No point explaining benefits of bulb to a caveman who is happy rubbing stones.

Dear Khurram,

Stating facts does not make it bias just because they are not sitting well with one disgruntled reader for some reason. The reason for giving all the links is to justify what has been said. That is called responsible journalism. The information given is fact, backed by all the additional information in the attached links. If I had not done that, that would have been akin to unsubstantiated statements and hearsay.

My goal was to help familiarize readers with these brands and to show where these companies stand on the world stage. Like me, a lot of readers would like to learn about this just for information. That is why we come to this website, the only true automotive journalism site in Pakistan if I’m honest. This article makes a good discussion and if it helps someone in making informed decisions regarding these brands (whether to skip or buy); glad to be of service. Judge them on merits and not hearsay.

Yes, the cars I have mentioned are not available here in Pakistan but it was to show what these companies are capable of and what they offer.

Yes, ALL these new cars/SUVs are for the rich here in Pakistan. But in the rest of the world, these are strictly middle class and below.

For now, people with limited means have very limited choice here sadly.

Yes, I owned a QQ for 7 years and loved every minute of it. But still, every experience is unique to everyone. And, no Khurram, I don’t have to justify it to anyone by providing ownership cost or any such documents. I can ask you to do the same. We can quote each other all sorts of arbitrary numbers that won’t mean anything.

Yes, owning the Mehran was bad for me. But to first say that you didn’t read the article and then turnaround in a comment you made at almost midnight to say that you have discussed the issues with some of your friends; Khurram, please tell me you were not up till midnight quizzing your friends about Mehran issues just to win a random argument. You must have had something better to do at such a late hour.

I have had a good experience of owning a Chinese car. Is that such a crime or such an outrageous claim? You keep on calling me bias. Khurram, are you sure you are not projecting your bias on to me? Have you ever even owned a Chinese car? Or have you only ever heard things about them?

Yes, parts might be an issue with the new brands. But if people don’t buy, the parts and services will not get common. It is the ultimate catch-22. However, good news, these companies fall under the auto policy 2016. They are required by law to make sure parts and services are available. If not, people are within their rights to take them to courts.

I don’t know which mechanic you go to but I have found that because of the influx of the imports, even mechanics in an under developed area such as where I live are very capable of handling any technical issues very modern engines and their sensors can throw at them. One of the many upsides of the imports in my humble opinion.

If, MG, a British brand is now Chinese because a company from China owns it, does that mean Volvo cars is too because it is owned by Geeky from China? It is not so and you know it. Each company is separate with its own brand identity.

Acquisitions started it all for well-known companies from China. Fun fact, Proton started by acquiring tooling from Mitsubishi for the old lancer to sell as the 1st gen saga. We actually got that here the first time Proton came to Pakistan in the Mid-2000s. Japanese copied from the Americans and Europeans etc. and put their own Japanese spin on them. Just as the Chinese are doing now. It’s part of the game. If any company in any field went it alone and disregarded what came before; each time trying to reinventing the wheel, we would not get anywhere.

However, you seem to be well versed in the local market and why any new innovation must be shunned because of the fear it would make things worse. The ultimate fear for us; the people with limited resources. I welcome any input you have and would suggest that you please do consider a writeup of your own on the subject. I assure you that I will read the full article. I will not just read the first few lines, take it out of context, and complain and belittle nor would I just skim it. No; Rest assured, I will hang on your every word.

This “baffoon/doofus/etc.” is willing to learn; like any rational adult.

Still, judging by your comments Khurram, a troll gotta troll. So, I await your, no doubt interesting but profanity laced, reply.

I skimmed through article you suggested me to read, the author should have shared pictures of his car after seven years of use. Moreover, it would also have been more helpful had he shared total ownership cost, not including amounts that are spent on polishing it. You see, Mehran despite it being with my cousin for two years now is doing exceedingly well, it is 2012 model and has not shown none of the problems stated by the writer as of yet, he does not even polish it and yet its buttons and dashboard has remained intact. I also discussed the written issues with my friends owning Mehran and they also agree that the driver must have been very rough with his Mehran or it could have suffered damage during transport. Anyways, I am Alhamdulillah happy with my Cultus and shall inshaa Allah keep on using it I only suggest that journalism should be realistic and this article has failed to give proof of long-term ownership of Cherry QQ.

Oh, did he? Well, like I said I did not waste my time reading any further than name of source mentioned by the writer, so I am sorry for being a loud mouth.
However, there is one thing I would like you to answer, why then did Chery fail, if it were this good then it must be visible on the roads like older Protons, or Hyundai and Daewoo? It’s absence only means one thing; the car is not good as the writer makes it out to be and it comes at a high cost of maintenance.

can’t agree more on the “technology that made lives better” part.. Baleno arrived here in 1998 and since then technology has made our lives better in more ways than we can imagine

“[…]the review about goodness of the car should have come from the writer himself that is to say he should buy a MG or Chinese crap available over here[…]”

Did you miss the part where he said that he had a Chery QQ for 7 years?
There is another old article about Chery QQ on this blog, you can scroll up to find its link.

Since you are technically qualified therefore, I am going to debate with you, may be I can even learn something that is useful. Suzuki Baleno was advanced, it is true, however, it had technology that made lives better, it allowed the user to save fuel costs, without spending unusual amount of time for suspension repairs. In my eleven years, I never had to visit mechanic other than a small shop, we did not even get the car serviced for six to eight months and yet it did not rust at end of our ownership. As regards to FAW, I have known my friends finding a difficult time to get the car repaired from any road side mechanic, also its suspension is very weak, it breaks frequently.

Suzuki Baleno was the first 1300cc car in Pakistan to have loads of sensors when we had even bad fuel than today.. Still you have an unforgettable experience with a car which is otherwise known to have a bad reputation. So why too worry for sensors? I guess we can have a healthy debate over this before others jump in to respond 🙂

btw the article mainly discusses about the negative perception of Chinese cars in our market which are well received in developed markets