Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid

China exports have certainly taken some hits recently, with nearly every toy on the planet being recalled and the auspicious inclusion of automobile fluid in toothpaste. Clearly the Chinese have a problem with quality control- or rather their standards are just a weeeeee bit lower than the rest of the civilized world. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission decided 30 freaking years ago that lead and paint don’t belong together, but apparently the Chinese weren’t CC’d on that memo.

Makes sense then that the Chinese see an opportunity to take a big stride into the US auto market. Enter the Brilliance BS6. Released for sale in Europe last year and expected to make it to our shores sometime this year, is a car that makes lead paint and antifreeze in standard consumer goods look like childs play.

By US standards, a three-star crash rating by the NHTSA is bad. Bad enough to land a car at the top of Forbes top 20 most dangerous vehicles (Buick Rendezvous and Ford Ranger pickup). According to a recent German crash test, the Chinese Brilliance BS6 scored one star out of five. I don’t know if there’s some metric conversion that needs to take place from Euro to US but likely in any language, one star = coffin on wheels. To be fair, reports indicate the BS6 originally received two stars but performed so badly in the side crash test, they took a star away. Not a joke.

Equally disturbing is the crash test video. At 40 miles per hour, the car crumples as if it were made of tissue paper. This product should be recalled even before it’s released.

You’re welcome.