Vehicular racism rife on Australia Day
Social media commenters go on the attack over new Chinese SUV makerCOMMENT
What happened to the Aussie fair go? I recently attended the launch of a new Chinese-built car and was appalled - though not entirely surprised - at the response to a video we posted on social media.
Keyboard warriors took to social media in numbers to voice their "opinion" on a vehicle they'd never sighted, let alone driven, with pearls of wisdom such as "[Toyota are] eleventy (sic) billion times more luxurious and still rugged enough than any equivalent will ever be" and "I'd rather walk - more comfortable and way safer option".
Sigh.
It's interesting that readers who assumedly use a Chinese-made smartphone, have a Chinese-made appliance and are probably voicing their opinion on a Chinese-made keyboard should take such a dim view of a Chinese-made car - even if this vehicular racism is proven to be cyclical.
In the 1970s it was the imaginatively-named "Jap crap" that threatened our very existence, followed by the "Korean rubbish" of the 1980s. Admittedly the aforementioned had to earn their stripes, just as the Chinese brands must now. But there were still plenty of us prepared to give these brands a go, building them into marques we so vehemently defend today.
"They will flood the market with lesser cars," wrote one commenter, another saying "once you drive it out from the dealership, it will start rattling like a rattle snack." Now I'm not sure what a rattle snack is, but I'm sure it won't clatter as much as the well-worn and out-of-warranty used model our final critic aspires to:
"I (sic) rather buy a 2nd hand car than buying a Chinese made car."
You know what, mate? With an attitude like that it's probably more than you deserve.
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