On 6/27/2010 6:49 AM, Mark Thorson wrote:
> sf wrote:
>>
>> On Sat, 26 Jun 2010 11:17:49 -0500, > wrote:
>>>
>>> China is working on electric cars. Would Americans buy them?
>>>
>> People will buy anything from China if it's cheap enough.
>
> When China revalues their currency, it won't be really cheap
> anymore. Also, there have been strikes recently in China,
> which is a new phenomenon there. Mostly, they've been strikes
> against car parts plants owned by Japanese companies, which
> is probably why the government has tolerated them.
>
> The day of cheap Chinese near-slave labor is coming to an end.
> They are going to expect to be paid a decent wage. They will
> continue to be be the labor powerhouse of Asia, but at a higher
> rate. Still, a very low rate compared to Japan, Korea, or Taiwan.
> Also, China has developed large internal markets. Exports
> will become less important to China than they are today.
>
> What will be interesting in the near future is how China
> will handle the collapse of their wildly inflated real estate
> market. Construction is the largest sector of the Chinese
> economy, and a collapse will be devastating.

I recently bought a used Hyundai Sonata. It's a pretty neat piece. The
Engine is a smooth 3.3L V6 DOHC with variable valve timing. The
inappropriately high power output for a family sedan will probably get
me and/or my wife into trouble. It do put a grin on our faces.

The car is well put together, solid, and the materials used have a
quality look/feel. It features leather faced seats, alloy wheels with
very low profile tires, large interior, huge trunk, heated front seats,
electronic stability control, 6(!) air bags. Thanks to a low resale
value, I got this at a bargain price from a private owner. It's still
covered by the dealer warranty - awesome! I now look like the smartest
guy on the block.

The amazing thing is that this car was put together in Montgomery
Alabama with the quality of most any car manufacturer in the world at a
price you'd expect from a car assembled in China. The big secret is that
Hyundai is the greatest bargain in automobiles but I suspect that is
going to be blown wide open very soon - maybe this year.