chery

The global economic recession has officially slowed Fiat's Big Love-style partnerships, as the Italian automaker's deal with Chery to produce models for the Chinese market has been put on hold. In August 2007, the two companies agreed on a 50/50 joint venture to produce 175,000 vehicles per year beginning in 2009. Chery spokesman Jin Yibo said that vehicle production "won't happen this year" and no date has been given for Fiat and Chery to begin building vehicles for China.

If, like us, you've been following the Volvo saga pretty closely, you'll remember that several Chinese companies are considered to be among the top bidders for the Swedish automaker when Ford officially opens the bidding. Although Geely has said they aren't interested, that didn't rule out other Chinese outfits.

Well, today we have word via Chinese news reports that Chery, for one, has been given the greenlight to enter the Volvo lottery by the Chinese government. Other interested parties are rumored to be Dongfeng Motor Group and Chongqing Changan Automobile Co, along with a "European constellation," whatever that means.

Chery, the Chinese automaker with a sweet-sounding name, is serious about entering the European market as quickly as possible.

Proof of such can be seen in the A6 Coupe (we're sure Audi's lawyers are keeping tabs on this one too), which has recently been spotted testing near Lotus' corporate headquarters in Norfolk, England. Might the Chinese upstart be getting some much needed know-how from the British brand that's known for its excellent chassis tuning? Seems likely.

The Chery S16 is called a sedan even though it only has two doors, a hatchback, what appears to be zero rear headroom, and is about 22 inches shorter than a Chevy Aveo. From the front, the styling conjures words like "bizarre" and "Picasso" and "flounder," but -- and perhaps it is the hour -- we find it kinda cute. At the rear, things get confused with a host of grafted designs that don't blend so well together.

Chery's supposed lack of money hasn't stopped it from going ahead with its multi-model Tiggo SUV rollout. The Tiggo3 -- which looks much like a RAV4 -- has done well for Chery, so now it's preparing the Tiggo5 and Tiggo6.

Well, crap. For all of us who were eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Chinese-built Dodge Demon or the Chinese-built Dodge Hornet or the Chrysler-badged, Chinese-built Chery A1, fugetaboutit. It's officially not happening.

Click above for Chery Eastar convertible gallery

In case you were jonesing for a dose of weirdness from the Chinese auto industry today, Chery has complied. Behold the Chery Eastar convertible. China Car Times' headline asks, "The thinking man's Bentley?" Perhaps, if said man is doing his thinking after hitting the all-you-can-eat peyote buffet. Note the deftly-removed B-pillar and beautifully integrated extension between the front and rear doors, complete with a gap in the weatherstripping along the sills. Listen, we have no idea if this is some one-off novelty or something that's actually being considered. What we do know is that a Saabish-bodied 4-door luxo-vert with a Lexus-y nose and Mitsubishi Mirage rear end is exactly the kind of thing that makes following the Chinese auto industry so entertaining.

Back in 2004 serial automotive entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin announced plans to collaborate with "rogue" Chinese automaker Chery Motors to bring new cars to the US market. Chery is referred to as "rogue" because the company never actually got permission from the Chinese government to get into the car business. Needless to say, the deal eventually fell apart when Chery decided to hook up first with Israel Corp and Quantum LLC for a different joint venture which has also yet to come to fruition.

Following up on our report last month about Volvo possibly going to the Chinese, state media is now reporting that Chery Automobile, one of the largest independent and fastest growing Chinese auto manufacturers, has its eyes on the Swedish automaker. Although officials at Chery rule out the possibility of buying Volvo, other sources have stated that the Chinese automaker has already negotiated funding for a possible acquisition. If so, that funding will be significant-insiders put Volvo's value at 30 billion yuan (about $4.4 billion dollars). This isn't the first time that Ford has been rumored to be cashing-out on Volvo...