Cheena Forte 福瑞迪

Anyone spotted this liao

http://www.kia-world.net/index.php/2009/06/19/kia-launches-china-built-forte-sedan/

Wah liew... OMV look like falling in future...

they have the START button...

then singapore forte is made in china or korea?

yeah! push button and smart key! but china is on LHD rite?

ours is from korea.

many major carmakers worldwide have plants in china lah (vw. honda. gm, just to name a few)...if not how to tap into the vast china market.

OMG... lucky we buy early... i dunno wat is going to come off forte once its MADE IN CINA!!!!!....

KIA Forte MIC is only for dosmetic market not for export...make business sense to manufacture locally for dosmetic market sales...

whoa..can i get the models that come with the car?

The only positive outcome I can think of is cheap OEM parts (MIC) for Forte. Non critical part imho. eg bumpers. But not electrical parts..

"Made In China" products are of poor quality.
Cars are not an exception........
"GOOD THINGS DON'T COME CHEAP & CHEAP THINGS DON'T COME GOOD!"

Can imagine C&C Singapore jumping on the bandwagon and importing MIC parts for repairs...

Scully the next few batches are made in China!! Oh no...

Nah, C&C wouldn't 'kick themselves in the behind' by doing that...

saturnz^83 wrote:Scully the next few batches are made in China!! Oh no...

e fog light of e MIC forte look kinda different from MIK ones...its look longer n hanging....

Can we assume that a 1.6SX w/o push start is from Korea then?

Wah, next time Forte from china must call KFC (Kia Forte China)
haha....

Gute wrote:Can we assume that a 1.6SX w/o push start is from Korea then?

all forte are made n assembled in korea as of now. SG has no push start button because agent didnt take it.

BTW push start n sun roof are features of 2 liters only.

tish wrote:all forte are made n assembled in korea as of now. SG has no push start button because agent didnt take it.

BTW push start n sun roof are features of 2 liters only.

Bro, SG 2L Forte have push start button?

wow lau ... i scared MIC = CMI.

Cypher wrote:

tish wrote:all forte are made n assembled in korea as of now. SG has no push start button because agent didnt take it.

BTW push start n sun roof are features of 2 liters only.

Bro, SG 2L Forte have push start button?

Bro, as mentioned agent didnt take it the push start button model, so in the end the sunroof was choosen over the push stop....

Actually, i got no problems with MIC...its just a perception thing that changes with the times. Last time "when policeman wear shorts" time...people say MIJ (Made in Japan) lousy quality as compared to Made in USA. Now we all think MIK is ok because we are all buyers of Forte recently...including myself...and believe the quality of MIK has really caught up.

Remember, not too long ago, there was even some movies that potray Made in Taiwan electronics products as having inferior quality? I doubt now the market perceives it the same when most of our semiconductors (including your car ECUs) has components made in Taiwan.

Actually, if you give the market some more time, perception of MIC will equal MIJ concept over time...maybe 10+ years down the road or earlier....its just a cyclical perception shift. Believe me, the Chinese will get there...and they might beat the Koreans by being better & cheaper...in the exact same way the Koreans today are beating the Japs in many product categories, from handphones, LCD TVs to our Kia's & Hyundai's!

Second point is that: Tell me which product today that you touch that is NOT wholly or partially made in China??? If you own an Apple iPhone/iPod (a product that people swear by its "quality") or typical Nokia products...look inside the box or the battery casing inside...what does it say? It says "Made by Nokia" or "Assembled by Apple"...when in fact they really mean "Made in China". How come nobody says "eeee...Apple...made in China!" ?

If you work in any company today or have interactions in any part of global supply chains...you know how much of any product is really MIC....practically everything. So any talk of MIC is just narrow perception. Its the marketing folks that are just manipulating the message to mold consumer thinking.

PS: Don't mean to offend anyone here & I am not defending MIC...I'm also a local and also buyer of Kia. Just wanted to share my thoughts of how market tastes can shift easily...and may not be rational.

+1, think everyone has the same tot here.. bro.. otherwise.. we would be on the other forum instead.. but really.. its a process.. and it takes time.. and most of us dun change in thinking.. haa...
among my colleagues, many still eeee over MIK.. and thumbs on MIJ.. really.. looking at just forte problems.. esp the auto crack windscreen.. if being seen by these ppl.. then sure instate their perpecptions.... much more..