RE: Video: Geely Panda Pulls A Stoppie
RE: Video: Geely Panda Pulls A Stoppie
Thursday 20th May 2010

Video: Geely Panda Pulls A Stoppie

Chinese mini will struggle when the lights go green, but red lights are going to be fun...



Not content with pinching all that's best in the world of European car design, Chinese maker Geely has now decided to challenge Mini over who can have the most fun in a city car.

Russ Swift used to have the market sewn-up for this sort of thing, but judging by the 'close-quarter' skills demonstrated by Geely's stunt driving team, he's got some decent competition at last. We're particularly impressed by the fact that Geely's Panda city car can apparently pull stoppies to rival the 125-riding kids in your local High Street.

What the po-faced consumer magazines in the US and Europe are going to make of that is anyone's guess, but if the video proves one thing it's this - the Chinese are 'car guys' too, and that's got to be a good 'cos they're headed this way.

Enjoy the action below. (Unless you're Russ Swift...)

Author
Discussion

russellwatson17

Original Poster:

278 posts

218 months

Thursday 20th May 2010
quotequote all
Could have picked a better colour of car for the promo vid.

clarksonisawilly

377 posts

199 months

Thursday 20th May 2010
quotequote all
Why Why Why don't we have adverts like that in the UK? Sell cars on virtues of awesomeness rather then the availability of finance deals? It would work!

Mr Gear

9,416 posts

220 months

Thursday 20th May 2010
quotequote all
Cute looking car, but I can just imagine the fun-police ruining it for everyone.

"OMG! It skids! It goes on two wheels!"

The way they laid into that Lexus' traction control system in teh USA says it all when it comes to their attitude to safety. The emphasis is on the car makers to make an uncrashable car, rather than people to engage their brain behind the wheel.

Martin_Hx

4,029 posts

228 months

Thursday 20th May 2010
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The Nur

9,168 posts

215 months

Thursday 20th May 2010
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Best advert for a small car I have ever seen. (or can think of at the moment)

The Wookie

14,209 posts

258 months

Thursday 20th May 2010
quotequote all
Niiiice weight distribution! Bet it doesn't have chinese tyres on it

P.S. Was there some sort of mind control in that advert that hasn't affected me? It was rubbish! Plus, if a car can do a stoppie while braking in a straight line it doesn't really bode well for its general handling traits does it? I'm all for fun handling and against the general notion of idiot proofness, but there's quite a wide line between a fun chassis and ending up on your roof the first time you do an emergency stop!

Edited by The Wookie on Thursday 20th May 10:10

marctwo

3,666 posts

290 months

Thursday 20th May 2010
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Wow. The McDonald's in China certainly have large car parks.

scubadude

2,619 posts

227 months

Thursday 20th May 2010
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Must have been filmed at the Chinese version of the Lakeside cruise ;-)

Will it pull a stoppie with a fat Westener at the wheel I wonder?

Health & Safety and Politcal Correctness has ruined car adverts here, glad to see it hasn't reached China, anyone remember the "old" 80's adverts- 405 driving through the explosions, Montego crashing into a lake and turning into a speed boat? =(both surprisingly likely if you'd ever owned them)

Mr Gear

9,416 posts

220 months

Thursday 20th May 2010
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Anyone go to the PTM Show at Santa Pod a few weeks ago? If so, you might have seen that Honda Civic go into first gear at about 70mph... that pulled a stoppie too!

The noise it made was a bit sickening though... irked

Richard A

181 posts

206 months

Thursday 20th May 2010
quotequote all
Martin_Hx said:
Heh, heh... trouble is, that's already the name we use for the Alfa 'Fugu Fish' Mito...

Graham E

13,018 posts

216 months

Thursday 20th May 2010
quotequote all
How do they make a car on such narrow tyres able to do a stoppie? I'm thinking they need:
Very heavy engine mounted high, close to directly above front wheels
very soft suspension
very low %age of weight to rear.

Sounds like it'd be lively for list off oversteer!

Ahonen

5,032 posts

309 months

Thursday 20th May 2010
quotequote all
Article said:
...but if the video proves one thing it's this - the Chinese are 'car guys' too, and that's got to be a good 'cos they're headed this way.
Does it really prove that? No, of course it doesn't. It just proves their marketing department has employed a few stunt drivers to drive their cheap copies of European cars.

Mr Gear

9,416 posts

220 months

Thursday 20th May 2010
quotequote all
What is the Geely Panda a "copy" of exactly? I can't see it in the looks, is it in the underpinnings?

Ahonen

5,032 posts

309 months

Thursday 20th May 2010
quotequote all
Graham E said:
How do they make a car on such narrow tyres able to do a stoppie? I'm thinking they need:
Very heavy engine mounted high, close to directly above front wheels
very soft suspension
very low %age of weight to rear.

Sounds like it'd be lively for list off oversteer!
They also need a strategically positioned hump in the road that isn't shown. If you look carefully the car is already bouncing before the rear wheels leave the ground.

Stam

4 posts

201 months

Thursday 20th May 2010
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Looks enough like a Toyota Aygo to me ;-)

loveice

678 posts

277 months

Thursday 20th May 2010
quotequote all
The Wookie said:
Niiiice weight distribution! Bet it doesn't have chinese tyres on it
Edited by The Wookie on Thursday 20th May 10:10
I'm pretty sure it has standard Chinese made tyres on it. Well, I can read some Chinese. And it says at the end all cars in this film are standard production models with no modification.

Mr Gear

9,416 posts

220 months

Thursday 20th May 2010
quotequote all
Ahonen said:
Graham E said:
How do they make a car on such narrow tyres able to do a stoppie? I'm thinking they need:
Very heavy engine mounted high, close to directly above front wheels
very soft suspension
very low %age of weight to rear.

Sounds like it'd be lively for list off oversteer!
They also need a strategically positioned hump in the road that isn't shown. If you look carefully the car is already bouncing before the rear wheels leave the ground.
Wrong. It's done by pressing the brake rhythmically to make the rear end bounce.

Mr Gear

9,416 posts

220 months

Thursday 20th May 2010
quotequote all
loveice said:
The Wookie said:
Niiiice weight distribution! Bet it doesn't have chinese tyres on it
Edited by The Wookie on Thursday 20th May 10:10
I'm pretty sure it has standard Chinese made tyres on it. Well, I can read some Chinese. And it says at the end all cars in this film are standard production models with no modification.
I would guess that the cars riding on the two side wheels are using high tyre pressures, and the one that does a stoppie has the brake balance adjusted, but those are not really modifications... just adjustments.

Tony*T3

20,911 posts

277 months

Thursday 20th May 2010
quotequote all
imho the 'stoppie' is faked. Isolated imagery stiched into the main film.

loveice

678 posts

277 months

Thursday 20th May 2010
quotequote all
Ahonen said:
Article said:
...but if the video proves one thing it's this - the Chinese are 'car guys' too, and that's got to be a good 'cos they're headed this way.
Does it really prove that? No, of course it doesn't. It just proves their marketing department has employed a few stunt drivers to drive their cheap copies of European cars.
Funny, how people in the west nowadays use 'cheap' whenever we can on anything comes out of China. Well, who is waiting for the latest bank holiday weekend DIY store 30% off sale? Who is picking up a 50 pounds off laptop this week? Who is looking forward to the high street summer sale? Who is complaining about the poor working and living conditions inside those factories in China? And, who is also using word like 'CHEAP' to discribe all things come from China?... Sad...