These Chinese brand models that reigned supreme 20 years ago look sassy enough even today

[Motor Home? Culture]? Since joining the global trading system of the new millennium, China's automobile industry through the introduction of a large amount of capital and technology into the development of the fast lane, the same period, the Chinese car brand also began to take advantage of the huge market dividend on the stage of history. Nowadays, we may be able to pick out more than one problem with the Chinese brand products of that period, but we can't stop them from entering the homes of the ordinary people who had just become well-off at that time.

More than a decade ago, there were a number of Chinese brand models, because of the sales of hot, good reputation or topic, etc., engraved in people's memory of the times. Maybe you've seen or even driven one of them, or maybe it was your first car. A snap of the fingers, and now in our review of those who were the reigning models, you will certainly feel the 20 years of China's automobile industry development and rapid change.

●? Geely

--The Freedom? Geely to the right track of the milestone model

In the 1990s, Geely has been in the motorcycle industry to gain a foothold, and accumulated some capital, and a keen sense of smell Li Shufu is planning to shift the center of gravity to the car. 1998, the successive launch of the Haozheng, the United States of America, and other early 1.0 products more represents Geely into the car threshold, but due to the lack of experience in car manufacturing, and no corresponding technology and talent reserves, these products did not give the car a good chance of success, and the car is not a good choice for the future. Talent reserves, these products did not bring Geely too good a reputation. It was not until the introduction of the Liberty in 2005 that Geely really got on the right track.

We can always clearly see the shadow of some Mercedes-Benz models on the early Geely products, and the Freedom is no exception, so it can be seen that Mercedes-Benz planted this grass in the heart of Mr. Li for a long time, and from the time Geely stepped into the field of automotive to become the largest single shareholder of Daimler today, the grass is also more and more y rooted.

Geely's starting point for building cars is actually relatively low, in preparation for the Freedom, Geely knows how to unite the experience and technology to enhance the product power, but also found the former South Korea Daewoo Motors, the main focus of the product development of senior talent. The Liberty is a small car jointly developed by Geely Group and Daewoo Corporation of Korea and many other world companies. Compared with the previous product, the Liberty is considered to be transformed. In the words of Mr. Li himself: "The Liberty represents Geely's entry into the era of modernization, scale and high level of car manufacturing.

The sheet metal process of the body is the easiest for consumers to see, and the process that best reflects the quality of the vehicle. Geely invested hundreds of millions of dollars at that time to introduce a modern multi-sequence stamping line and stamping die to fundamentally solve the problem of surface flatness of the body, artificial sheet metal workstations were also completely removed. Putting the Haoxiang and the Liberty together, you can feel that these two cars are not the product of an era. Hardware is only one aspect, with the Liberty's car building program, Geely's introduction of high-end talent to Geely has brought a complete set of technology development system, so that Geely's concept of car building began to connect with international standards. I still remember clearly, in 2006, when I first contacted this less than 50,000 free ship, marveled that it was equipped with four power windows, and at that time this level of small cars, the back door is still mostly hand-cranked windows.

After the Freedom ship listed, consumers gave positive feedback with money, the Freedom ship has also become Geely's "leading flower girl", the peak, the average monthly sales of more than 9,000 units, in 2009, the annual sales of this car exceeded 100,000 units, ranked third in the Chinese brand's small cars, second only to the Xiaoli and QQ.

The Freedom Ferry is also exported to Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia and other countries in the form of complete vehicles and CKDs.

Freeship is Geely's first good and popular models, more importantly, the development experience of the Freedom Ship let Geely precipitated a set of its own system, through these accumulations, but also allow Geely to gradually complete the technological transformation, including power, safety, styling, chassis, and other items of the comprehensive research.

--Panda? The first minicar from a Chinese brand to earn 5-star crash safety

The Panda is Geely's first minicar, and its most appealing feature is its cute and adorable bionic design. The unique styling was only one aspect of the car, but the Panda's safety was the car's biggest draw at the time.

In 2006, the China National Automotive Research Institute carried out China's crash test C-NCAP, when the Liberty 2-star collision results, so that Geely recognized their own and joint venture brands in the see where there is still a huge gap between the automotive collision safety is not simply the body structure to do hard or add a few airbags so simple, but a systematic overall project.

Geely Panda as a miniature car, in the collision safety natural disadvantage, it is not that rely on the pile of some airbags and other configurations can be changed, but to start from the body materials and structure, and then with airbags and other auxiliary installations to achieve a higher level of safety, which also puts forward a higher demand for Geely in the R & D.

The Panda is a miniature car, and it is not that it can be changed by the pile of some airbags and other configurations.

At that time, most of the mini-cars on the market was a cheap transportation tool, the collision safety naturally do not have any illusions, only to seek their own blessings. The Panda is one of Geely's finest cars, and it rewrites the history of the country's minivans, which have yet to receive a five-star rating.

In the specific configuration and detail design, you can also find this car on the importance of safety. For example, the seatbelt reminder device is equipped with a voice reminder in addition to the common indicator light, which was rare among Chinese brands at the time. In the middle and high end models, the Panda is also equipped with six airbags, such a configuration of the entire micro and small car market are rare, and the Panda's price is only 50,000 dollars.

The Panda is a car that even today, I believe, can still win the favor of some female users, but everyone is rich, naturally, will not consider this space constraints of the mini-car. At that time, this mini car in addition to the manual gearbox, but also equipped with Geely's own 4AT, to meet the female users of automatic rigid demand. The Panda was priced at 39,800-57,800 yuan, and its annual sales were above 20,000 units after its launch. Although it is not outstanding, but through this minicar, we can see that Chinese brands are beginning to make breakthroughs in certain areas.

●? Brilliance Zhonghua

--Junjie? The king of mid-sized cars for the money? It also spawned the Chinese brand's first wagon

In the 1990s, Brilliance targeted the sedan market after acquiring Shenyang Jinbei. However, Brilliance directly from the medium-sized car cut, this market at that time is definitely the world of joint venture brands. Zun Chi as Brilliance China's first sedan, located in the business market, after all, the price of more than 100,000 is not ordinary people can afford to spend.

Junjie, as the second product of Brilliance China, is still a mid-sized car positioning, but the price is very friendly, starting price of 85,800 yuan. At that time, the same level of Chinese brand models only Chery's son of the East, the starting price of more than 100,000, the joint venture brand of medium-sized car prices are even higher, so the Junjie after the listing of the medium-sized car is known as the king of the price-performance ratio.

According to the official statement, the styling design of the Junjie is entrusted to the famous Italian studio Pininfarina, and in the time when the Chinese brands have not yet figured out the doorway of automobile styling design, it is a wise move to enhance the brand and product power through this outsourcing. Today, the car looks good or not, it's a matter of opinion, but the Junjie is a mature industrial product in terms of body proportions and the use of lines.

In 2008, on top of the trim level, Junjie also spawned the Wagon touring version, which was the first time a Chinese brand launched a station wagon. The essence of the wagon lies in the design of the rear end. Junjie Wagon's rear end is full and thick, the proportion relationship shows the elegance and naturalness of the station wagon, is a very successful design. 100,000 yuan starting price is less than half of the price of the Mazda 6 Touring Edition, unfortunately, to this day have not been able to get out of the independent market of the station wagon, the sales at that time naturally just a hilarious.

Initially listed Junjie equipped with three different displacement naturally aspirated engine, a year later, Brilliance launched models equipped with 1.8T turbocharged engine. I remember that at that time the hotter was known as the "driver's car" Volkswagen Bora, which is also equipped with a 1.8T turbocharged engine, although the original parameters are not too high, but the potential for modification is huge, with excellent driving quality, have used them all say good.

The 1.8T engine on the Junjie was built by Brilliance Automotive in collaboration with Germany's FEV Engine Company over a period of three years. Unlike the Volkswagen 1.8T, the engine's cylinder head and cylinder block are all made of aluminum alloy, and other engine technologies, such as dual overhead camshafts, variable timing, hollow sodium-charged valves, crankcase ventilation, and intercoolers, which were dominant at the time, were sold at the price of 12.58 million yuan, while the Bora at that time was sold at the price of 12.58 million yuan. The price is 12.58 million, while the Bora 1.8T at the time to 200,000 yuan.

Brilliance in the field of sedans can be described as a high level, large investment, from Germany, Italy, Japan, the introduction of advanced production equipment, automated robots, molds, etc., and BMW and BMW after the formation of the joint venture, but also to a large extent the introduction of BMW's quality management system, through this "learning by experience", so that that period of Junjie in the product power. Through this kind of "learning by ear", the Junjie had more confidence in its product strength than the products of Chinese brands that were still figuring out the way to build cars at the same time. As a detail, Brilliance Zhonghua's paintwork was much stronger than that of the Chinese brands at the same time, and this first impression often directly affects the consumer's preference for the product.

The Junjie learned a lot from the mistakes of its big brother, Zunzi, in the process of R&D and production, and the improvement in quality coupled with the pro-people's price allowed the Junjie to reach an average monthly sales of more than 6,000 units after its launch. At that time, as a Chinese brand of medium-sized cars, Junjie is undoubtedly successful.

●? Haima Automobile

--Fumelai? A cost-effective "Mazda" sedan

Hainan Automobile Manufacturing Plant (HAMA) started to produce Mazda models in the early 1990s in cooperation with Mazda, and in 1998, HAMA formally joined FAW Group to obtain the qualification of automobile production, and became an important production base of FAW in South China. After joining FAW, Haima did not get the model and the corresponding technical support, or have to go back to Mazda.

In 2002, Hainan Mazda will be born in 1998, the eighth generation of Mazda 323 introduced into the country, the model was named Formica. This is a joint-venture product with a Mazda label, it and earlier was introduced into the production of the Prima model for the Haima automobile to bring high sales, but also let the Haima automobile to become the mainstream of the domestic automobile manufacturers at that time. At this time, Mazda is not willing to be confined to the development of the island, but coveted a broader mainland market, not long after Mazda and FAW and Changan have set up joint ventures, interrupting the road of cooperation with Hainan Automobile Manufacturing Plant.

Through years of cooperation with Mazda, or to Hainan Automobile has left a good home base, compared to the same period of other Chinese brands, Hainan Automobile has the enterprise management, manufacturing, research and development system and other legal aspects of the experience is undoubtedly the most valuable. At this time, Hainan Automobile officially from the joint venture to build the road of independent brands, Haima Automobile was officially established.

Staying in the mountains, not worrying about no firewood, Haima Automobile based on the Formica model, launched the Formica 2 generation in 2006, this car is in the original Formica model based on the launch of the small modification model, but it is such a model in the domestic climbing and fighting for many years, but attracted people's attention, the reason is that it does not continue to use the trademark of Mazda, but to the "Haima". The reason is that it does not continue to use the Mazda trademark, but to the identity of the "Haima" officially transformed into a Chinese brand.

Hanging the new Haima trademark of the Formica 2 generation of models, its biggest change is the replacement of Haima's own production of 1.6L engine, this engine is also borrowed from Mazda's technology, including 16-valve, VICS variable-length intake system and other technologies. The Formica 2 generation was born in the context of Haima's abandonment by Mazda, and the strong product strength, coupled with the affordable price of 81,800-111,800 yuan, allowed the Formica 2 generation to gain good sales after the launch, averaging close to 10,000 units per month.

●? Tianjin FAW

--Xiali 2000?Let a few households in the country synchronized to enjoy the same model products with the developed automobile market

The dividends of the times, the support of the policy, so that the Xiali model red throughout the country, from the 80's to CKD to the gradual localization of the micro-cars continued to be hot for more than 10 years. Entering the new millennium, with the opening up of the market, the impact from overseas car companies and the development of Chinese brands, the Xiali model has shown its fatigue, which also means that the cooperation between Tianjin Xiali and Daihatsu of Japan is about to end. In order to create models to meet the needs of the new era, Tianjin Xiali has long been looking to Toyota products.

Why Tianjin Xiali can come together with Toyota, there are some little-known inside information. In fact, in the Charade model of the red-hot 90s, Toyota looked at the state-owned enterprise then called Tianjin Microcar Factory, willing to factory net assets of four times the price to buy 50% of its shares, the Tianjin municipal government did not agree with the acquisition.

When Phoenix TV interviewed Toyota executives at the time, they asked why they would fall in love with such a local, micro-vehicle-based automaker. First of all, Toyota believes that Tianjin is very close to Japan's frozen port, import and export is very convenient; Secondly, Tianjin port connects North China, Northeast China and the Central Plains, has a vast hinterland; Thirdly, through many years of accumulation and precipitation, Tianjin Xiali's engine manufacturing technology is the world's first-class, the introduction of Japan's Daihatsu's engine production line in the early years of the production in Tianjin, after the Japanese mainland quality is better than that of the quality of these high-quality industrial workers have the ability to produce manufacturing linkage. These high-quality industrial workers have a good realization ability in the production and manufacturing process, which is admired by Toyota; finally, Tianjin Xiali has a perfect system in the economic car, Toyota if you want to build this system will take many years. If the acquisition of Xiali is completed, we will have one less competitor and one more good partner.

Subsequently, after many negotiations, the final Xiali and Toyota reached an agreement to set up a joint venture Tianjin Toyota Motor Company, Xiali accounted for 50%, Toyota accounted for 30%, Toyota Tsusho accounted for 20%, so, opened a good cooperation between Xiali and Toyota.

The first product of the cooperation between Xiali and Toyota is the Platz, the star model of the Toyota NBC series, which was named Xiali 2000 after the introduction of the domestic market. The car, whether from the production platform or the appearance of the interior, does not have any connection with the former Xiali, which is an outright Toyota car.

This Toyota prototype was highly regarded in Europe and Japan, with more than 150,000 units sold in Europe within six months of its launch. The domestic Xiali 2000 is almost like a Toyota with a new badge, with a wider body and better space than the previous Xiali model. The interior design is subversive, with the instrument panel placed in the center of the center console and digital gauges. There are also a lot of cut-outs underneath the center console to hold items. This design concept is completely different from other products of the same generation, let us see Toyota in the design concept of bold and forward-looking.

It's not just the design concept, but also the manufacturing and safety features that make the Charade 2000 such a strong product. The only regret is that the car is not equipped with overseas advanced VVT-i engine, but the technology is a little old, but mature enough and reliable Toyota 8A engine. In fact, this domestic engine is a bit technologically backward overseas, but the quality of the domestic reputation, many of the parts imported for the Japanese original, this engine has also been purchased by many Chinese brands to be used in their own products, but also used for imitation.

The Xiali 2000, with Xiali's brand recognition, allows consumers to quickly recognize this new car, but the starting price of 119,800 seems to have become the biggest barrier to stop people from buying it, and sales after the launch were lukewarm. The Xiali 2000 is a domestic model that applies Toyota's advanced car-making technology, allowing Chinese people to enjoy the same products as those in the developed European and Japanese markets 20 years ago. As the first model after the cooperation between Tianjin Xiali and Toyota, it has accumulated valuable experience for the introduction of later models such as the Vizi and the Velvet, and for further in-depth cooperation.

●? Changan Automobile

--Benbeni, a microcar that was a hit

Before getting involved in the sedan field, Changan Automobile had already formed joint ventures with Suzuki and Ford, and at the same time was doing well in the minivan field of "Xiaomian," becoming the first Chinese brand to produce and sell a car in 2001, when it became the first Chinese brand to sell a car in the market. In 2001, Changan became the first Chinese brand to break through the one-million mark in terms of production and sales.

In July 2006, Changan Automobile announced its formal entry into the field of sedans, and in November of the same year, Changan Automobile's first family sedan Benbeni was officially launched. The development of this sedan took three years, and in terms of styling, it was jointly designed by Changan Automobile and I.D.E.A, a well-known Italian automotive design company. The modeling of the Ben Ben i is the engine compartment and passenger compartment fused together in a single compartment design, coupled with the rounded and coordinated proportion of the car, or some different, while this design can also win a larger interior space, the same as the mini-car, its internal space than the then hot Chery QQ.

Changan Ben Ben is equipped with an antelope based on the engine to create a 1.3L engine, first Equipped with a 5-speed manual transmission, and then launched a model equipped with Aisin 4AT, the car's price from 39,800-48,800 yuan, very competitive, when the starting price of the Chery QQ3 model for 29,800 yuan, but the displacement is only 0.8L, a comprehensive view of all aspects, Benben i have a stronger product competitiveness. This is located in the young people's mini-car, after the listing of the annual sales reached 30,000 units, the peak exceeded 70,000 units.

The good thing about having a big tree at your back is that because of the joint ventures with Suzuki and Ford, Changan has an inherent advantage when it comes to preparing for the development of its own brand strategy. Learning from the two "teachers" in the process can take a lot of detours, which is a very valuable asset in the stage from 0-1. Ben Ben was born based on this background, whether it is styling or powertrain, Changan has provided a relatively mature solution, coupled with affordable prices, the success of this car is not surprising.

Summary:

Through the review of these products, we found that Chinese brands have different funds, backgrounds and ways of starting out, and at that time, whoever can introduce mature models for production will have strong enough product strength, and if they can then give a friendly price, it will undoubtedly be a product with strong competitiveness. Even without such resources and background, it does not mean that will be out of the game. In that era of sloppy growth, the era of dividends to each entrant to give full trial and error and the opportunity to correct, to seize the window before the end of the dividend to get on track, will give the future development of enterprises to lay a more solid foundation. We will continue to talk about those impressive Chinese brand models in the next issue. (Article/Automotive House? Feng Jingyi? Some pictures are from the Internet)