Is America Ready for Chinese Cars?

The Struggle is Real: The Impact of Tariffs on American Automakers and Consumers

In recent years, the US government has implemented various measures to protect the American auto industry from foreign competition. One notable example is the "Chicken Tax," a 25% tariff imposed on all imported light trucks aimed at protecting jobs in the domestic automotive sector. This tax was enacted as an olive branch between the UAW, the Auto Workers Union, and the government, with the aim of safeguarding American auto industry jobs from foreign competition, such as the Volkswagen Type 2 bus. Interestingly, this tariff has remained in effect today, effectively keeping Volkswagen from selling trucks like the commercial version of the ID buzz in the US.

However, the real crux of this issue lies in the fact that many Chinese EV manufacturers are state-backed, receiving funding from the government to operate at a loss while continuing to grow. These government subsidies, combined with a heavily automated manufacturing process and lower auto worker wages in China, allow these automakers to undercut their American counterparts, posing a significant threat to the US automotive industry. The US government sees this as a threat, as how can one compete with companies that don't need to be profitable?

To understand the complexity of this issue, it's essential to look at the history of the Chinese car industry. While the first model T rolled off the assembly line in 1908, there was no car industry to speak of over in China. The country's car industry began to take shape in the 1950s with help from the Soviets, but it wouldn't truly begin in the free market sense until the 1990s. In 1994, the Chinese government designated the car industry as a pillar industry, essentially a sector that other industries can grow from. This designation was made to position China as a major player on the world stage, and with the country's centuries-long progress condensed into just a couple of decades, it's clear that this has been a significant gamble.

The Chinese government's decision to subsidize their car manufacturers is, in effect, a long-term investment in their automotive industry. By making cars artificially cheap, they're able to undercut American competitors and gain market share. The Tariff imposed on Chinese EVs is an attempt by the US government to level the playing field, but it's unclear whether this will be enough to stem the tide of foreign competition.

A recent drive in an Audi SUV revealed that even American buyers are starting to notice the rise of Chinese cars. A conversation with a driver who asked about the make and model of our vehicle led us to realize that Americans are indeed ready for Chinese cars, but perhaps not their manufacturers. The US automotive industry has been slow to respond to this shift in the market, leaving them vulnerable to foreign competition.

The implementation of tariffs on Chinese EVs is a complex issue, with some arguing that it's unfair to penalize American consumers for buying a car from a foreign manufacturer. However, others point out that the subsidies provided by the Chinese government allow their manufacturers to operate at a loss while continuing to grow and expand. The US government has imposed this tariff as an attempt to level the playing field, but it remains to be seen whether this will be enough to stem the tide of foreign competition.

In recent years, some Chinese EV manufacturers have gained significant traction in the US market. One notable example is the Neo, a company that has been around for almost 10 years and has refined its features over time. Despite the Tariff being imposed on their cars, the Neo's latest model feels surprisingly complete, with a solid foundation and impressive features. However, the sticker price of $140,000 would be out of reach for most American buyers, making it an expensive proposition.

As the US automotive industry continues to navigate this complex landscape, one thing is clear: the game has changed. The Tariff imposed on Chinese EVs marks a new era in global competition, and Detroit will need to adapt quickly if they hope to remain competitive. Will American manufacturers find a way to build factories in North America or other countries, like Michigan? Only time will tell. For now, it's clear that the US automotive industry needs to get its act together – and fast – if they want to stay ahead of the curve.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwhen you think of Chinese cars you probably think of this right what you probably don't think of is this the Neo es8 it's a luxury SUV that could be coming to American roads sooner than you think today we're going to drive one of the first Chinese cars in the US does this car stand a chance of breaking into the US market is it worth the $70,000 price tag has China cracked a Cod on giving American buyers what they want this car is a big big deal so let's get right into it welcome to Donut so this is it Jimmy the Neo es8 wow it's uh a little big I do like I do like the headlights a lot they're very s a lot of thought went into the aerodynamics making this thing as efficient as possible going down the road something interesting you'll notice the camera pods up top yeah a lot of cameras on this looking at it from the side Jimmy I like the side profile view I actually really like the rear of the car though I love how it comes down a little bit more kind of reminds me of a Range Rover a little bit back here we got another camera pod up top again this thing's how many cameras is that eight now we got two I think 11 total cameras that's that's a lot of cameras overall I think it's a pretty good looking car especially compared to some other new EV SUVs that we've driven in the past which did not do it for me this I think it it looks good yeah I love the tail light too it so cool that's really hot right now and I think it looks pretty good on this guy Jimmy how what do you say we get in the car and check it out who's this guy we'll get to that get to that in a sec follows a lot of trends that are hot right now NS a minimalist interior big touchcreen in the middle however there are a lot of touches in here that are I would say pretty unique and an interesting look into what is considered luxurious in the Chinese market which I think we should get into first of all this shifter here very cool I like the shifter a lot me too I've got a little trick for you here Jimmy do you want to relax Jimmy oh this is I think you need to relax dude yeah I think I need a massage now oh this oh that can I can do that are you relaxing now Jimmy oh I'm so relaxed right now I don't think you're quite relaxed enough dude let's put you in in zero gravity mode this is what it feels like on the space station right yeah I think so take a little uh nap here dude it's all about just me today yeah so yeah there are massage seats in the front and the middle rows which is pretty cool where are the cup holders so do have two cup holders here they're right there Jimmy Boom I don't think they're big enough for us yeah they're not going to be big enough for a large no Sprite so we got a suede headliner here feels nice the other touch points I like the wood the woods cool they feel good enough M I think ooh yeah that opens both ways dual way cubby isn't that interesting that is interesting yeah this thing cost $70,000 70,000 and they are aiming for BMW and Mercedes customers with this now granted this is an electric vehicle those are naturally going to be more expensive and other cars in this price range we're talking rivan r1s and then also the Chevy Taho is also in that range you could get that yeah so that's kind of like the pool that this thing is swimming in M I think we got to go in the back though yeah to really to get the full picture of this thing so this section right here these these seats are where I think it starts to become more apparent that this is not an American or European car there are some features I think are kind of like unique to the Chinese market these captain seats they have massage a massage function which is awesome okay that's that's nice but also there's this like cool touches like the cup holder here that's hidden in the armrest I don't know why that's so cool to me but I I love it that is really cool it's just neat it just it it does feel different you know we got a little cubby here but also your USBC right here I don't know there's just something about it about this design it's thinking of everyone in the car we also have some controls down here we can control our climate we can control the music in the car from this touchcreen back here all right you can control the passenger seat in front of you if you feel like you don't have enough room Jimmy okay front passenger seat collaps so overall Jimmy I think like the materials like the leather that's the seat here I'm not sure what this material is it just doesn't feel quite like a $70,000 car I will say the leather does feel a lot little to be desired there are some very interesting ideas in here that I think other cars in that same price category don't have this is my Millennium edition Ford F250 and currently it sounds like a sad walrus so embarrassed but with help from today's sponsor borla I'm about to get this thing roaring like a beast this is borla's R&D facility where some of the best exhaust systems in the world world are developed and while the engineers are getting to work on my custom exhaust for my truck I'm going to give you guys a little behind the- scenes look with Mr borla himself David what's up man how you doing good to see you again see you thanks for coming okay so this is your R&D facility but you manufacture at a separate site yeah we have a big Factory in Tennessee where we do all of our manufacturing so the products that go to end users are manufactured in Tennessee and designed here in California made in the good old USA 100% made in the USA what is the process of getting that correct sound in this R&D facility really we concentrate a lot on what doesn't sound good cu the majority of what we're doing is really tuning out the stuff that doesn't sound good and then we have our own technology to to amplify sounds and I know enough about music to know how chords are made like on a guitar like a power chord right so we use the same formulas to create those notes from Organ Pipe technology in our exhaust so it's it's it's very similar to playing a chord on guitar Automotive musicians zoraa is the real deal I want to thank David and everyone else here for showing me around and taking care of my F250 back there if you guys want your own exhaust system click the link below you won't regret it so we're going to drive this thing in a sec but let's talk about why this car is here in the first place Chinese cars haven't been sold in us but trust me back in China business is booming last year China overtook Japan as the world's largest Automotive exporter at 5 million units shipped globally most of those cars went over to Europe but now models like this es8 are poised to be sold in the US but will American buyers even want them will we even be able to afford them well there's a very big asterisk that changes the answer to those questions but we're going to get to that later first who the heck is Neo Neo is a premium eveve brand that was founded in 2014 in Shanghai China you might have seen their ep9 superar on The Grand Tour but they do a lot more than that Neo has a self-proclaimed focus on technology and luxury their most affordable car the et5 starts at around $41,000 us which for reference is more expensive than Tesla's model 3 and like I've mentioned the es8 costs even more around $70,000 something that might be adding to that price tag is no me the onboard smart driver interface which Neo claims is the first mass production incar AI system let's see how it works that that is Nomi he's looking at me saying hi yes giving you cute little eyes I love that Neo brought this to Market in 2017 so they've been working on for a long time now it has a fair amount of features let's see if they work hey Nomi hey could you close the windows okay all right so this is a Chinese market vehicle this exact car exact arrived here a few days ago okay it only speaks Mandarin this one but luckily we have another Neo model in the parking lot that does understand English so let's use that one to test the system cool Sorry know me in this car we're going to speak English to your brother or sister this is the Neo et5 it's a sedan and this is a European spec model so it does speak English okay let's get inside yeah let's check it out hello little gomi how's it going I am here whoa we're here too hey Nomi hello can you roll my window down all the way hey Nomi yes could you tell me a joke what did one ocean say to the other ocean nothing they just waved ah classic That Old Chestnut nice love that one hey Nomi can you recline my seat would you mind rephrasing it could you put the passenger seat into relaxed position didn't catch that could you repeat it's not okay um hey Nomi yes put passenger seat in relax position I don't understand you okay please say that again okay so it's not it's not the best no look if we're going to have ai systems in our car that are listening to us and watching us I got to say having a little robotic face that looks at us and plays Maracas and a guitar When the Music's playing that's pretty cute it is I think more car companies need something like that yeah put a a cute face on it yeah and I'm fine your girlfriend will think that's cool oh yeah it reminds me of like uh that's your Archer detail that's my little R2D2 we should take the es8 out then for a drive yeah yeah that was fun all right bye n me all right first time out in the es8 on the streets of Los Angeles we're in Downtown LA all right Jimmy 643 horsepower 0 to 62 mph and 4.1 seconds I'm in Sport Plus mode that's a lot of electric ponies noan let's do it that guy in the Tesla was checking it out got smoke his ass wa oh oh I felt my breakfast this morning that's fast dude I'll put this thing back in Comfort mode when we were looking at the car in the parking lot I was kind of skeptical honestly but so far it feels pretty good I'm pretty happy with it so far it's got air suspension yeah rides so nice the ride is pretty good dude honestly on these crappy La roads like like I know it's pretty comfortable the window double pan glass it's been keeping all the road noise out you might be wondering who that is in the back seat while Neo told us we couldn't drive the car without a rep riding with us if it sounds strange that a manufacturer demand we take someone along for the ride that's because it is it was extremely awkward you could see him as a literal representation of Neo's unfamiliarity with the American Automotive press or as a more ethereal analogy for something else that's your call but I will say was a nice guy things I don't like off the bat the insistence of every EV company to imitate Tesla in just their very complicated menus like I have to go through two menus to adjust the mirrors it's like all right why are we doing that yeah just be one thing that's the way that Teslas are and like Teslas are seen as a status symbol then people want the weirdness that comes with that I guess all right Nolan I think we need to charge this thing yeah let's get some juice yeah so eeve charging stations are certainly nothing new in fact they're a fact of life here in Southern California in La there might be more kids that know how to charge their mom's Tesla than use a gas pump however this es8 can do things a little differently so over in China Neo is really big into battery swapping technology or batteries as a service and this is exactly what it sounds like you swap out a depleted battery for a fully charged one kind of like my RC car exactly Jimmy the process is significant ly faster than charging and there are currently 2300 battery swapping stations that's a lot however they're only available in Europe and China there have been a few attempts at making battery swaps a thing here in the US even Tesla tried it back in 2013 but honestly Jimmy I don't know if swaps will ever become mainstream here because 45% of EV owners prefer to charge at home and have the capability to do so but the story is a little different back in China where 6.8 million charging points have to serve a population of 1.4 billion people Jimmy M that's a lot and in a world where the fastest charge can take around 20 minutes you can save a lot of collective time with the battery swap that takes just half the time so I mean does battery swapping make sense in the US not really is it interesting yeah it is all right Jimmy we're good to go let's get back on the road how about you drive oh yeah gladly all right oh this is uh this is definitely not a Miata today is an all new experience for me so Jimmy you've driven a few EVS a few you're not a huge EV head no I am definitely not so how do you feel driving right now I feel like I'm driving a big golf cart okay that's pretty EV typical I would say but I do like this it's very comfortable I mean you don't hear any road noise most of the cars I drive have a ton of road noise well that's cuz you buy 30-year-old Japanese cars yeah with no sound deadening at all right you know you know let bygones be bygones you know but this I feel like I could take my girlfriend out in this and she would be very impressed dude we haven't even talked about the sound system it's got Dolby Atmos that yeah that's a crazy unit it's got over 23 speakers on board it sounds great I I like has a lot of punch and that's what's cool about these VG engines they were super overbuilt hey do you think the turbo is the adrenaline gland of the car engine is the heart oil is the blood are the drive shafts the legs or is it the axles it's the axles but I'm willing to admit the bumper the but if you admit that the CV joint is the KNE hey just so you know the meeting was canceled amazing the tailpipe is the butthole anyway during the late 9s Nissan along every other you know for $70,000 I I think some things need to be improved here there which brings me to something we haven't mentioned yet what's that the terar tariffs yes Jimmy tariffs Uncle Sam announced he'd be increasing taxes on EVS of Chinese origin from 25% to 100% effectively doubling the cost of cars like the esa tariffs are nothing new back in the early' 60s Lynden B Johnson needed support from the UAW the Auto Workers Union to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as an olive branch of the Union the government instituted the now Famous Chicken tax a 25% tax on all imported light trucks aimed at protecting American Auto industry jobs from foreign competition like the Volkswagen Type 2 bus it remains in effect today ironically keeping Volkswagen from selling trucks like the commercial version of the ID buzz in the US today this whopping 100% tax on Chinese EVS is designed to do pretty much the same thing making it more expensive for American consumers to buy cars like this one but why well the real Crux of this issue is that many Chinese EV manufacturers are State back meaning they received funding from the government allowing them to operate at a loss while continuing to grow these government subsidies along with a heavily automated manufacturing process and lower Auto worker wages over in China allow these automakers to undercut their American counterparts the US government sees that as a threat I mean how do you compete with companies that don't need to be profitable let's put things into perspective while the first Model T rolled off the assembly line in 1908 there was no car industry to speak of over in China the country's car industry was start percolating in the 1950s with help from the Soviets but wouldn't truly begin in the free market sense until the 1990s the reasons for this delay are truly fascinating and Incredibly complex and let's be honest I'm a YouTuber who likes to do burnouts so we both know I'm not qualified to get into all that but what you do need to know is that in 1994 the Chinese government designated the car industry as a pillar industry basically a sector that other Industries can grow from like Metallurgy or Electronics if China wanted the top spot bought on the world stage a car industry was necessary but they had to make a centuries worth of progress in just a couple decades and if this car has any indication kind of worked but if you can subsidize an entire industry so you can undercut your competition until there aren't any left does that really count frankly I don't know if it matters in the end power is power and China's subsidies are bankrolling their manufacturers gamble in the US and the Tariff is Uncle Sam calling their Bluff I will say feels complete you know we've driven some I I'm going back to the vinfast I'm sorry that was a Half Baked product that's because it was rushed to Market you know it felt like we were driving a prototype this does not feel that way no this feels very complete Neo's been around for a while now almost 10 years you know Nomi has been on the market since 2017 so they've had time to refine their features make the cars better and this feels light years ahead of something like a VIN fast so I think it's almost there the bones are good the bones are very good they've had a lot of milk okay you know now we got to grow the muscle that's true that's true I'm going to be straight with you I didn't expect this car to be good and with the Tariff now in play this thing would cost you $140,000 and it's not worth that but I'm still impressed this thing isn't mindblowing but it's clearly competent we asked if America is ready for Chinese cars now this is an anecdote but a guy in an Audi SUV yesterday had us roll down our Windows to ask us what we were driving I told him it was a Neo and from China and he said it looked very nice I think American buyers are ready for Chinese cars but I don't know if American companies are ready for Chinese cars I pray that Detroit is using the time the tariffs just bought them to get their ass in gear the Chinese companies like Neo they're going to find a way to sell their cars in the US without the tax like building factories in North America heck even Michigan it could happen but if there's a Chinese EV selling like hot cakes in the US in 5 years I'm not going to blame China I'm not going to blame the people buy them I'm going to blame Detroit for failing to act this car is good Detroit clock's ticking let's get going all right thanks for watchingwhen you think of Chinese cars you probably think of this right what you probably don't think of is this the Neo es8 it's a luxury SUV that could be coming to American roads sooner than you think today we're going to drive one of the first Chinese cars in the US does this car stand a chance of breaking into the US market is it worth the $70,000 price tag has China cracked a Cod on giving American buyers what they want this car is a big big deal so let's get right into it welcome to Donut so this is it Jimmy the Neo es8 wow it's uh a little big I do like I do like the headlights a lot they're very s a lot of thought went into the aerodynamics making this thing as efficient as possible going down the road something interesting you'll notice the camera pods up top yeah a lot of cameras on this looking at it from the side Jimmy I like the side profile view I actually really like the rear of the car though I love how it comes down a little bit more kind of reminds me of a Range Rover a little bit back here we got another camera pod up top again this thing's how many cameras is that eight now we got two I think 11 total cameras that's that's a lot of cameras overall I think it's a pretty good looking car especially compared to some other new EV SUVs that we've driven in the past which did not do it for me this I think it it looks good yeah I love the tail light too it so cool that's really hot right now and I think it looks pretty good on this guy Jimmy how what do you say we get in the car and check it out who's this guy we'll get to that get to that in a sec follows a lot of trends that are hot right now NS a minimalist interior big touchcreen in the middle however there are a lot of touches in here that are I would say pretty unique and an interesting look into what is considered luxurious in the Chinese market which I think we should get into first of all this shifter here very cool I like the shifter a lot me too I've got a little trick for you here Jimmy do you want to relax Jimmy oh this is I think you need to relax dude yeah I think I need a massage now oh this oh that can I can do that are you relaxing now Jimmy oh I'm so relaxed right now I don't think you're quite relaxed enough dude let's put you in in zero gravity mode this is what it feels like on the space station right yeah I think so take a little uh nap here dude it's all about just me today yeah so yeah there are massage seats in the front and the middle rows which is pretty cool where are the cup holders so do have two cup holders here they're right there Jimmy Boom I don't think they're big enough for us yeah they're not going to be big enough for a large no Sprite so we got a suede headliner here feels nice the other touch points I like the wood the woods cool they feel good enough M I think ooh yeah that opens both ways dual way cubby isn't that interesting that is interesting yeah this thing cost $70,000 70,000 and they are aiming for BMW and Mercedes customers with this now granted this is an electric vehicle those are naturally going to be more expensive and other cars in this price range we're talking rivan r1s and then also the Chevy Taho is also in that range you could get that yeah so that's kind of like the pool that this thing is swimming in M I think we got to go in the back though yeah to really to get the full picture of this thing so this section right here these these seats are where I think it starts to become more apparent that this is not an American or European car there are some features I think are kind of like unique to the Chinese market these captain seats they have massage a massage function which is awesome okay that's that's nice but also there's this like cool touches like the cup holder here that's hidden in the armrest I don't know why that's so cool to me but I I love it that is really cool it's just neat it just it it does feel different you know we got a little cubby here but also your USBC right here I don't know there's just something about it about this design it's thinking of everyone in the car we also have some controls down here we can control our climate we can control the music in the car from this touchcreen back here all right you can control the passenger seat in front of you if you feel like you don't have enough room Jimmy okay front passenger seat collaps so overall Jimmy I think like the materials like the leather that's the seat here I'm not sure what this material is it just doesn't feel quite like a $70,000 car I will say the leather does feel a lot little to be desired there are some very interesting ideas in here that I think other cars in that same price category don't have this is my Millennium edition Ford F250 and currently it sounds like a sad walrus so embarrassed but with help from today's sponsor borla I'm about to get this thing roaring like a beast this is borla's R&D facility where some of the best exhaust systems in the world world are developed and while the engineers are getting to work on my custom exhaust for my truck I'm going to give you guys a little behind the- scenes look with Mr borla himself David what's up man how you doing good to see you again see you thanks for coming okay so this is your R&D facility but you manufacture at a separate site yeah we have a big Factory in Tennessee where we do all of our manufacturing so the products that go to end users are manufactured in Tennessee and designed here in California made in the good old USA 100% made in the USA what is the process of getting that correct sound in this R&D facility really we concentrate a lot on what doesn't sound good cu the majority of what we're doing is really tuning out the stuff that doesn't sound good and then we have our own technology to to amplify sounds and I know enough about music to know how chords are made like on a guitar like a power chord right so we use the same formulas to create those notes from Organ Pipe technology in our exhaust so it's it's it's very similar to playing a chord on guitar Automotive musicians zoraa is the real deal I want to thank David and everyone else here for showing me around and taking care of my F250 back there if you guys want your own exhaust system click the link below you won't regret it so we're going to drive this thing in a sec but let's talk about why this car is here in the first place Chinese cars haven't been sold in us but trust me back in China business is booming last year China overtook Japan as the world's largest Automotive exporter at 5 million units shipped globally most of those cars went over to Europe but now models like this es8 are poised to be sold in the US but will American buyers even want them will we even be able to afford them well there's a very big asterisk that changes the answer to those questions but we're going to get to that later first who the heck is Neo Neo is a premium eveve brand that was founded in 2014 in Shanghai China you might have seen their ep9 superar on The Grand Tour but they do a lot more than that Neo has a self-proclaimed focus on technology and luxury their most affordable car the et5 starts at around $41,000 us which for reference is more expensive than Tesla's model 3 and like I've mentioned the es8 costs even more around $70,000 something that might be adding to that price tag is no me the onboard smart driver interface which Neo claims is the first mass production incar AI system let's see how it works that that is Nomi he's looking at me saying hi yes giving you cute little eyes I love that Neo brought this to Market in 2017 so they've been working on for a long time now it has a fair amount of features let's see if they work hey Nomi hey could you close the windows okay all right so this is a Chinese market vehicle this exact car exact arrived here a few days ago okay it only speaks Mandarin this one but luckily we have another Neo model in the parking lot that does understand English so let's use that one to test the system cool Sorry know me in this car we're going to speak English to your brother or sister this is the Neo et5 it's a sedan and this is a European spec model so it does speak English okay let's get inside yeah let's check it out hello little gomi how's it going I am here whoa we're here too hey Nomi hello can you roll my window down all the way hey Nomi yes could you tell me a joke what did one ocean say to the other ocean nothing they just waved ah classic That Old Chestnut nice love that one hey Nomi can you recline my seat would you mind rephrasing it could you put the passenger seat into relaxed position didn't catch that could you repeat it's not okay um hey Nomi yes put passenger seat in relax position I don't understand you okay please say that again okay so it's not it's not the best no look if we're going to have ai systems in our car that are listening to us and watching us I got to say having a little robotic face that looks at us and plays Maracas and a guitar When the Music's playing that's pretty cute it is I think more car companies need something like that yeah put a a cute face on it yeah and I'm fine your girlfriend will think that's cool oh yeah it reminds me of like uh that's your Archer detail that's my little R2D2 we should take the es8 out then for a drive yeah yeah that was fun all right bye n me all right first time out in the es8 on the streets of Los Angeles we're in Downtown LA all right Jimmy 643 horsepower 0 to 62 mph and 4.1 seconds I'm in Sport Plus mode that's a lot of electric ponies noan let's do it that guy in the Tesla was checking it out got smoke his ass wa oh oh I felt my breakfast this morning that's fast dude I'll put this thing back in Comfort mode when we were looking at the car in the parking lot I was kind of skeptical honestly but so far it feels pretty good I'm pretty happy with it so far it's got air suspension yeah rides so nice the ride is pretty good dude honestly on these crappy La roads like like I know it's pretty comfortable the window double pan glass it's been keeping all the road noise out you might be wondering who that is in the back seat while Neo told us we couldn't drive the car without a rep riding with us if it sounds strange that a manufacturer demand we take someone along for the ride that's because it is it was extremely awkward you could see him as a literal representation of Neo's unfamiliarity with the American Automotive press or as a more ethereal analogy for something else that's your call but I will say was a nice guy things I don't like off the bat the insistence of every EV company to imitate Tesla in just their very complicated menus like I have to go through two menus to adjust the mirrors it's like all right why are we doing that yeah just be one thing that's the way that Teslas are and like Teslas are seen as a status symbol then people want the weirdness that comes with that I guess all right Nolan I think we need to charge this thing yeah let's get some juice yeah so eeve charging stations are certainly nothing new in fact they're a fact of life here in Southern California in La there might be more kids that know how to charge their mom's Tesla than use a gas pump however this es8 can do things a little differently so over in China Neo is really big into battery swapping technology or batteries as a service and this is exactly what it sounds like you swap out a depleted battery for a fully charged one kind of like my RC car exactly Jimmy the process is significant ly faster than charging and there are currently 2300 battery swapping stations that's a lot however they're only available in Europe and China there have been a few attempts at making battery swaps a thing here in the US even Tesla tried it back in 2013 but honestly Jimmy I don't know if swaps will ever become mainstream here because 45% of EV owners prefer to charge at home and have the capability to do so but the story is a little different back in China where 6.8 million charging points have to serve a population of 1.4 billion people Jimmy M that's a lot and in a world where the fastest charge can take around 20 minutes you can save a lot of collective time with the battery swap that takes just half the time so I mean does battery swapping make sense in the US not really is it interesting yeah it is all right Jimmy we're good to go let's get back on the road how about you drive oh yeah gladly all right oh this is uh this is definitely not a Miata today is an all new experience for me so Jimmy you've driven a few EVS a few you're not a huge EV head no I am definitely not so how do you feel driving right now I feel like I'm driving a big golf cart okay that's pretty EV typical I would say but I do like this it's very comfortable I mean you don't hear any road noise most of the cars I drive have a ton of road noise well that's cuz you buy 30-year-old Japanese cars yeah with no sound deadening at all right you know you know let bygones be bygones you know but this I feel like I could take my girlfriend out in this and she would be very impressed dude we haven't even talked about the sound system it's got Dolby Atmos that yeah that's a crazy unit it's got over 23 speakers on board it sounds great I I like has a lot of punch and that's what's cool about these VG engines they were super overbuilt hey do you think the turbo is the adrenaline gland of the car engine is the heart oil is the blood are the drive shafts the legs or is it the axles it's the axles but I'm willing to admit the bumper the but if you admit that the CV joint is the KNE hey just so you know the meeting was canceled amazing the tailpipe is the butthole anyway during the late 9s Nissan along every other you know for $70,000 I I think some things need to be improved here there which brings me to something we haven't mentioned yet what's that the terar tariffs yes Jimmy tariffs Uncle Sam announced he'd be increasing taxes on EVS of Chinese origin from 25% to 100% effectively doubling the cost of cars like the esa tariffs are nothing new back in the early' 60s Lynden B Johnson needed support from the UAW the Auto Workers Union to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as an olive branch of the Union the government instituted the now Famous Chicken tax a 25% tax on all imported light trucks aimed at protecting American Auto industry jobs from foreign competition like the Volkswagen Type 2 bus it remains in effect today ironically keeping Volkswagen from selling trucks like the commercial version of the ID buzz in the US today this whopping 100% tax on Chinese EVS is designed to do pretty much the same thing making it more expensive for American consumers to buy cars like this one but why well the real Crux of this issue is that many Chinese EV manufacturers are State back meaning they received funding from the government allowing them to operate at a loss while continuing to grow these government subsidies along with a heavily automated manufacturing process and lower Auto worker wages over in China allow these automakers to undercut their American counterparts the US government sees that as a threat I mean how do you compete with companies that don't need to be profitable let's put things into perspective while the first Model T rolled off the assembly line in 1908 there was no car industry to speak of over in China the country's car industry was start percolating in the 1950s with help from the Soviets but wouldn't truly begin in the free market sense until the 1990s the reasons for this delay are truly fascinating and Incredibly complex and let's be honest I'm a YouTuber who likes to do burnouts so we both know I'm not qualified to get into all that but what you do need to know is that in 1994 the Chinese government designated the car industry as a pillar industry basically a sector that other Industries can grow from like Metallurgy or Electronics if China wanted the top spot bought on the world stage a car industry was necessary but they had to make a centuries worth of progress in just a couple decades and if this car has any indication kind of worked but if you can subsidize an entire industry so you can undercut your competition until there aren't any left does that really count frankly I don't know if it matters in the end power is power and China's subsidies are bankrolling their manufacturers gamble in the US and the Tariff is Uncle Sam calling their Bluff I will say feels complete you know we've driven some I I'm going back to the vinfast I'm sorry that was a Half Baked product that's because it was rushed to Market you know it felt like we were driving a prototype this does not feel that way no this feels very complete Neo's been around for a while now almost 10 years you know Nomi has been on the market since 2017 so they've had time to refine their features make the cars better and this feels light years ahead of something like a VIN fast so I think it's almost there the bones are good the bones are very good they've had a lot of milk okay you know now we got to grow the muscle that's true that's true I'm going to be straight with you I didn't expect this car to be good and with the Tariff now in play this thing would cost you $140,000 and it's not worth that but I'm still impressed this thing isn't mindblowing but it's clearly competent we asked if America is ready for Chinese cars now this is an anecdote but a guy in an Audi SUV yesterday had us roll down our Windows to ask us what we were driving I told him it was a Neo and from China and he said it looked very nice I think American buyers are ready for Chinese cars but I don't know if American companies are ready for Chinese cars I pray that Detroit is using the time the tariffs just bought them to get their ass in gear the Chinese companies like Neo they're going to find a way to sell their cars in the US without the tax like building factories in North America heck even Michigan it could happen but if there's a Chinese EV selling like hot cakes in the US in 5 years I'm not going to blame China I'm not going to blame the people buy them I'm going to blame Detroit for failing to act this car is good Detroit clock's ticking let's get going all right thanks for watching