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Roewe 550 Review Published by Ash September 1st, 2008 in Roewe - Rong Wei. On a recent visit to the UK, I had the chance to meet up with my two great uncles. My Great Uncles are twin brothers, they have never married, but have lived together all their lives, and they pride themselves on the fact that they’ve never driven any ‘foreign muck’. As far back as I can remember, my two great uncles have driven everything from BMC (British Motor Company) vehicles to the latest Rovers, and everything else in between, just as long as it was a British brand, made in Britain, and came in some sort of mustard, brown, or beige color. Some might say, they’ve spent their life driving class, notable automotive purchases by them would be include a TR7, a Montego Clubman, a Maestro, and a Rover 45. My maternal Grandfather has a Rover 75 Tourer. A long story short, the older members of my family love their Rovers. One of my uncles mentioned something about those ‘Chinese made Rovers’ obviously he meant the MG range which was bought up NAC two years back, and the Roewe brand which NAC arch rivals SAIC started, and then took over MG anyway. My uncles were actually quite worried – what British car would they buy next once their Rover 45 started to fade? There are no more mass produced ‘British cars’, unless of course you include foreign brands that manufacture in Britain, or British brands that are owned by foreign companies. The last British owned car maker might actually be Caterham, but I don’t see my late 60’s uncles driving a Caterham on their way to their daily pensioners lunch. One car that they could be driving in the next few years could be the Roewe 550. The 550 sits on a shortened Rover 75 platform, it was designed by the SAIC design center in Leamington Spa, UK, but its made in China. In our book, the car is at least 90% British, sure it might have parts sourced in China, it may be assembled in China (for now, Longbridge production is looking likely) but its heart and soul are most definitely British. In a globalized world, does the nationality of a product even exist anymore, anyway? China Car Times had the pleasure of test driving a cherry red Roewe 550 earlier today, we left with a massive grin on our faces too. Exterior Overview: The Roewe 550 is based on the excellent Rover 75 platform, suspension included. The front end of the Roewe 550 has been criticized for looking a bit too much like a Gillette razor blade, the bonnet has two creases running down the center which gives the car quite an aggressive, sporty appearance. The design is such a breakaway from the classiness of the Roewe 750, we’re wondering if the 750 will get the Gillette style front grill in 2009. The car actually looks quite porky, very rotund, which is also a break from the cigar styled Roewe 750. The 550 measures 4624mm long, 1827mm wide, and 1480mm high, making it a low down car which gives it a sporty stance. Compare that to the Roewe 750 sizing which measures a stately 4865mm long, 1765mm wide, and 1422mm tall. So the 550 is wider, taller, but shorter than the 750, and when you’re driving the 550, it really does feel like you’re in control of a super-mini. The Interior: The interior on many of the Chinese made cars is what lets China down as a car making nation, the interiors of Geely, Brilliance (zhonghua), Chery, and a whole host of other manufacturers have (mostly) mastered the art of designing a car (i.e. let the Italians do it), the art of building a car (get your Japanese/German partners to help) but the interiors? Some of them are circa 1970’s Datsun. The Roewe 550 is possibly first Chinese car that actually bucks the interior trend, the leather seats come in two different colors (black, or tan) they support you well, they are comfortable as a seat should be. In addition, the seats can be eased into a million different positional combinations thanks to the series of knobs down the side of the seat, the little knobs and levers almost reminded us of the ‘three sea shells’ in the Demolition Man movie, we couldn’t get them into position properly either, but then I remembered that Roewe is pushing the ‘digital generation’ theme on this car, anything that could be electrically controlled is electrically controlled. We hope the electrical demons that plagued British cars of past, don’t catch up with us in 2008. The dashboard sweeps elegantly from side to side, the dash styling looks like it may have been borrowed from SAIC’s Ssangyong brand. Some might consider the digital center console to be a nod towards the talking dashboards of previous Austin cars, cars that share common heritage and DNA with the modern 550. When you push the massive ‘wise key’ into the equally massive slot, the dashboard lights up, then you can use the ‘three sea shells’ to move your seat into a suitable driving position. Even Captain Kirk, aboard his Starship did not get so many options on how to sit, or fly his vessel. The counters light up in a racy red color, the in dash screen also lights up in red, giving you the options of playing a DVD, listening to music via CD or SDcard (there is a discreet SDcard slot in the dashboard), loading up the GPS Navigation, utilizing the ultra clear reversing camera or just sitting and looking pretty until you need it. The center arm rest opens up to reveal a twin-can drinks cooler, its actually air conditioned, with a small opening at the bottom that can be opened or closed as needed. Next to the arm rest-come-cooler is an ingenious pop drinks holder – we’ve seen pop out cup holders, but never pop up. The hand brake is also a minor work of art, when on, the handbrake is raised out of the center divider, but when down, it disappears like a chameleon into the splendid wood finish of the dash and center. The boot is reasonably big, and the rear seats fold down to allow a greater storage area, although the seat do not fold entirely flat as they would on an SUV or estate, it allows for a much greater cargo area. The Drive: Now onto the important bit. The gearbox on the one we tested was a 5speed autobox, with a sports mode, and the usual automatic P,R,N, and D. As well as a gearstick, the Roewe 550 has F1 style paddle shifters either side of the steering wheel, up a gear on the right, and down a gear on the left. As previously mentioned, you push the massive key into the on dash keyslot, push it in once to start the electrics, then push it in deeper to start the car. The car starts with an impressive growl, to stop the engine, you have to push it in again, and it pops out. The key strikes us a useless novelty, but as a ‘digital generation’ car, perhaps it will sell more. The key is rather large, and we wouldn’t to walk around with it in our pockets, lest people start wondering if im packing heat, perhaps shoving it in the wasteline of my jeans would make me look gangsta? As I set off, I was impressed by the quietness of the car, granted we were rolling slowly towards a junction but I had to look down at the RPM counter just to make sure the engine was ticking over, because you just couldn’t hear it at all from the cabin! We rolled out towards the junction, to a traffic light, then onto the highway. Setting off from the traffic light I left it in drive, but soon moved it into sports mode to gain control of the F1 flippers either side of the wheel. The gear changes in Drive were not totally smooth, and suffered from minor gear shock when changing up, quite a difference from the silky smooth CVT transmissions Im used to on my Nissans. The paddle shifters work very well, and the all important turbo kicked in as soon as we hit around 40kph, giving the car a noticeable boost. One minor niggle I found were the tiny wing mirrors, they may look sporty, but they aren’t very practical, and make changing lanes a dicey affair. The 550 takes corners with ease at low speeds, and higher speeds, with no noticeable body speeds, the sound of the engine once over 60kph is quite a nice growl for a smaller 1.8 turbo engine, the same engine that graced the Rover 75, Roewe 750, and MG7 1.8T, the 160BHP that the engine produces are not slack when it comes to strutting their stuff. The brakes on the model that I tested were a little spongy, although perhaps that is to be expected of a car that only done 300km in its short life as a test model. The handling of the 550 is quite impressive, once you’re on the open road the car is easy to open up, and will effortlessly hit high speeds, the small steering wheel is amazingly responsive, giving you the feeling that you’re actually driving a super mini and not a 4.5m long car. In previous articles on China Car Times, the Roewe 550 has been talked up a lot, and truth be told, it’s a car that lives upto those promises. Its luxurios on the inside with its funky technological dashboard, imported German leather seats, excellent woodwork (better than the MG7’s!) and great quality plastics. It drives like any of its MG predasseors did, if not better, and the best thing of all? Its cheap. The model we test drove was on the market for 180,680rmb, this model with its refinements and quality puts a serious thorn in the side of its international competitors in China, chiefly those in similar price ranges and body styles, such as the Ford Focus, VW Sagitar (Jetta in Europe), VW Magotan etc. If there were a car that would push China forward as a mass car producing nation, it would be the Roewe 550. The 550, with the help of SAIC’s international design teams, has side stepped those ‘awkward generations’ that Japanese and Korean car companies found themselves in when it came to making cars. The 550 is a car that will prove to European customers that when China utilizes its greatest assets, it can produce a car that can win over the competition, and more importantly willing buyers. But would my aging uncles buy such a car? Probably not, the amount of technology in the car is quite frankly baffling, gone are the retro designs of the late 90’s and early 2000’s, ex-Rover designers are certainly strutting their stuff for SAIC in Lemington-Spa, and we cant wait to see what they bring out next. If anyone in Europe wanted a car to replace their Rover 45, or even MG ZS, then the Roewe 550 will be that car, albeit possibly as an MG5. Video about its development - some English after 2:10...

SEOUL, South Korea — Underscoring that it plans to field one of the most fuel-efficient fleets in the business, Hyundai on Wednesday confirmed that it expects to reach America's new fuel economy standard of 35 miles per gallon by 2015. That means the Korean automaker would hit the goal five years before compliance is required. "We believe we have the engineering resources and the confidence to reach our target by 2015," said Hyun-Soon Lee, president of the Hyundai-Kia corporate research and development division, in a statement released on Wednesday. "Hyundai is determined to be the industry leader in fuel efficiency." Hyundai recently confirmed that it plans to introduce a Sonata hybrid to the U.S. market in 2010. However, it is clear that Hyundai doesn't expect to lean too heavily on hybrids to meet the tough fuel economy targets that many other automakers have griped are too stringent. Hyundai said it is working on gasoline direct injection, eight-speed automatic transmissions, dual continuously variable valve timing and other fuel-saving technologies in the race to meet the fuel economy rule early. The Korean automaker is already on track to pull ahead of other automakers in the fuel economy race. The auto industry averaged 26.6 mpg in the 2007 model year for light vehicles sold in the United States, compared with Hyundai's 29.4 mpg. Only Toyota and Honda slightly outpaced Hyundai in the fuel efficiency of their fleets. What this means to you: If a fuel miser is in your future, Hyundai may be a brand to watch. — Hoseok Park, Correspondent ---- What it means to you, my version: An average of 35 mpg seems impossible if you use EPA consumer mpg testing methods. Fortunately CAFE uses pre-2008 numbers, and unadjusted numbers at that. For example, a Prius is rated 48/45 mpg (2008+) and 60/51 mpg (pre-2008), but for CAFE purposes, it's 66/62 mpg. The E85 1.2mpg credit helps as well. The 2009 Malibu mild-hybrid gets 26/34 mpg, but for CAFE purposes, its average is 40 mpg.

With all the recent attention given to our planet, you'd think Volvo would capitalize on that and show consumers how they're a more sustainable and progressive type of luxury car maker. Volvo offers a 2.0 liter four-cylinder in their C30, S40, V50, and V70 everywhere else... why not in the US?

The only Dodge worth buying near MSRP is the four-cylinder Journey, IMO. It's too bad only the gas-guzzling V6 models can be optioned with some decent equipment. When's the six-speed dual-clutch gearbox coming?

Fiesta, new Focus, and Kuga can't come soon enough.

nerd

It's now a very good looking car...

In addition to all that, I find it odd how McCain chose someone he had only met with once. What if they're completely not compatible with each other? IMO this was a very short-term political decision, a gimmick made to sway Clinton supporters.

Tranformer Volt: Built on a Malibu Chassis Date posted: 09-02-2008 STORY TOOLS Print thisPrint this Save thisSave this Digg this storyDigg this! Email thisEmail this Most PopularMost popular del.icio.usdel.icio.us SANTA MONICA, California — Last week Inside Line published photos of the future Chevrolet Volt caught on the scene of the new Transformers 2 movie set, and GM officials were adamant that the Volt seen running with what could be the latest Autobots and Decepticons was not the Volt that will be coming to Chevrolet showrooms next year. Merely semantics, we'd say, as a source within GM has since confirmed what we suspected late last week; the Volt spotted on the streets of Long Beach, California was not a full running prototype, but a fiberglass replica of the production Volt design riding on a Malibu chassis with a full Malibu drivetrain and interior. Built by Saleen, the company that also crafted the Camaros for the original Transformers movie, the Volt was specifically built for Transformers 2. But unlike the Camaros where they built several cars, only one Volt movie car was constructed, and it was supposed to be held under very tight security. From 25 feet away, the distance of these spy photos, the Volt looks like a real car. However, like many movie replicas, the Volt is sporting everything from unique show car paint to oversized brake discs made of cardboard. Set for production debut next summer, the Chevy Volt will be released at the same time Transformers 2 is hitting movie theaters, which is why GM benefits from the Volt's movie appearance, even if the electric car does not get a starring role. What this means to you: The Chevy Volt has become the poster child for the future of GM. And a couple of thousand movie posters can't hurt, either.— Kelly Toepke, News Editor

http://www.detailersclub.com is a great site for that purpose.

Looks surprisingly decent in grey!

Sorry to hear that. A Flex probably wouldn't have fared as well.

Apparently, Palin's (17) is pregnant now.

Saw the new TL. It looks much better in person, IMO. Very dynamic, and much more aggressive looking than the current old model. Almost RWD-like, with a cab-rearward stance and sloped C-pillar.

I like Pacific Slate the best. Those pinstripes, though... ugh.

I know it's easy to say, but in the midst of all this, try not to get too stressed. I was listening to NPR the other day, and a doctor had correlated an increased number of visits with the growing number of foreclosures. He said that long-term stress from economic insecurity is similar to the stress felt while being robbed or attacked by a tiger, and that the amount of cortisol released could cause illness in the long run. He suggested meditating, doing breathing exercises, yoga, tai chi, hiking, walking - whatever works for you. Health is more important than anything - most bankruptcies occur because of illness, not job loss - so don't compromise on insurance, food, or exercise. Best of luck! If you have a consistent gym routine, I wouldn't cut that. Cook at home, and not only will you save money, you'll eat better, too.

Has there been a great deal of interest in the hybrid Escalade?

There will be no more AFM six-cylinder engines for 2009. The Impala 3.9's fuel economy will drop from 18/28 mpg to 17/27 mpg for MY 2008. Renters won't notice the difference.

Chevy Volt Unmasked on Transformers 2 Set Is "Not Production Vehicle," but Close http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=131426

It looks better in this shot...

Great... now the legislators will be even more motivated to have higher CAFE in CA.

Video of it: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player...ctid=1759811968

Not bad. Something about it reminds me of the Alfa 164 they used to sell in the US.

I think many perceive the HHR as a wagon, not as a crossover SUV (truck), because its appearance doesn't fit the mold of most jacked-up cute-utes. Its ground clearance appears low, its approach/departure angles are rather conservative, and it doesn't offer AWD. But then, of course, a minivan has those same attributes, and most would consider that a truck. What confuses me is that many wagons have cargo-hauling intentions, too, yet are not categorized as trucks. Is it a matter of payload? I like that idea - I'm all for seeing European-style LCVs in the US, but something like the Combo may have too high of a roof for the HHR concept, especially since many perceive the HHR as a wagon, not a van. I know many owners like the HHR's hot rod, gun-slit window theme - something that would be easier to achieve with a wagon. I'm having a hard time envisioning the conversion of this... ... to this: I'd rather see the HHR as the Estate version of the Cruze, but apparently there's already one coming. This new Chevy here looks like a C-MAX, Touran, Zafira competitor - in that it's an MPV derived from a C-segment hatch or sedan (Cruze), much like the dead Tacuma.