It seems that every year the Detroit auto show plays host to an indigenous Chinese automaker that isn't ready for prime time. Like last year, the Geely display was humiliatingly mounted in the hallway outside the main exhibit area, near a snack shop. It consisted of just two cars: a terrific knockoff of the classic tall-roofed London-style taxi and an unexceptional compact sedan, the FC, which reminds us of a Nissan Sentra from a couple generations back.

While Geely is the largest privately-owned carmaker in China, it only started making cars in 1999. Most of the press conference was devoted to a safety system designed to prevent loss of control in the event of a tire blowout. Apparently it's a rapid-reacting stability control system linked to a tire pressure monitor. Geely says it makes its own engines and transmissions, which seemed a substantial boast given the pride and enthusiasm with which this news was announced. A Geely officer mentioned that the company makes cars costing from $6,000 to $60,000, but didn't get too specific on what those cars were. The press conference ended about there. So, one reporter asked, "When are you planning to sell Geely cars here, and at what price?" After a good deal of translation, the answer came back that there are not yet any firm plans.

To figure out what was what, I turned to the Geely press materials, a 32-page glossy booklet printed on heavy stock. There, the sense of confusion descended into real bafflement. Describing the car labeled FC, the text seems to refer to it as the Vision. Here is a quote: "In motion, it flows as smoothly as unrestrained; when still, it looks grand and magnificent. The intelligent crystal head lamps look smart and resplendent, as if to display the maturity and glamour of an outstanding figure in the commercial circle, where it will certainly be welcomed as required by the fashion." Now, that's marketing talk at a whole new, paradigm-shaking level.

Of another compact, the CK, there is a section headed "Speeding up Freely." There under the subhead "Outstanding security assurance" is this statement: "Free Warship is of advanced structure... What is the most worth mentioning is the outstanding secure environment provided for the owner of the car by the 28 aspects of its three-dimensional security system!"

Owners of two-dimensional systems, cry your eyes out.

My personal favorite of the almost-comprehensible media information was the unfortunate admission that the Geely Coupe has "the new German Bosch M7.9.7 fuel ejection system."

We just can't wait to get our hands on one of those.

—Gordon Hard

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