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Bang! It shook the car and sounded expensive. We were stopped in traffic when the driver of the Hilux ran into the back of us.
No big deal, just a slow-speed prang that left an unsightly dent in the tailgate. It was all covered by insurance, including a hire car for the four days my vehicle was at the panel beater.
The hire car was a newish Volkswagen, a compact SUV. And compared to my Chinese MG, quite horrible.
I hated the way the engine cut out when you came to a stop and restarted when you took your foot off the brake. Unnerving compared to the hybrid MG, which always takes off with a pleasing electric whir before the petrol motor kicks in and doesn't sound as if it's stalled in traffic.
The VW's interior was a little basic too. Hard-edged, plasticy and unfriendly. I missed the MG's soft-touch trim, its piano black highlights, bright centre screen and comfortable - and heated - leather seats.
It struck me then. No wonder Europe and the US are getting antsy with China over its inexpensive and increasingly high quality automobiles.
Joe Biden's so mad, he's imposing a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese vehicles. It's largely rhetorical because Chinese vehicle sales are tiny in the US. The value of Chinese EV sales in Australia is seven times greater than in the US.
Europe, however, is genuinely worried its car makers face an existential threat from China, which has become the number one global exporter of vehicles, last year overtaking Japan. It's mulling over hiking tariffs to protect its own manufacturers, especially BMW and Mercedes Benz in Germany.
China now dominates the world EV market, its BYD brand overtaking Tesla, which has had to slash its prices to stay in the game. It should be good news for consumers. Good news, too, for decarbonising car travel. But instead it's shaping up to be a destructive trade war in which Australia risks being caught in the middle.
Where once they went into the construction of enormous housing projects, the red rocks we dig up in Western Australia now end up as the steel in Chinese cars. Our biggest trading partner wants our iron ore for its vehicles but our geopolitical partners, the US and Europe, want to curb China's dominance of the auto trade.
But that horse has already bolted.
Take my MG. It bears the badge of an "iconic" British brand but that's owned by Chinese auto giant SAIC. More important than that, however, is ... this MG actually works. That's why the current iteration of the brand outsells Tesla, Volkswagen, Subaru, Nissan and Isuzu utes in Australia.
Volvo's Swedish, right? Wrong. It's owned by the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, a Chinese auto giant based in Hangzhou. Geely also owns Polestar and famed British marque Lotus and makes that most English of vehicles, the London cab. Oh, and it has a sizeable stake in Mercedes Benz.
Returning the VW, I remembered my early driving days, clunking around in a wobbly Beetle, long before Volkswagen became a prestige brand. It was an awful car. Uncomfortable, handled dreadfully and the doors wouldn't shut if the windows were fully wound up. Back then I wondered if I'd ever be lucky enough to own an MG. That was before I learned how unreliable they were.
How times have changed.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Are you surprised by the number of Chinese made cars on our roads? Have you bought one? Would you consider buying one? Does the country of manufacture affect your decision on which car you'll buy? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au
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THEY SAID IT: "Car designers are just going to have to come up with an automobile that outlasts the payments." - Erma Bombeck
YOU SAID IT: The Josh Frydenberg speculation ended quickly but not before people started thinking about succession on both side of politics.
"Leadership speculation by us plebs is useless because few of us have a say," writes Lee. "However, in Labor I would love to see Tanya Plibersek or Penny Wong take the role. I know Penny Wong can't because she is a senator but she seems to have common sense and knowledge to bring about change. For the Libs I think anybody would be better than Pontiac Pete, even Sussan Ley who would give us all some great laughs even though she isn't a great pollie."
Lai writes: "Chalmers for ALP leader. The dithering incompetent waster that's there now is a straw man. He was AWOL for a year while he ponced around the country flogging his hobby horse. That only cost us about $450 million. Could have built a school or two with that. He's all puff and no pastry. Wong looked good for a long time but went over to being an apologist for Hamas. The rest of them are mediocre at best and seat warmers at worst."
"Who would make a better leader than Dutton?" asks Alan. "Answer: Anyone! (with the possible exception of Barnaby, who, fortunately, is in the minority party of the Coalition anyway. But having him as deputy, and at times acting, PM for a while a few years back was scary enough!)"
Arthur writes: "Albo would be very worried if the Libs replaced Peter Dutton. If the replacement was an unknown backbencher the Libs would stand a better chance. No policies and no charisma is not a recipe for electoral success."
"A bit cynical maybe but, loved your tone," writes Anita. "To the question of 'succession', The ALP could do far worse than Charmers [sic] in my view. As his name implies, he is 'charming' and has the ability to sell his ideas with a minimum of rancour, though who knows what he's thinking on the inside. He's a good looking fellow, what's more. Presentation should not count but it does. On the Lib side ... how could you bypass the new recruit Amelia Hamer? Her reputation is as yet unsullied and it would put paid to the theory that they hate women. Why not give it a go? After all, if Mexico can countenance a female head of state maybe it's not impossible here."