China’s ‘Detroit Fish’ showcases local design talent

Posted Wed Jan 16 2008 5:24 PM by Nelson Ireson

China's motor industry has been frequently maligned in the automotive press for its less-than-original designs. And it's certainly true that several of China's more prominently advertised models share striking similarities with Mercedes-Benz, Lexus and BMW designs. But one Chinese designer is working to change that, by developing a unique Chinese automotive design language. Li Guangming is the author of the bright-yellow rounded and rather bizarre - but certainly unique - cars recently spotted in the basement of the NAIAS in Detroit.

All three cars are electric, which Li considers vital to encourage China's auto industry to explore alternative energy sources, noting that 'If China and India burned gas at the same rate as the U.S., they would consume four times the fuel reserves of the entire planet." A good point, and very illustrative of how emerging automobile markets in places like China and India will be forced to innovate new power sources simply because there will be no alternative.

Of the three cars, only one was designed specifically for the Detroit show. Named the Detroit Fish for it's amphibious abilities, the car looks a bit like a four-passenger version of the Piece of Cloud also on display. The bulbous Book of Songs being shown alongside the other two gives a window into how the design language could be translated into vehicles that looks somewhat more like traditional cars.

Whether anything like the three cars on display in Detroit will ever make it to production, it's clear that Li is on to something. Even if the design language that ultimately ends up defining the Chinese auto industry is completely different, Li will have played a role in kick-starting its development. And that's something we can all appreciate.

Gallery: Chinese Bubble Cars at 2008 NAIAS

Reader Comments

Wed Jan 16 2008 6:03 PM
chris says

.....is that the weiner truck?

as one who frequents the NAIAS (will be going this saturday when it opens to the public to help display my university's formula SAE competition car), i can tell you that everyone does the whole auto show in the up stairs.. and then goes downstairs for a good laugh at the ricer and chinese makes' exhibits. Last year there was a car that had a diamond pattern wheel layout. another was made out of card board.

they have to make ripoffs of other cars because when they've tried to make their own stuff, they go too far overboard. an amphib? how big is the amphib market? on that note, would you drive an ELECTRIC amphib car made in china? if you dont drown, you'll get electrocuted. brilliant.

a message for china: dont make the same mistakes that korea has: just make a normal car, with a little bit of unique design. thats all.
Wed Jan 16 2008 6:25 PM
Gus says

If you drove that around here you'd get eggs thrown at you and some college kids would roll it over.
Wed Jan 16 2008 7:11 PM
chris says

but gus; its a green car. dont you so-callies like that? although the amount of energy required to make any car is high, and all that electricity would have been brought to you by chinese coal.

(i specify chinese coal because chinese coal power plants do not run the emission regulations that we have in the west. coal power plants here look like wind farms compared to what the chinese do to get their power)
Wed Jan 16 2008 10:00 PM
Gus says

To me a Mustang in Highland Green is a green car.
Wed Jan 16 2008 10:56 PM
MARK says

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. must be some type of bad joke.
Thu Jan 17 2008 2:12 PM
Raptor says

I can't decide wheather it's just ugly and dangerous or ugly, dangerous and gay.

Even golf carts look way better.
Fri Jan 18 2008 1:34 PM
chris says

you know what.. in all fairness.. these cars are actually a huge improvement over what i saw last year.

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