Will Chinese-Built Cars Pose a Real Threat to Mainstream Automakers and If So, When?What is it with the names of Chinese carmakers and their vehicles?
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| Brilliance's latest design, the Jinjue, is well, brilliant. (Photo: Brilliance Auto) |
Geely, Chery, and Great Wall Motors are probably more unfamiliar than outright odd, as is smaller player Brilliance Auto. Brilliance (Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd, see www.brillianceauto.com - sold through the "Zhonghua" and "Zunchi" brand names in China - www.zhonghuacar.com) named its stylish new sedan Jinjue, which translates into "Triumphant Horse" or, better yet, "Winning Gold", the latter potentially chosen to pay tribute to high flyer Han Xiaopeng, winner of an Olympic gold medal in the mens' freestyle aerials competition, or speedy superstar Meng Wang, multi-medal winner of the womens' short-track speed skating event, and China's first gold in a Winter Olympics.
The
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| This is the full-size Brilliance sedan, which is currently on sale in Germany and other European markets. (Photo: Brilliance Auto) |
Jinjue, Brilliance's second passenger car, could win over North American and even picky European buyers if launched in western markets, on styling alone - the automaker already sells a larger model in Europe having been designed by Giorgetto (Giorgio) Giugiaro's ItalDesign. With another link to the Olympics, the new model was designed in Italy by ItalDesign's rival, the world renowned Pininfarina; design house to many Ferrari sports cars and other top-level vehicles.
Another positive on Brilliance's side is its strong relationship with
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| Without a doubt, there's plenty of BMW design in this car. (Photo: Brilliance Auto) |
BMW, which bodes well for the Jinjue's prospective performance. Yes, Brilliance received technical assistance from the Bavarian automaker when developing its Jinjue, thanks to a relationship that has resulted in the BMW Brilliance Automotive Limited division, 49.01 percent owned by BMW (see www.bmw-brilliance.cn) and responsible for building the German automaker's 3-Series, 5-Series and 7-Series sedans, plus the Z4 sports car and X5 crossover SUV; no doubt reason enough for the Jinjue's designers choosing to pay homage by mimicking the Teutonic brand's double-kidney grille. The entire car, grille included, looks closer to a number of previous BMW assets, mind you; some Rover-MG sedans.
The
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| The full-size Brilliance is one of the nicest looking Chinese-designed automobiles to date. That is, until the Jinjue came along. (Photo: Brilliance Auto) |
Jinjue, having been built on a shortened version of Brilliance's near full-size model, measures 4,648 mm (183 inches) in length. Like the larger car, the Jinjue uses a total of four Mitsubishi engines, mostly supplied by Shenyang-Mitsubishi, ranging from 1.6- to 2.0-litres in displacement. While small by North American standards, Mitsubishi has an excellent reputation for engineering powerful little engines, which should result in the Jinjue having reasonably strong straight-line performance. If the Jinjue, or any other Brilliance models were sold in North America, the Mitsubishi relationship could spawn a V6-powered version.
