, like most Chinese people, didn't grow up riding around in a family car. Few workers can afford to buy cars they make.Assembly-line workers earn an average of slightly more than $US1 an hour — far less than their counterparts in Europe or North America but, in Anhui, a sought-after wage.Chery can “offer low-cost platforms with speed,” says Tom LaSorda, president and vice-chairman of Chrysler, which has said it will eliminate 25,000 jobs in North America. Visiting Chery's plants in 2006, he says, he found that “everything was very familiar,” with production processes and equipment very similar to those in top Western factories.Chery started building its first factories in March 1997. It hired a Taiwanese company to help it design its first model, a sedan known as the Fengyun, or Wind Cloud, which was cobbled together mostly using parts from components makers that supplied the China operations of VW and GM. The first cars rolled off the line in December 1999.But Chery wasn't allowed to sell them, since it didn't have a government licence to be in the car business. The red tape was eventually untangled when Chery briefly became part of the much larger Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp, a large state-owned company with partnerships with GM and Volkswagen. The Fengyun hit the market in 2001 and 28,000 were sold.Chery also began work on a four-door hatchback mini-car, which would lead to accusations that the young company was knocking off the designs of its competitors. The car, which went on sale in 2003 and is known as the QQ, is similar to a GM model known as the Chevrolet Spark.GM sued Chery in a Chinese court in 2004, alleging that the company had illegally copied its design for the Spark. The companies settled the lawsuit in 2005 without disclosing the terms of their agreement.Amid the controversy over the QQ, a fundamental shift was happening. In 2003, executives and government planners decided that Chery should go beyond recycling outdated technologies for the local market. They envisaged the company as an international player.Encouraged by sales in Chery's first two years and by signs that China's car market was revving up, the company and its state owners decided to embark on a massive new investment program. Chery also stepped up its efforts to recruit Chinese nationals working for car companies abroad, as well as to bring foreign expertise to Wuhu.“There's no way you can move slowly and catch up,” says Xu Min, a former Chery engineer who is now dean of Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Institute of Automotive Engineering. “It took the Japanese two or three decades. We didn't have that kind of time.”The central goal to acquire and develop technology that would belong to Chery and help it compete even in the US and Europe, with their daunting regulatory hurdles and high customer expectations.In 2003, Chery recruited Mr Xu, the engineer who is now an academic. Mr Xu, who was at the time a specialist in combustion and fuel injection at Delphi Corp in the US, says he got the hard sell from executives seeking to bring him back to Anhui, where he was born.Mr Xu says a lot of his friends questioned his decision to leave a secure job in Detroit for a post at a then unknown Chinese company. But he says he felt he was hitting a wall in the US.“In Detroit, you could spend years on something and never see it commercialised,” he says. “The pace was so slow.”Chery, on the other hand, wanted Mr Xu to oversee a project that would develop three new families of engines within just a few years.The engines are now good enough that Italian car maker Fiat plans to use them in some of its cars as well, buying them directly from Chery.Earlier this year, Chrysler executives visiting Chery could see the rapid progress that occurred over 18 months.“I would say the 'aha' moment for us would be when we subsequently visited Chery (in June),” says Richard Chow-wah, a Chrysler senior vice-president.He adds that the “ability to make decisions quickly without a lot of bureaucracy was what was most impressive.”What are some of the rumours you have heard about Chinese cars? 

Ateco governing director Neville Crichton said that the first passenger cars were likely to arrive here late next year.The highly public failure of the Jiangling LandWind and Brilliance BS6 sedan in European NCAP-style crash testing has put Chinese brands and their acceptability in established export markets; such as Europe and Australia under the spotlight.Mr Crichton said Chinese carmakers were working on delivering a five-star car.“Even four stars is OK, but one star is unacceptable,” he said.The LandWind four-wheel-drive was the first vehicle to get a one-star rating from EuroNCAP.In June, the Brilliance also got only one, but had recently been retested in Spain, where it got a three-star rating.Despite the damaging results, Mr Crichton still believes Australians will accept Chinese cars. Ateco plans to model its Chinese line-up on its success in establishing the Kia range when it was the importer. Ateco imports Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Citroen, but wants another bread-and-butter brand.“But we don't want to bring in any cars until they're right,” Mr Crichton said.“Pricing will be competitive and under the prices of the South Koreans. A base-entry car has to be about $12,000.”He said the Chinese cars would have three-year warranties, unlike Hyundai, which has an industry-leading five-year warranty. “There's no really good reason to have a five-year warranty,” he said.Ateco has about 300 franchise applications from prospective dealers for the Chinese cars.Ateco is bullish about expected sales, aiming for 5000 in the first year and 20,000 in three years.To help establish the cars, it also plans ultra-competitive finance packages. Australia has about 50 passenger-car brands in a market of one million a year. Mr Crichton said new entrants would find the going tough unless they were priced and marketed properly.But opportunity still knocked for a low-cost Chinese car, he said. Ateco is yet to confirm which brand it will bring into the country.The company also plans to introduce low-cost light commercial Chinese trucks.Speculation surrounds the Yuejin brand, part of Nanjing Automobile, which already has a relationship with Italian carmaker Fiat. Fiat also has a deal in place with the Chery car company.Ateco already imports Fiat cars into Australia so a possible Chery alliance could be on the cards.  Is your life worth risking in a cheap chinese car?    

Getting value for money and being able to keep their new car; and new-found freedom; on the road has proved to be the biggest factors for first time car buyers.