Kicking the Tires, with Chinese Flair

From detnews.com - Autos Insider:

As China's middle class broadens, a car culture is burgeoning. But in some key ways, the car-buying experience is decidedly different than in the United States. BEIJING -- Salesman Wang Haokui takes his post -- casually, yet purposefully -- near the main door of his Buick dealership. Within a few minutes, a customer walks in. Wang is friendly, sidling up to a middle-aged man in a Yankees cap who's intently checking out a 2008 LaCrosse. Wang sees every customer as a challenge. He's in the right place at the right time -- a car salesman in one of the world's hottest automobile markets. I am selling very good cars to people," Wang says through an interpreter, adding that he sells about 15 cars a month. "Many of my customers come here for their first car. I give them respect, and they give me respect back." Wang's dealership, Da Shi Hang Auto in central Beijing, sells about 100 cars a week, ranking as one of Beijing's top dealerships. Buying an automobile is no longer the domain of the wealthy and Communist Party officials. As China's middle class broadens, a car culture is burgeoning. But in some key ways, the car-buying experience is decidedly different than in the United States.

Read the whole article