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Xiaomi Has a Luxury SUV for $31,000 That All Western Brands Should Fear (www.wired.com)
submitted 1 week ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] 67 points 1 week ago (24 children)

Oh yeah, because US car companies are NOT subsidized at all /s

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  • [–] 25 points 1 week ago

    Both statements can be true at the same time. But the scale of one is many times larger.

    China’s MO from rare earths and magnets to cars to silicon follows the same plan. Take IP, Subsidize the industry, Research, once you have a monopoly use it to squeeze adversaries.

    I will say at least China is willing to kill off underperforming companies.

    The US needs to let a lot of legacy companies that aren’t performing die off. It also needs to break up oligopolies in many industries. Why compete when you can buy up the future competitors and set prices with a handful of competitors. The financialization of our economy is choking us.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 week ago (22 children)

    Sure, but try launching a new auto startup here. It's a lot harder than in China.

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  • [+] -18 points 1 week ago (21 children)

    Wrong. US manufacturers have effectively been shut out of China. But not before they made investments that China basically stole.

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  • [–] 19 points 1 week ago (17 children)

    Who would want a US made car?

    Even Americans don't want them.

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  • [–] 11 points 1 week ago* (11 children)

    I worked in the government for a bit, national park service if it matters, we were only allowed to use US made vehicles.

    Constant recalls, constant breakdowns, overall unreliable. These were all vehicles that were less than 5 years okd

    I have a 2007 toyota today that refuses to die and has barely needed any work. I'll probably have it at least another 3 to 5 years at this rate.

    American cars are shit

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  • [–] 5 points 1 week ago

    American capitalism has rendered companies incapable of producing anything that's not crap at a scale because they need to maximise profit at all costs, while quality doesn't mean shit. Every company is Boeing.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 week ago

    Worked at an oil refinery in the US. All the company cars were Ford. They all had various issues such as lights not working, the reverse beeper not working, constant engine light. We would get a loaner ford to replace our fleet ford and the loaner would fucking die. It would be comical if it wasn't my safety being jeopardized.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (8 children)

    It's very possible your Toyota was made in the US.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 week ago (4 children)

    Except for the design and almost all the parts. Probably was assembled here

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  • [–] 1 point 1 week ago (3 children)

    Many GM and Ford parts are made outside of the US. Possibly only the design and headquarters really separates them. It's a global supply chain for all companies.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 week ago (2 children)

    But Ford is responsible for bad designs like EcoBoost and trucks with plastic oil pans. Peek under a Bronco, many of the steel parts aren't even painted and body seams are not sealed. Peak 1970s manufacturing.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    Plastic oil pans save weight, who even uses metal anymore?

    The only time I ever got a hole in an oil pan was a metal one and it was my ex who somehow hit a rock and hid it from me. The one car I had with a plastic pan never had any issues, but it also had a skid plate that makes a larger difference than the material of the oil pan itself, since loose debris would just bounce off. Plus the skid plate helps reduce wind resistance so it's a necessity in this day and age anyway.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 week ago (2 children)

    Where car is made is irrelevant. How it is designed and engineered matters. Toyotas made in North America outlast anything designed in Detroit.

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  • [–] -1 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    My point is that there's really not much difference now. I'm betting many car manufacturers are starting to have AI design some parts. So where something is designed matters a lot less.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 week ago

    Your point doesn't make any sense whatsoever. Different companies have different approaches to engineering and quality control, and it absolutely makes a massive difference for how long their products last. This is very obvious in the car market.

    ML will likely play a massive role for engineering going forward, but again, it's up to each company or organization to decide how to use it. I wouldn't be surprised at all if some companies try to have LLMs weigh in on engineering matters, where they shouldn't. AI will amplify bad engineering.

    But responsible companies will make proper use of ML and their cars will be better for it.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 week ago (3 children)

    Depends on what you mean by American. Most assume you are referring to Ford or GM. But Tesla and Rivian are US made. Many are built in the States by non US companies. BMW, Volvo, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 week ago

    Tesla is a toxic brand due to Elon.

    I love the idea of Rivian but they don't want to sell in Australia and the R1/R2 have too steep/bulldozer blade of a front to sell in EU (no pedestrian rollup protection)

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  • [–] 1 point 1 week ago (2 children)

    effectively been shut out of China.

    Because Chinese won't buy massive thirsty trucks. Wtf...Tesla was in China before they even started making EVs.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 week ago*

    There's a lot of protectionism going on in China, most western manufacturers aren't allowed to sell their own cars without a Chinese company owning the majority of the partnership. Most countries don't really have rules like that, China is kinda unique.

    The Chinese actually LOVE big cars. Every other European manufacturer makes long wheelbase versions of their midrange sedans for China exclusively. Space in the back is a status symbol more than comfort up front apparently. And there are a ton of big Chinese crossovers out now. I won't call them SUVs because they're not really off road capable, much like most western "SUVs" aren't these days.

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