Close Encounters of the Worst Kind by Samarkand


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Samarkand
This morning, while driving to one of our sites here in Cairo, I spotted a Roewe 750 coming on the opposite way of the highway. I could not take pictures as I was driving and it happened so fast. The car had 2 particularities:

1) It had the Rover 75 2004 facelift grille and not the V8's imitation one. It did not have the oversized Roewe grille like in the picture herebelow (quite sure about that) and the front bumper was somewhat different from the one in the picture - closer to the facelift 75's).

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2) It had a Brilliance Cars badge and not Roewe's.

Brilliance cars are considered here as "Affordable Luxury Cars", and the Galena (the one that does very bad in the crash test on Youtube) sells very well here (if they only knew...)

The car I saw did not have plates yet (not too un-common here), which means either it would be undergoing tests by the importer (a one off thing unless the tests are satisfactory but then cars do not need to have high specs to sell here) or it has been acquired by a client who was heading to the local equivalent of the DVLA to register the car and have it plated.

I will try to visit a Brilliance Cars showroom when I'd have some time and see what would come out.
Until then, all the best,
Majed
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I miss you a lot Samarkand!

Posted 13 Sep 2011, 13:54 #1 

Last edited by Samarkand on 23 Jun 2013, 05:21, edited 1 time in total.

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Samarkand
My above post dates a while back, but now I'm seeing more and more Chinese MGs in Cairo.
I have seen the MG2 and the MG6 in a dealership and on the street. They did not convey anything special about them. They were also basic specs (most of those I saw anyway with 1600cc engines for the MG6) although they were showcased at the dealer's as "the car of dynamic youth"...
I'll try to make some photos and post them later. Watch this space.
The MG7 or whatever they would be selling it here (see above post)in Cairo still eludes me since then.
Majed
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I miss you a lot Samarkand!

Posted 19 Jan 2012, 17:50 #2 

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geesmith
What was the build quality like Majed?

I don't have mine anymore but I spot 75's and ZT's all the time and they still look special.
At least there's hope for the future...not sure about the engines..(?)

Posted 20 Jan 2012, 12:35 #3 

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Samarkand
geesmith wrote:What was the build quality like Majed?

I don't have mine anymore but I spot 75's and ZT's all the time and they still look special.
At least there's hope for the future...not sure about the engines..(?)


To answer you Glynn, here are some pictures I took of the dealership's. There are not great but they show the essential:

Make the Difference...
This is the MG2 showing. The size of the rear wheel (14" rims) and the drum brakes at the rear also indicate "has been" technology...
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A general view of the dealer's with the MG6 is showcased
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Notice the template shape underneath the MG badge...
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The MG2 has a 1200cc engine while the MG6 has a 1600cc one. As far as their built quality, it was in the standards of the Asian cars, nothing out of the norm.
Concerning the MG7, it was not there and the guy in the showroom did not know what I was talking about :-?
Majed
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I miss you a lot Samarkand!

Posted 21 Jan 2012, 06:53 #4 

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geesmith
From the pics I get the impression they're MG in name only...

Posted 22 Jan 2012, 14:28 #5 

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Samarkand
geesmith wrote:From the pics I get the impression they're MG in name only...


True, nothing to do with what we have known so far, although in the commercials, they are building on their "Britishness"...
Majed
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I miss you a lot Samarkand!

Posted 22 Jan 2012, 14:36 #6 

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Samarkand
By the way, that the MG6 being sold here is not similar to the one sold in the UK: compare the front of the one being sold here in Egypt (2nd picture in my post above) with the one below... Makes one wonder if the car industry is only sticking badges...
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Majed
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I miss you a lot Samarkand!

Posted 26 Jan 2012, 04:39 #7 

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Samarkand
Edit: The red MG in my pictures here above is called the MG 350. The small one is effectively the MG 2 (I'm not sure why the naming is not consistent across the range).
Majed
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I miss you a lot Samarkand!

Posted 11 Feb 2012, 06:27 #8 

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Samarkand
Breaking News, today MG announced, on many billboards on the highways sides, that MG are now being assembled here in Egypt for the local market as well as for the Middle East and Africa as well as some parts of Europe. Not sure which models are intended at this point...
Majed
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I miss you a lot Samarkand!

Posted 23 Jun 2013, 05:28 #9 

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MrDoodles
The red saloon, looks like an old Chevrolet/Hyundai/Kia of some description, been racking my brains which one, but it just won't come to me! :(

Anyone know which one I mean? :confused:
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Posted 23 Jun 2013, 09:05 #10 


carlpenn
MrDoodles wrote:The red saloon, looks like an old Chevrolet/Hyundai/Kia of some description, been racking my brains which one, but it just won't come to me! :(

Anyone know which one I mean? :confused:


Mazda 6?
Upgrades:

Fitted Electric Memory Seat, Leather Cubby Lid, Wood Dash, Message Centre.

Posted 23 Jun 2013, 09:58 #11 


Cockaa
It resembles a Daewoo to me, cant think of the model though :(
I'm not quite right you know.........

Posted 23 Jun 2013, 17:59 #12 

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Duncan
Guy Jones is one of the people in the photo with the black MG. Ex of LDV, but I worked with him in the past on the Land Rover 38a project. It's a small world, this automotive business!
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Posted 25 Jun 2013, 15:08 #13 


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