Sour Chery: Bricklin suit claims corruption

[DainBramaged]

Entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin is preparing to sue his estranged business partners at Chery Automobile Co., accusing the Chinese automaker of engaging in corrupt practices.

Bricklin and Chery reached an agreement in late 2005 to distribute China-built cars in the United States. But Chery stopped dealing with Bricklin, claiming his company, Visionary Vehicles LLC, had not provided necessary funding.

"We're going to get them for everything they've done," Bricklin told Automotive News on Friday, July 18.

Bricklin was expected to file the lawsuit suit today, July 21, in a federal court in Detroit. The suit alleges that Chery has "systematically broken contractual obligations, stolen plans for vehicles, made cars designed by Western companies without paying for their rights, and made deals without the slightest intention of carrying them out."

Bricklin's company has lost more than $26 million because of Chery's misconduct, the suit claims. Chery was not available for comment late last week.

Bricklin said he can bring his suit in a U.S. court because Chery already has been sued in this country. Chery settled that suit, filed by a vehicle designer, out of court, Bricklin said.

"We're going after Chery here because they are vulnerable here," he said.

When their partnership began, Bricklin said of Chery: "I have never met a more cooperative, more intelligent, more aggressive group to do business with. We're working together as if we've been working together for 100 years."

Bricklin signed up U.S. dealers with the pledge that Chery-built vehicles would be available for sale here in 2007. The exports never began.

Last year, Chery formed a joint venture with Quantum LLC, the American finance subsidiary of an Israeli holding company, to produce cars for export.

Chery also has an agreement with Chrysler LLC to build small cars for export. Chrysler is expected to ship the first of those cars to Mexico by year end. The two automakers are discussing exports to the United States and Europe.

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080721/ANA03/807210336/1131

I am sure there will be some people here who would buy cars from the Chinese without a second thought about their's or other's safety, overall quality, or that the design may be a counterfeit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5SRyG6UR2A

watch this and tell me you would buy a Chinese car.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F06LjugtIUo

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/crash-test-video/chinese-sedan-earning-its-1+star-crash-rating-272111.php