中国汽车大举进军美国市场

Neil: And talk about in the toilet what if I told you that American-made vehicles are so yesterday, my next guest plans to be the first to import and sell Chinese cars in North America and predicts that within 5 years Americans will be buying one million Chinese-made cars from his dealers 1. With us now is Malcolm Bricklin. He is the founder 2 and CEO of Visionary Vehicles.

Neil: Really?

Malcolm Bricklin: Really Neil.

Neil: What's doing it?

Malcolm Bricklin: What's do it is that they decided 3 to come into the automobile 4 business and when the Chinese society wanna go into a market, what they do is study, all the case study is who are the best people, and they picked Toyota and Lexus, so they said we wanna copy them, except we wanna sell more than both of them.

Neil: Yeah, but there is always a learning curve right? (Yeah. )When the first Japanese cars came into this country, they were crap, you know, the first Korean cars that came into this country, they were junk too. And then, you know they got better. Obviously, much better. Who would want to be the American to be the first to buy these Chinese cars?

Malcolm Bricklin: Well, the Japanese cars when they came in with Toyota and Datsun first, they had a recover, and do something better, when I came in with Subaru in 1968, they were there from the day Subaru came in, they were top-quality and they remain top quality. What you need to do to have top quality is to get great designers, get great equipment , put a lot of money into the thing and have the determination to do it.

Neil: And it's going to be cheap, right, much cheaper than the promoter. . . . .

Malcolm Bricklin: Well, we're going to go with cars Like BMW or Mercedes, and be 30, 40% cheaper than them.

Neil: All right, but I tell you a BMW and Mercedes buyer isn't going to buy a Chinese car.

Malcolm Bricklin: I agree 100 percent. We are not after them. (Yeah. ) We want to build a car that would be equal to in everyway, shape or form, except it, and feels rich and sell to people who can afford to buy TOYOTAs and NISSIANs and Hondas.

Neil: Are they gonna want it?

Malcolm Bricklin: Well, we think they are going to, because they are designed by Pininfarina and Bertone, engines by AVL and interiors that are gonna be knocked out. So, we are going to take all the advantages. . .

Neil: Usually, when you are combining those types of people all together.

Malcolm Bricklin: Yeah

Neil: It's a disaster.

Yeah, it could be, it could be, but then once again, they read all the history, they had all the benefits to see what was wrong and what was good(Yeah), and they are picking the good and they are listening, big time.

Neil: But would you as a consumer, you are a very smart businessman, but would you as a consumer buy the first off the lot?

Malcolm Bricklin: Well, somebody just did a study in Automotive News , I just read yesterday as a matter, Ed Laphen, I believe is the one who did it. and he said that they polled people from Asian models and they asked if they would buy Chinese cars, if they thought they would be of the same quality and 51% said yes.

Neil: But now the issue would be price, so the only thing that compelled the Americans thrilled to buy Japanese cars is by comparison they were so cheap, (Absolutely) even when the quality was shoddy. And now we know in retrospect 5 this quality quickly caught up and then surpassed the American car makers 6. The same with Hyundai , I guess in Korea when they were originally they were junk . They have gotta extremely much better. Arh, who wants to wait through a learning curve with Chinese cars?

Malcolm Bricklin: Then I don't think they're gonna have to, the learning curve they have been doing is less 5 years, they have been learning how to really build good cars(Yeah), and now they bring in the very best of the best with us and others from around the world.

Neil: So you are an American manufacturer , what's gone through your head?

Malcolm Bricklin: It's gonna be a problem, but the American manufacturers have more problems just than the Chinese, because they have porblems now and the Chinese aren't here.

Neil: And Chinese are cheap labor 7, right?

Malcolm Bricklin: Yeah, absolutely, it's going to be a very very serious realignment of the way the world is.

Neil: All right, all right, Malcolm Bricklin. Thank you very much with Visionary Vehicles he is the founder and CEO.