[dragin]

Mr. C:
Try: [email protected], [email protected],
The website is a real disappointment especially when clicking on "dealers".
There is a dealer list in Chinese at: http://www.baw.com.cn/

Anyone:
To whom do we owe our complements for the design of these beautiful luxury models? I have yet to hear whether it is Bertone, Pinanfarina, IAT or perhaps TJ Innova....Any ideas?

 

[Consciousness]

Some Google searching yielded a partial answer to my question of when will the B60/51/40 be released.

Supposedly the B40, along with a smaller SUV called the 007, will be coming out May 2010 at the earliest, with advertising campaigns possibly starting by year end.

No word on the B60 or B51/50. Though having test drove the Brave Warrior (BJ2022), I wouldn't be interested in the B60 anyways unless some serious improvements are made. The Cherokee based model looked interesting however, is it possible that the 007 is some rendition of that concept?

I cannot yet post links, but the press was easy enough to find. For those of you interested in the sedan/coupe models, I haven't seen any type of confirmation aside from their pictures being posted on the BAIHC website. Hopefully they will release those quickly for you.

Personally, I will probably be unwilling to wait. Maybe I will look more closely at the Luba now, see if I can find a one or two year old one with the Toyota engine for under 200k RMB.


P.S. to dragin - Thanks for the reply. I don't know nearly enough about all the design firms relationships with China to say for sure, but I wouldn't be surprised to find out Pinanfarina had a hand in these. Hopefully someone can find the answer.

 

[dragin]

Toyota engine? Has Beijing Auto gotten the license to produce the Toyota engine. I know that Geely has, but BAW? I don't think so......
Granted they have done a good job of copying the Prado body but that's par for the course in China. And.... Toyota does not want to make waves in that area, but engines are another thing.

 

[Consciousness]

I think the first time I read that the Luba was available with the Toyota 5VZ engine was in your post under that vehicle's thread here.

I have spent some time at the dealerships the past week, and was given confirmation that the Luba can be purchased with the 5VZ engine. It is in their brochures and on several websites as well. How the engines are ending up in BAW's hands I have no idea, they may be knocked off as well for all I know.

Sorry if I have strayed too far off topic...

 

[dragin]

You are right Mr. C. You remind me that I did say that. And I am still puzzled about it.
That Luba engine bears the Toyota logo clear as day.
The only thing I can figure is that Toyota and BAW have a tech agreement that is under wraps. I guess for some reason the industry press has been silent about it. After all, state-owned BAW is closely connected to China's power base, so BAW gets to do things that no one else can.
The Luba, both inside and out, looks nothing like the 4X4 technology which BAW has traditionally turned out.
And so, if I were you I too would be taking a serious look at buying it.

 

[Consciousness]

I will post here in the Rides section once I make a purchase. So you will know what I end up deciding on. Back on topic now...

Even though I will most likely not wait for these new models, I am still very interested to see them in person. Hopefully most of the vehicles shown here will be released in 2010.

If the quality and prices are where they need to be, these models can help pump a lot more life into the Chinese car market (and by extension, these forums).

It seems the "new" Beijing Auto is definitely worth keeping an eye on...

 

[Analyst]

Anyone:
To whom do we owe our complements for the design of these beautiful luxury models? I have yet to hear whether it is Bertone, Pinanfarina, IAT or perhaps TJ Innova....Any ideas?

Three years late, but here's your answer:

It was done in house by a former GM designer.

Their instructor is trying to change that. Ed Wong is a former General Motors Corp. designer who over the past five years also has worked off and on as an outside design consultant for Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp., helping the company come up with uniquely-designed and –styled cars of its own, which it aims to launch over the next few years. Wong — a 1987 graduate of the Art Center College of Design, the Harvard of car design, in Pasadena, Calif. — went to work at GM’s main design studio near Detroit before becoming a car-design instructor in the mid-90s, teaching car design in California and Hong Kong.

Since arriving in Beijing, he has designed, among other cars, the Beijing Warrior, the rugged vehicle China’s army now uses as its main jeep, and the Beijing 800 sedan and several other concept cars Beijing Auto showed at the Beijing auto show in 2008.

http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/...r-designers-lots-of-talent-few-job-prospects/