Quote:
Originally Posted by
onix 
^ I don't see anything indicating racism against Asians here.
Sorry, that rant was a bit uncalled for wasn't it? I was mainly looking at ClambakeSkate's post, the rest were perfectly civil. While "racist" would be perhaps a bit strong a term for what was said, it's very borderline.
What disturbs me is that anti-Chinese invective like that gets thrown around so commonly and nobody bats an eye. Saying like everything from China is horribly made, Chinese men are all "feminine", China is all evil sweatshops, Chinese people are uncivilized/materialistic/etc. A degree of truth to some things, but for the most part it just promotes racial and national stereotypes and engenders prejudice.
Back on topic, I believe that the Chinese government has been pushing to improve the national automotive industry for quite some time now. Imports are taxed quite heavily, supposedly to improve the market for locally produced automobiles.
However, I suspect that those who can afford nicer cars will still stick to imports, if for no other reason than the prestige. It's going to be a very long time before the people who can afford BMW's will be choosing something Chinese - no matter how well made - over German or Italian cars.
On the other hand, there's a big market for inexpensive cars. It's pretty well known that China has an exploding "middle class" who want cars but can't afford imports even without the tax. I wouldn't be surprised to see Chinese auto makers focus more on this market in the future, just as they are currently.