www.autoblog.com/2007/06/22/brilliance-bs6s-adac-crash-test-is-anything-but
Brilliance BS6 ADAC crash test Click above image for photo gallery China's Brilliance BS6 is a recent entry into the European market, positioned as a premium-style import sedan at a budget price. Well, after seeing the videos of the car undergoing crash testing using Euro NCAP guidelines at the ADAC (Germany's AAA, essentially) test center, one thing's certain: buyers get what they pay for. The BS6, as currently constructed, appears to a complete piece of crap. The horrifying 40 mph offset frontal crash test video shows damage that can be described as catastrophic at best. The A-pillar collapses and folds up like a cheap suitcase, forcing the driver's door to pop largely out of its frame, while the lower portion of the car buckles like it's made of recycled pop cans. To open the mangled door afterwards, the ADAC techs needed to use a huge crowbar to get it to budge. ADAC notes that the pedals intruded a foot and a half (32 cm) into the driver's space, while the IP moved in almost 8 inches (20 cm). Needless to say, the BS6 failed the test, garnering just 1 star. Follow the jump for more coverage/opinion and the related videos.
Brilliance BS6 ADAC Crash test The side-impact video's no picnic, either, as the driver's upper body takes the impact so hard, the injuries sustained would likely prove fatal. For all the crowing about Chinese cars and how they're an inevitability, if this is the kind of safety that they'll bring with them, have fun finding buyers.
Back in April, Brilliance's head honcho said that this very model, the BS6, would be imported to the US either later this year or in 2008. After seeing the car's stellar crash performance in Deutschland, we wouldn't be caught dead in one. The good news for Europeans is that this disastrous test result might be enough to halt sales.
more spectacular fashion in late 2005 (listen to the ADAC guys crack up after they see the Landwind result in that second link). Until Chinese automakers get very serious about making and exporting cars that meet commonly-accepted occupant protection standards, the idea of them having any impact whatsoever in the safety-conscious United States market is laughable. The videos are embedded below, and make sure you check out the stills in the gallery, too.
I live in China for over a year and can tell you that they have a complete disregard for the value of human life there. Besides that I think this must be one of the ways they are trying to control their population.
Jun 22nd 2007 1:15PM "Reuben" - see my misplaced reply to you #15. "1337" - South Korea is a small country equal in size to a small province of China. S Korea has fewer natural resources and, has a very unfriendly neighbor to its north. South Korea hardly factors at all in the Asian Pacific equation. The Communist government in China took a very capitalistic initiative to fuel their economy. If they let capitalism work for them, the Chinese Communist government will eventually dominate Asian democracies. "Famous Chinese quality" - you obviously have little historical perspective. "history" encompasses a period of time greater than one's personal lifetime.
Jun 22nd 2007 4:14PM South Korea's political conflicts and the size of their population are rather irrelevant to Hyundai USA. Remember, the United States, Germany, Sweden, the UK, and Japan are all relatively small countries when compared with China, but all of them have made greater contributions to the automotive industry than China has. Hyundai/Kia are advancing rapidly, and their products are nipping at the heels of the Japanese in America.
Jun 22nd 2007 9:22AM Laugh at China's designs now, but remember where post WWII Japan was and how far Japan advanced in less than fifty years. China is a 100 times larger than Japan with vast natural resources and a very eager to work non-union labor pool.
Jun 22nd 2007 12:30PM Keep in mind that, after WWII, we pretty much forced democracy and a capitalism-friendly economic system onto Japan. China has neither (although they're getting a little better at the later). This makes a difference, even when it comes to something as trivial as making cars.
Jun 22nd 2007 12:31PM There is a difference in culture, however. Japan is about achieving perfection through research and development and paying attention to details. China is about quickly making POS, selling it, grabbing money and running away while original product deteriorates before buyer's eyes. Chinese business culture is about making a single sell and looking for another idiot to buy a knock-off. For that reason they will not match Japan in quality (I'd say ever);
Jun 22nd 2007 2:53PM Please don't compare Chinese cars to Korean ones on safety. Koreans now lead the market in safety getting 5 star crash rating on almost ALL their models. Both the Santa fe and Entourage/Sedona were given 'Top safety Picks' and Gold ratings by both NAFTA and IIHS. Hyundai has the highest standard ESC on its lineup than any non-luxury other manufacturer.
Jun 22nd 2007 6:48PM > South Korea is a small country equal in size to a small province of China. S Korea has fewer natural resources and, has a very unfriendly neighbor to its north. South Korea hardly factors at all in the Asian Pacific equation. Yes, 1/40th of Chinese population, 1/3rd of 2006 Chinese GDP. Chinese have a notoriety for being inefficient throughout history. For example, Chinese army had to outnumber their foreign enemy army 10:1 to assure a victory. Fall below this ratio and the Chinese army could lose the battle, such were the case in Tang Vs Korea battle of 675(200,000 Chinese cavalry wiped out by 30,000 Korean infantry), Mongol invasion of China(100K Mongol cavalry defeated China's million-man army and conquered China), Manchu invasion of China(150K Manchu army once again defeated China's million-man army and conquered China), Japanese invasion of China(100K Japanese army ran over China and the combined force of Koumintang and Communist party could not defeat). In modern example, it takes Chery 20,000 Chinese workers to assemble 350,000 cars a year whereas Hyundai's Alabama plant has 2,500 workers assembling 300,000 cars a year. Both suck compared to Kia's Korean plant building Picanto, 900 workers assembling 160,000 cars a year.
Jun 22nd 2007 10:27AM Edsel, What a wonderfully racist sentiment. While the Chinese and Japanese may look the same to you you should stop your comparison there. Japan's Post war reformation has nothing to do with China's massive communist economy.
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