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Sign up with Google Sign up with FacebookQ: Ever seen anything resembling a "classic" car??
Today i saw a older VW beatle. Not a professional or anything but looks like a 60s punch buggy!! I thought cars that reach 20 years old had to be taken off the road??? This was on a flatdeck but i cant think of what it would be used for?
Anyone else ever see an older car in the wild??
I wonder how many old Ford Prefect are sitting some where or early 50 Mercedes, they looked like 30s cars,,, barn finds,, That sucks that 20 yr cars are off the road, yet I've seen trucks that have obviously been totaled in a head on, cab destroyed and being driven.
I just sold my 38 Chevy,, was I regretting it when I fired it up and drove it out of the garage.
I think there is the ''Peking to Paris'' ralley this year,, it's all old cars. My friend took a 4dr 55 Chevy , had it converted to 2 door post, I think he put in a small block, I would've gone LS. It's red and white, he plans on going.
Never on the streets. There was a car show recently where there was a parade of lots of classic cars... all on HK plates (I heard, didn't go see myself) and they were all on special permission escorted by China's finest.
1980ies Toyota Crown Royal Saloon would be my pick for a "classic" in China. I guess they used to transport high ranking party members.
I've seen some old looking VW cars, Santanas if I remember correctly.
You mean something like this Ferrari 308 GTS ? No, only in HK have lot of old stuff ....
Or This Benz ?
Or this Porsche ?
People here are not into classic things, classic in ChIna doesn't mean the good old time of well dressed and classy people or fancy cars, it means maoism, civil war and death.
Same reason why long hair are not popular among men in China, men with long hair here are not associated with the progressist 60's and the sexual liberation of society, they are more associated with some sort of northern barbarian.
In HK it is different because it was a British territory.
expatlife26:
Yeah totally right. China has been livable for such a short period there is still that feeling that every year is better than the year before.
Plus I think a lot of stuff westerners think is cool just means poor here. Long hair isn't any kinda statement its just "whats wrong with you couldn't afford a haircut?"
Eorthisio:
Livable indeed, barely to be honest. I don't hear about people moving here for the love of China like I do about some other Asian countries. It will be a place where people decide to live when all the bad habits of the local populace have been replaced with civilized behaviors and when foreigners are not seen as a temporary commodity anymore. In other words not for soon.
where are all the classic rickshaws that i was expecting.
Never seen a classic car but seen some classic bikes in Guangzhou occasionally. I'd post photos but this site doesn't seem to allow uploads from my phones photo album.
Stiggs:
I've seen a lot of those cool old motorbikes with a sidecar that look like something out of world war 2. I don't know if it's still popular but for a time there expats were buying them after being restored and cruising around on them.
andy74rc:
Those are CJ (Chang Jiang) 750. Basically a copy of the russian Ural which was a copy of the BMW R75.
Apart the cool look, mechanically are pieces of junk.
Hotwater:
Mate of mine used to have a CJ sidecar unit in Zhongshan.
Seen quite a few Harley's bobbin around at night in GZ but best I ever saw was an old Indian sidecar unit. Looked about 1950's & had been imported from the UK (still had its original UK plate & metal AA badge on it!). Beautiful piece of machinery & in mint condition. The guys with big bikes around GZ only take them out at night as it's easier to avoid the police!
there was also a display of about 10 Harley's in a new shopping mall in Zhujiang Newtown last year, courtesy of the Guangdong Harley owners club
Stiggs:
Yep that's right, I remember the name now, the Chang Jiang 750.
I've seen guys getting around on what look like modified Harleys a few times but I doubt that the guys riding them did any of the work themselves or even really understood what they were riding.
There is a hotel in Shanghai which has a 50's Rolls Royce which they use for weddings. It's funny how early 90's late 80's cars stick out like a sore thumb to me in China.
I also hope, and pray to God/Allah/Satan/Buddha/Jehova/Santa Claus that Chinese people will never get interested in classic cars, ever. The market for classic cars is so inflated now (Ferrari 330 GTC for $900,000?) and I still want to buy a Alfa Romeo GTV or late 70's 911 when I move from China for a reasonable price.
Classic cars in China? Never ever. The concept of appreciating something so exquisite as a preserved or restored classic car (or motorcycle) will always be alien to a society where things are built quick for a facade, with ZERO maintenance and preservation and rebuilt in the same shitty way 3 years later, over and over again, or just simply let rotten. But, hey, they do keep the film on the sunshades to keep it new, don't they?
I think I have seen one or two cars that were awesome and turned my head due to being unique. But most are just replicas of another 10000 cars I have already seen.
There is a motorcycle club here that has some cool oldie models. One guy has a German Nazi bike that has a side buggy used during WW II (not sure if it is a replica but the guy is so rich that it probably is authentic). The motorcycle culture is probably stronger than the car culture in China.
Hotwater:
That's probably a Chang Jiang 750 as mentioned above. They were originally BMW's that were licensed by the Chinese army & have been customised in many ways by current owners.