A car show, in Beijing - Marc goes Traveling

A car show, in Beijing

2006-11-29

Today I met up with some friends to go to an automotive show. One of the guys sells vehicles (large industrial ones I think) for a living, so he was particularly interested in seeing what was up.

Car shows are pretty much like car shows anywhere else in the world: there are lots of cars. However, here in China, many of the car companies have comical logos or models that look suspiciously like models made by other (non-Chinese) manufacturers. A lot of the local cars also feel like you could kick them and they'd fall apart.

The crowds were insane, especially upstairs with the luxury cars. There was also no shortage of booth babes, which ones supposes are mandatory at any such gathering.

[Click on any photo for a larger view]

The main exhibition centre here is just northeast of the second ring road near the Carrefour.	The crowds were huge and there were, of course, guys outside trying to sell fake tickets to get in.
	A few manufacturers had their models outside, but most of the interesting stuff went on inside.	It's funny how China always seems to have that drab grey feel in the winter. It really feels familiar or comfortable to me for some reason.
Okay, to the cars.		I have no idea what most of these cars or companies are.
"Mommy, mommy, can I be a booth babe when I grow up? Whee! Oh wait, I'm already grown up. Heng!"		"Kick me and watch me fall apart"
Hey, American cars?
	Great Wall cars! Oooooh!	These look suspiciously Japanese
Ah, they are.	Haha, logo look familiar anybody? (The sign says "electrical bicycles")	The Chinese looove slogans. Nonsensical deep-sounding slogans.
	This is a Chinese car made in a joint venture with BMW, actually.	This "offroad" vehicle would collapse at the first pothole it ran into.
		Formula 1 cars get the hotter booth babes.
		Even the Italians wanna sell cars here.
Booth babes gotta take a break sometimes, y'know?	Car shows are hard work	This is our friend with a Suzuki car.
motorcycles? nobody told me there'd be motorcycles here? awesome.	This is on the second floor where the expensive luxury cars are. Forget about trying to, say, move.
The Lamborghini display was a mad-hooose.	You'd think for 6 million RMB cars (uuuh, about 750$ USD), they'd find some hotter booth-babes. Harsh, sorry.