• twisted@sh.itjust.works
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    14 days ago

    They’ll be banned faster than you can memorize the spelling of Xiaomi. At least in the US, where we make sure the old inefficient companies stay afloat despite their incompetence.

    • CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works
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      14 days ago

      So you think the entire world’s auto manufacturers outside of China are incompetent and inefficient? People always act like the only vehicles sold in the US are domestic brands when they don’t even make up a majority here.

      • Grimy@lemmy.world
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        14 days ago

        Corrupted by the oil industry and colluding together would be a better term. Someone please stop China, they are destroying the “EVs are luxury vehicles only” gimmick.

      • twisted@sh.itjust.works
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        14 days ago

        Well I wouldn’t say they’re all incompetent but look at how glacial all the “traditional” car companies have become. These guys are innovating at a speed never seen before while your traditional car manufacturers are stumbling over themselves trying to keep up.

        On the german side, just take a look at BMW and how long it took for them to come up with a competent electric platform. They just got their first car on a good platform (the new X3). Mercedes still doesn’t have a good EV, and neither does Audi. Their etron is outdated.

        Moving to the Japanese brands. I know Toyota isn’t focused on EVs at all and their hybrid is top notch so they’re one of the better ones out there. But no one else is even close. Not in terms of value for money. Not in terms of tech.

        The only ones that get close are Tesla because, like the Chinese, they’re running their car companies like tech companies and not car companies.

        • CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works
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          14 days ago

          What innovations are lacking specifically? I dont know of any features unique to Chinese brands. It seems more like you think every company should only be selling EVs for dirt cheap prices, but that isn’t realistic becausw those aren’t real prices and EVs aren’t yet practical for everyone which is why they make up such a small percentage of sales here still (though this number climbs with each quarter).

    • Horsey@lemmy.world
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      14 days ago

      The thing is, if the American government wants to be protectionist against Chinese cars, IMHO they need to pass legally binding legislation to force US car manufacturers to meet or exceed what the Chinese cars are offering and then directly subsidize the cost of those vehicles to the consumer, freely, with no stipulations. The punishment for failure to meet and exceed those expectations should be bankruptcy through immediate removal of the protectionist mechanisms.

      • mofongo@discuss.tchncs.de
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        13 days ago

        They tried when Japanese cars became popular for being efficient, the US car companies preferred to pretty much abandon the rest of the world and keep the government money.

    • cabbage@piefed.social
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      13 days ago

      Chinese cars are heavily subsidized by the state. The reason they’re so cheap is because China bets it can squeeze the competition out of the market before charging basically whatever they want.

      I’ve seen Starbucks do the same thing to independent coffee shops.

      Edit: This is a post about real car companies like Nissan, Volvo, Mercedes, Renault, whatever. I don’t care about America. Nobody has for decades.

      • halcyoncmdr@piefed.social
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        14 days ago

        And yet even at 2-3x the price, the Chinese EVs provide a better value than the handful of the American options they would compete against.

        This SUV would be competing with the likes of a high end EV option like Lucid or Tesla. The Lucid Gravity starts a around $70k, and the Tesla Model X (now discontinued) was around $92k.

        The Xiaomi SU7 (the car the Ford CEO has driven since 2024, despite being banned in the US) starts at $32k and clearly is targeted to compete the Porsche Taycan at $112k.

        The vehicle in this article has heated floors, a projector, a pop-up roof, a fridge, swiveling seats, and over 1,000 miles of range. Functions western companies consider “luxury” are basically just standard in the Chinese market like heated and ventilated seats. They don’t even bother to advertise things like that because it’s a minimum expectation. There are zero western options that come close to something like that. The options available in the US suck, even taking industry subsidies into account.

        • SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca
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          13 days ago

          heated floors, a projector, a pop-up roof, a fridge, swiveling seats,

          Never have I once thought I needed any of that bullshit.

          • halcyoncmdr@piefed.social
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            13 days ago

            And yet there it is, along with basically every other “luxury” feature western companies save for high end models… all for the price of a base model SUV here.

          • bountygiver [any]@lemmy.ml
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            13 days ago

            it seems to want it to be like a compact RV rather than a SUV

            because all of those does sound like something you want in an RV

          • halcyoncmdr@piefed.social
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            13 days ago

            I see you forget about the first 3 models that Tesla made that were $70k or higher when they were discontinued, and all launched at $90k+

            • boonhet@lemmy.zip
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              13 days ago

              They were only high-end EVs because the EV market was dogshit then. They’ve never competed with high-end cars in general.

              Unfortunately it’s a race to the bottom and high-end cars are doing the same Tesla bullshit of a minimalist interior with a huge display instead of physical buttons with heft like they used to.

      • mofongo@discuss.tchncs.de
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        13 days ago

        American car companies (and American built cars) get subsidies from the US, Canada, and Mexico as all three form a single manufacturing chain. They simply have had a different set of priorities that allowed newcomers to eat their lunch, like it happens to any complacent industry.

      • SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca
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        13 days ago

        Chinese cars are heavily subsidized by the state

        Detroit has received $88B in subsidies and loans since 2008. That’s why we have so many cheap EV options?

        • SreudianFlip@sh.itjust.works
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          13 days ago

          Heavily subsidized by misery, as well.

          Detroit pays union wages and has to respect worker rights (at the top end of the supply chain). The “communist “ state seems to escape these limited obligations in big parts of their supply chains.

          • adjectivenoun@lemmy.world
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            13 days ago

            Workers in Detroit might get paid union wages, but many auto factories have relocated to the South where they can underpay and abuse workers much more easily. I just did some quick googling and it seems like being a factory worker in China isn’t bad compared to in the US. They work in highly automated, clean, air-conditioned spaces like would be found here. Dirty conditions and manual labor are no longer compatible with today’s automotive quality requirements. Low level workers make modest wages, but they employ a bunch of engineers and technicians just like here in the US, and they have subsidized cafeterias and some provide housing or stipends for housing. You might criticize the expectation of working significant overtime, but I’ve worked in factories which had mandatory overtime in the US, so that sort of structural coercion isn’t unique to China. Compared to a “right to work” state, Chinese workers have stronger protections from being laid off or fired. The main downside seems to be lax enforcement of safety standards. If the government doesn’t notice something unsafe on its own, there isn’t a Chinese version of dropping a hint to OSHA.

            Now further upstream in the supply chain? No thanks. That’s where you’ll find abysmal working conditions. Just remember there are good reasons our government wants us to believe everything sucks for workers in China.

            • SreudianFlip@sh.itjust.works
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              13 days ago

              Oh yes, and even plum union jobs for floor workers in Windsor or Brampton can be kind of shit too, especially in some of the parts factories.

              I expect that from hypercapitalist oligarch-run societies. I don’t expect it from vanguard countries. It’s a betrayal.

      • Pollo_Jack@lemmy.world
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        13 days ago

        Frankly, american cars could use a knockdown. Tesla was our only real hope, and we would have glided into a strong Tesla and EV empire if conservative dems didn’t bail out GM, Chrysler, and Ford. Additionally, Tesla wouldn’t have been in a position to get bought by a dumb nazi.

        I’d say, let their stuff in. Lets get some good cheap and subsidizes vehicles from China on the condition that they don’t raise car prices by more than 2% a year.

        American companies will more than likely fall on their face and hopefully die. Making room for a new american car company to take their place.

  • tiramichu@sh.itjust.works
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    13 days ago

    Can we just fucking STOP doing SUVs please? And huge trucks. And all the rest of that oversized garbage.

    • melfie@lemmy.zip
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      13 days ago

      But without SUVs, people would be embarrassed driving minivans and without huge trucks, there would be nothing to compensate for small penises.

    • adjectivenoun@lemmy.world
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      13 days ago

      But I like being able to see over everyone else

      • everyone

      At this point I’m planning to see under everyone else.

    • KingPorkChop@lemmy.ca
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      13 days ago

      Most of these these new SUVs aren’t huge SUVs of the 90s - like Ford Explorer. They’re basically the new station wagon but barely larger than a sedan like a Camry.

      • adjectivenoun@lemmy.world
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        13 days ago

        A crossover is a station wagon but the entire thing is raised up for no reason. It’s funny how averse the public is to driving a minivan. I drove one as a rental for a week and it was snappy, convenient, comfortable, and could hold a ton of stuff or people.

  • darthsundhaft@piefed.social
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    14 days ago

    I always love seeing the headlines that say “west should fear when other countries beat them at their own game”. It’s the same stupid rhetoric that Trump keeps barking about AI and how “we have to beat China”.

    Mate, you all fucking caused everything to happen. Where do you see anything that says “Made in USA” anymore? Not that that would mean much today anyway given the shit quality the US has, but seriously.

    They’re just making up hysteria based on nothing. Nobody wants to fucking go to an office 5 days a week just to do remote meetings. Nobody wants to be dependent on cars for getting around.

    Nobody wants all this forced AI shit in our everyday lives. Just get over it. The endless conquest of world domination held by a handful of influencers is over. The world must change and to start, it must end all of this greedy ass capitalism which only seeks to cause misfortune for the rest of us.

    • anon_8675309@lemmy.world
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      14 days ago

      Ross Perot warned everyone. They laughed at his ears.

      Yes there were warnings before but his was probably the last chance we had.

  • Jiral@lemmy.world
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    14 days ago

    Yes, I fear those SUVs but not because that one is cheap, for an SUV but because oversized SUVs kill people (at a much higher rate than regular cars, even those with comparable loading volume).

      • rekabis@lemmy.ca
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        13 days ago

        Sorry, what’s the problem?

        If you can’t reach that resource, it’s your DNS provider being a limp-wristed dick. Change providers.

          • rekabis@lemmy.ca
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            13 days ago

            If this is the biggest shenanigans that the site has gotten into over its entire existence, imma not gonna throw the baby out with the bath water just yet.

            Any site owner has a right to remain anonymous. I would also take serious issue if someone started unmasking a high-profile project that I have taken extreme pains to keep separate from my private/meatworld existence. I would likely not behave as badly, but I would certainly pull out as many stops to make their life as uncomfortable/inconvenient as possible.

    • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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      13 days ago

      Everything spies on you now LOL.

      If you’re reading this on your phone, guess what? Your phone is spying on you. Turn off your phone and watch some TV. Your TV is spying on you.

      • Jiral@lemmy.world
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        13 days ago

        Yeah, but not everything is wankpanzer that has a much higher kill rate than reasonably designed cars.

  • SkunkWorkz@lemmy.world
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    14 days ago

    And why is it so relatively cheap? Where did they cut corners? Are they spying on you like the cheap Chinese TVs? It can’t be just because it’s government subsidized.

    • Squizzy@lemmy.world
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      14 days ago

      They are spying yes,all the others are too which doesnt make it ok but that is why it is subsidised by the state.

      They cut corners on comfort and noise levels from my experience of similar brands

        • Bluescluestoothpaste@sh.itjust.works
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          14 days ago

          Why? The domestic corps actually have access to you to use that information. What’s china gonna do with my data that is gonna affect me 12k miles away?

          • Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            13 days ago

            Coorporate with other entitities and then sell a full picture on me to the local authorities?
            Idk mate. Honestly.
            How about no spying? Can we do that?

          • Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            13 days ago

            Oh so you’d like to rather lick the foreign boot?
            Very nice.
            American, Russian, Chinese or Israeli?

            • Squizzy@lemmy.world
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              13 days ago

              America is israel. I am not the one who showed a preference for which boot to lick.

              • Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                13 days ago

                Very nice avoidance of my question. Then say, which one you’d lick if your life depended on it.
                The domestic or the foreign one?

    • willington@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      13 days ago

      I prefer domestic exploitation to the Chinese.

      If the billionaires raping my life and my country are American, they are welcome. If they are Chinese, then fuck the CCP.

      (do I need /s here?)