Motor Show: Beijing motor show

Point taken, but it's time for some second thoughts. For evidence look at Auto China 06, Beijing's international motor show, which runs until 27 November.

There were several international debuts at the show, including the Maybach 62S, as a result of manufacturers deciding that Auto China is now an A-list event. And perhaps even more significantly there was VW's Neeza concept, designed in China with Chinese tastes in mind.

The Neeza looks a lot like a scaled-down Mercedes R-Class. Derivative, yes, but it's very well done. And over at the Great Wall stand you can see ripping off elevated to an art form. (Let's pretend we didn't notice the Hover, which looks for all the world like a Honda CR-V stretch limo.) Great Wall's Nissan Cube, Fiat Panda and Toyota Yaris clones - the Coolbear, Gwperi and Florid respectively - look at least as good as the real things.

Chana goes one better by stealing from not one but two cars simultaneously. Chana is a company with many interests, including building the Ford Focus, Volvo S40 and Mazda 3 for the Chinese market, and inspecting such western stalwarts at close quarters has clearly had a beneficial effect, because Chana's coupe-convertible, the BYD F8, is very neat. Merc CLK at the front and Astra TwinTop at the back, it doesn't look even slightly like a cut-and-shut job.

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