Toasters last me a long time.
LARRY EDSALL
Published Date: 10/11/04
GEELY MERRIE 7130X1 SOLO
ON SALE: tba (awaits U.S. safety and emissions requirements)
BASE PRICE: $10,000
POWERTRAIN: 1.4-liter, 84-hp, 81-lb-ft I4; fwd, five-speed manual
CURB WEIGHT: 1940 pounds
0 to 60 MPH: n/a
Remember the first time you drove a Japanese car back in the early 1970s? Or a Korean car in the’80s? Or, for that matter, that Saturn you drove last week? They were rudimentary transportation devices proving that while their makers had the basics down, they still had a lot of catching up to do.
Fortunately they did catch up—or in the Saturn’s case, are still trying.
Former Subaru distributor David Shelburg of Scottsdale, Arizona, hopes to import the Geely Merrie 7130X1 Solo from independent Chinese automakers (AW, Aug. 9). Our drive of the Solo reminded us of those earlier experiences.
The car is built by Zhejiang Geely Automobile Co. Ltd. According to its official website, the Geely Group was founded in 1986 to produce decoration material, which made it ideally prepared to create motor scooters in 1994 and cars in 1998. The company’s English-language manual promises it will provide "powerful force, low fuel consumption, easy starting, little noise and less toxic gas emissions."Less than what, we do not know.
Driving a Solo for a few days leaves you feeling much like those first imports did: There is room for improvement.
This Chinese-spec sedan looks a little like a Volkswagen Jetta with a Mercedes grille grafted to it, though its overall dimensions are closer to those of a Kia Rio than a Jetta.
Standard equipment includes a driver’s side airbag, power steering, central locks, power windows and mirrors, and 14-inch Wingro radial tires. There is no cupholder. Shelburg says the Solo will be priced between $10,000 and $11,000 in the United States.
Before it gets here, it needs sound and vibration insulation and damping, and improved evaporative emission equipment (it leaves garages smelling like an open gas can); more power wouldn’t hurt either. Geely’s four-cylinder engine squeezes out 84 hp at 6000 rpm and 81 lb-ft of torque at 5200 rpm, though its maker notes it returns 49 mpg.
What’s to like best about the car? Its transmission shifter: The "knob"atop the five-speed manual lever has an unusual but effective shape. It is as if a cylinder of wood was sliced diagonally, then positioned for your palm to fall against the diagonal plane, and your fingers grip the outer curved surface. It is, simply, a joy to hold, and holding it also quiets its tendency to vibrate noisily.
As China becomes more of an economic powerhouse, it’s not surprising we should see its automotive imports arriving on our shores. But based on how this first example tests out, and knowing how important it is to get products right sooner for a fickle market, it won’t be long before the next-generation Geely is more representative of current automotive offerings.
Whoever said that we live in interesting times sure wasn’t kidding.