How Do Chinese Car Makers Get Five Star Reviews? THEY BUY THEM - HERE'S THE PROOF

[@JayEmmOnCars]

CarVertical: The History Checking Service Use this link or code "JAYEMM" for a discount! www.carvertical.com/gb/landing/v3?b=1e4c9523&a=JayEmm&voucher=jayemm&chan=jayemm

[@MatheusSantos-ms9mt]

that thing is everything aside of economic, i did 10 days with it last year, i travelled from frankfurt to Belgium and back, after i went around france spain and back to frankfurt, on that round trip i had to fill 3 times the tank, cherry isn't the worse on the market fabricating data. BYD fabricates false that on comparison of their vehicles with competitors. i can reveal this as i don't work at such company anymore, and i dont have a NDA.

[@jamalkherry5296]

The heater acknowledgment made me laugh heartily. Thanks James!

[@WIP532]

He should've bought one of those "magic" heaters YT often advertise that heats a room in seconds for pennies. When you buy them you find they are just mini heaters you can find anywhere but cost a fortune to run. Ask for your money back and they'll offer you a 75% refund PLUS you get to keep the product. The 25% they keep is enough to make it a profitable scam 🤷‍♂

[@UnlimitedPotentialMusic]

Haha I love it

[@davidcooper5442]

one word comes to mind. Advertorials. Adverts presented as independent journalistic content.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Exactly what this sounded like to me

[@morphyon]

You‘re doing the lord‘s work. Bless you and may you soon be bequeathed with 7 digits of subscribers

[@IndiBrony]

This happened quite obviously last year I think with the Land Rover. If I recall, it was Top Gear and maybe Drive Tribe? Who both put out almost identical thumbnails and whose reviews were posted at nearly exactly the same time.

[@rockets4kids]

EngineeringExplained has entered the chat....

[@ollycollie]

Not specifically car related, but the Telegraph website is rife with them.

[@drfisheye]

And then there is Tesla, who might not pay you, but could sue you for having an opinion.

[@no1DdC]

But what about... For as much as Elon Musk is a gigantic piece of work, don't try to distract from the matter at hand.

[@drfisheye]

@@no1DdC you got me. I'm a actually paid Chinese PR guy trying to shift the attention of the readers.

[@ztzz1079]

Tesla is made in China tho 😂

[@Nardi330]

@@ztzz1079but also tons of car companies have manufacturing plants in China too (eg VW/Audi, GM, Toyota, Honda, BMW and Mercedes etc etc) so why single out Tesla?

[@Calilasseia]

"Reputation should be earned, not bought". BINGO. Another reason (other than the shirts!) I keep coming back here. You understand basic ethics. A branch of philosophy regarded as discardable by anyone engaged in corporate capitalism. That you don't regard ethics as discardable, is both rare today and massively commendable. Keep up the good work.

[@ProfessionalGolfAdvisor]

The heater reveal 😂

[@philipsparrow7377]

Need a full review

[@grumpy2.0]

We need a review indeed.

[@robsmith1a]

Missed the unboxing video

[@julianevans9548]

@@philipsparrow7377 Jonny Smith will do it for £17.

[@crazyfroggie6546]

I thought he was going to point to the little 15 quid halogen heater on his other side

[@Hali88]

Thank you for revealing this. If we see any 'influencers' doing this race/launch on YT/IG now, we'll know they're sell outs!

[@teabagtowers3823]

Funny I searched for Jaecoo and this video immediately came uploaded 2 weeks ago. Hmmmmm funny that. kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJDMfoJvZ6tql5osi=IaGlUQxY9u7DVAbH

[@kittycat-b5d]

Funny that I searched for Jaecoo on KZbin and immediately saw a video released two weeks ago funny that....

[@0tispunkm3y3r]

Worryingly...late brake show. Be interesting to see how Jonny navigates this.

[@teabagtowers3823]

@@0tispunkm3y3r He's probably watching this video thinking “ahhh s***”

[@timsaxon5825]

Yeah, be interesting. I trust Jonny so keen to see his take on it.

[@NoName-st6zc]

Videos like these make me value your channel even more than i already did. You're a real one James.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Cheers!

[@georgejohnson1498]

Totally agree. Jay is always good value, and this give him even more credibility.

[@julianevans9548]

Jonny Smith's Late Brake Show has this: 'Car Road Trip Challenge - NO refuelling', featuring a Jaecoo J7 - uploaded in the last hour.

[@andrewsimms3426]

I bet Autocar is all over this. The oldest automotive publication in the world is little more than a cash for comment "promotional material" platform. Good to see that integrity isn't dead James!

[@robtt997]

Agree Autocar really is a shadow of its former self .Pity

[@Cambuster-1]

Autocar, an arm of JLR Public Relations.

[@AB-80X]

Autocar, Car & Driver and others. There are very, very few old publications worth a damn.

[@10Tenths]

It's like most 'Car of the year awards'. Won by being paid off.

[@daveyboiyeah]

Volkswagen Group from Whatcar for example. 😂

[@pistonburner6448]

Not helpful to use whataboutism to try to deflect from this huge story.

[@McBeamer94]

​@@daveyboiyeahOr any German or Chinese car from Carwow!

[@daveyboiyeah]

​@@McBeamer94Exactly! Notice how they'll purposely look for problems on French cars that aren't even worth mentioning, yet are completely shoved under the carpet on German and Chinese cars

[@the_boonies]

JD Power "car of the year" lmao 😅

[@TheStwat]

This is why I respect Jay so much. A man with strong ethics that can not be bought. He speaks his mind and doesn't hold back.

[@ArmySigs]

I worked on car magazines for 12 years back in the 80s-90s and this is nothing new Jay. It's been going on forever - publishers make their money from advertisers. There is no "cover price" anymore with online stuff too so they are even more reliant on ad (or sponsor) revenue now. You have to play nice with the big ad spenders or they take their money elsewhere.

[@jasejj]

Any company that tries to short circuit the old practice of actually building a reputation over several years with this sort of thing, immediately results in my dismissing them.

[@Brookspirit]

That email sounds like it's aimed at loud and over-excited Gen Z "influencers". It also sounds like Chinese business practice is being exported with their cars. 🤨

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Yep, apparently it is very common practise in Asia to just pay people for this kind of thing. Less so here

[@kristoffer3000]

@@JayEmmOnCars You have to joking, less so here when car reviewers are given paid vacations to Spain for example to review a new car? It's extremely common.

[@Hali88]

@@kristoffer3000 that's a perk and certainly intended to make the reviewers see the brand and car more favourably but it's not actually paying money into their account to do film and edit prescribed videos

[@kristoffer3000]

@@Hali88 If the Chinese did it you'd be crying.

[@oliverstemp9132]

@@kristoffer3000they don’t tell the reviewers what to say though. And it doesn’t always go well. This Jaecoo contract is saying what to say and do. There’s a huge difference.

[@AdamBrowne-eg1eb]

Came to the comments to see the reaction to that incredible shirt, surprised to see people have stayed on topic.

[@steved7085]

I want that shirt.

[@AdamBrowne-eg1eb]

@ You and me both!

[@grumpy2.0]

I believe there needs to be a merch line of these shirts!!!

[@brogenville]

I think most people here are immune to James’ shite now. 😁

[@steved7085]

@ I've 'Googled' but can't find the shirt. I reckon James has all his shirts custom made....

[@alextapley7642]

Johnny Smith already posted his “review” sad to see!

[@stevecotterill7981]

The comments on Johnny's channel are quite brutal!

[@pauljakeman]

@@stevecotterill7981 I’m going to check. I used to be subbed to him but something seemed fishy with how he reviewed cars so well. Sold his soul by the sounds of it.

[@Berenvacht]

Having worked the PR for a big automotive brand for well over 9 years now, it was really interesting to hear this.

[@garywordsworth9302]

As you are wearing a Scooby doo shirt i kinda of hoped the ending of the video would have been ...... Jay pulls off his rubber mask to reveal you actually are Xi Jinping saying " and i would have got away with it , if it wasn't for you meddling KZbin kids"

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Haha yes it is a Scooby Doo shirt

[@edgarbeat2851]

​@@JayEmmOnCarsNever change Jay.

[@nickallain]

Came here from the late brake show "review" of the exact Jaecoo car in the email.

[@WhiteDieselShed]

Was the "review" (ADVERTORIAL) real or edited to their standards of we pay you to say what we want you to say?

[@Awubala]

Integrity. Got yourself another sub after having lurked here for a while and I'm not even really much of a car guy but I like what you present.

[@iandewsnap1119]

What a breath of fresh air in the modern world we live in to have someone with integrity. Well done in making the stand. My experience from an OEM perspective is pre You Tube, but many journo’s were lazy and happy to attend events and largely print the press release provided. I might add that to the best of my knowledge (I was not the top guy..) the OEM did not pay journo’s beyond expenses, trips and some goodies.

[@cerbie70]

As James referenced for himself, he is like the old top gear style of review. Opinions which are of interest for car people, not just for how many hobnobs can you fit in the glovebox. That's why I like this and listen to James' experience and thoughts on cars he has driven. I haven't driven them!. Long live the integrity of channels like JayEmm. As James implied, morals are affordable when there's no need just to survive.

[@TheHitmann069]

I bought a cheap Chinese crap cordless vacuum for keeping the car interior clean a few months ago. A week later I received an unsolicited postcard from the manufacturer, INSTRUCTING me to go onto to the Amazon website, write a glowing review of the product (which in all honesty is crap), give it FIVE stars and they will send me a voucher for £10 !! Amazon passing on my personal details to some random Chinese sweat shop was bad enough, but then the same manufacturer instructing me to give a biased review for ten dorrar? 🙄🤬

[@benholroyd5221]

I don't believe theyre passing on your details. I know with ebay, the email will come via them, so the seller doesn't get to see the email address.

[@TheStevo1978]

I had a similar experience to this for a product on Amazon which had almost all 5 star reviews. I got the "bribe" with the product asking for a 5 star review in return for a gift. I didn't do it, but I tried to explain in my 3 star review the reason there were so many 5 stars, to warn customers but Amazon blocked my review

[@jasejj]

I had this from a company selling rechargeable batteries. I had measured them to be delivering 20% less capacity than advertised, and was going to let it go but then received one of these "offers". At which point I gave them both barrels in a review.

[@teabagtowers3823]

Surely that violates GDPR regulations Amazon and the seller using your details like that.

[@the_boonies]

Pretty common with Amazon in the US. I just throw the little review-me cards in the recycling. I don't do reviews. Not even for free 😅

[@BarbaraPape-y4g]

Well said James. Very few KZbinrs are open and honest about who is prepared to pay them and what they want in return. Motto is take the reviews as a guide, and then check out the product for yourself. It is easy enough to sus out the reviewers that are only on here for the money. As soon as i see "Buy Me a Coffee" the alarm bells start to ring, then i reach for the mute button.

[@sportzntouring]

This is one of the reasons I have so much respect for you my good friend!

[@Jack-it6qt]

Your honesty and integrity shines through. Long may you stay real.

[@cp4512]

If it’s paid, then it’s simply a commercial advert. And it must be shown as such on any social media, and that it’s not an impartial review. Well done James for showing some integrity, it’s why I like your channel.

[@tiadaid]

The goal of the campaign is merely to generate awareness for the brand. That is why it’s geared less for a review. Like you said, it’s an ad.

[@oliverstemp9132]

The Jaecoo 7 seems like a reasonably good car, but I knew as soon as these videos came out I knew something was up. It was so odd seeing creators usually firmly in the super car space suddenly doing a U Turn and making a video about a Chinese family SUV. Thank you for exposing the fakery. Yes, these videos are not reviews, they are adverts. Jaecoo have just launched there website and it’s full of spelling mistakes. Oops. Buy a Dacia Bigster, not a Jaecoo.

[@tomfurie2996]

Doug says don’t trust a seller with poor grammar. Ha. No, he really said that in his latest video.

[@simonward1598]

Jay, I follow a lot of automotive channels, you are the only person to tackle some of the moral problems involved in our enthusiasm for motoring, I take my hat off to you. Real journalism.

[@fossilfish786]

The content creators such as yourself. I'll watch all the ads fully to support. Keep up the good work

[@mec-tec]

Good on you Jay, I think not taking part is a very hourable and honest thing to do and shows your good integrity, Well done Sir 👍

[@robgaskell2391]

Hi Jay. Sadly one well known former TV presenter and current youtuber (who shall remain nameless) has just released a video.....youll never guess what car they used 😂

[@pb5x5]

Late Brake Show, it looks to be?

[@LuqmanHM]

Johny Smith?

[@kitko33]

So does VW. They were buying ADAC rating for years, for example. I'm a former journalist. VW would regularly threaten to stop advertising if their car review wasn't positive (for ANY of their brands). They demanded they review articles before publication - and demanded alternations for anything negative threatening to stop advertising. They threatend to stop advertising if a rival car got 5-stars... They would stop providing your with test cars, stop inviting you to pressers, car launches... In some European countries, every single VW group car test in any media is advertorial.

[@grizzlystr3445]

Far too many on Utube who proudly spec their new car, usually BMW or the like, take delivery & drive it for a year blowing sunshine up the arse of the manufacturers only to then hand it back. Not true ownership, just paid promotion. Same crap is starting to creep into bike world too. You are a ray of sunshine amongst all the bullshit, keep up the great work 👍😎

[@saxonuk14]

Sadly that sounds like Mat Watson. He can do brilliant reviews, where he seems to answer every question I might have on a car, but he also does a lot of stupid crap to appeal to the lowest common denominator and some very obvious paid content advertisements for companies, which irritate the hell out of me. But then he makes way more in a month than I do in probably a few years, so who's the real idiot (apart from those who watch his lowest common denominator crap)?

[@grigorioschristodoulou5229]

Also Joe Achilles, but at least in his case it’s too obvious. He’s never said a bad word about BMW

[@cornishrider]

Back in the 80's George Bishop in CAR Magazine had a column that did used to mention in great detail the food & drink on offer, big difference was he did it in a very clever and entertaining way and also knew what he was talking about regarding the car.

[@russpayne6808]

An important video - I often wonder why a seemingly knowledgeable reviewer only has good things to say about well-known so-so car, and suspected there is a well-stuffed brown-envelope involved somewhere. I really rate the honesty on this channel and also see the same characteristics on Number 27 and Harry's Garage. All very different offerings and styles, and all bound to interest and entertain, but I suspect none of them are 'employed' by the car companies.

[@steverees1936]

Love your honesty Jay Emm, which is one of the reasons I watch your channel. I'm a huge hi-fi nut and the amount of channels I've unsubscribed from due to paid reviews is crazy. Apart from your honesty you have a likable, natural and inoffensive personality and that goes a long way for me.

[@georgejohnson1498]

The world is going mad, and the grifters are not even trying to be covert any more. Good on you Jay! Best wishes from George PS Loved your Andorra videos!

[@georgejohnson1498]

Just seen the Late Brake Show on this, or at least the first five minutes, when it became clear that poor Jonny has been suckered. I immediately unsubscribed and blocked his channel for KZbin notifications. I cannot afford to help content creators financially, but I can choose what is worth my attention watching their output and sometimes replying if interesting points come from it.

[@pistonburner6448]

I have to disagree: Having your expenses paid will certainly affect your making a review of their products in the first place. I know this as someone who had seen how VW's PR- and marketing operation works. They have thrown immense amounts of money at 'reviewers' in various forms, eg. by having a huge number of attractive all expenses paid 'launches' of countless models and model versions, often in attractive holiday locations and also at extreme convenience to reviewers at their home/office. They've thus successfully gotten their products to fill the most pages in car press in return. More reviews = more visibility. A company not paying for expenses will get less reviews seen by their customer base.

[@edgarbeat2851]

As a mechanic VW are overrated

[@edwardmsr]

most car manufacturers do pay reviewers (in the form of accommodation, food, event etc) for testing their car, but the reviewers aren’t being hold liable for giving promotions or positive reviews, yes we have conflict of interest here but it’s up to the public to decide if the reviewer is biased or not. Now look again at what JayEmm is pointing out here, reviewers are being paid in real money, and in exchange they (reviewers) need to actively promote the product & have to take part in the manufacturer’s promotional video which the manufacturer has full editorial rights. This is a contract for endorsement, not a review. To your last point, yes it sounds unfair that VW can afford to effectively buy more exposure over smaller manufacturers, but reviewers can still give negative reviews to their cars and promote other smaller brands if they choose to

[@pistonburner6448]

@@edwardmsr That is beside the point and does not disprove what I wrote. It is fact that paying for expenses (and arranging test drives) increases the number of tests done on their products vs. competitors, ergo it increases their visibility the media, which concordantly improves sales.

[@edwardmsr]

@@pistonburner6448yeah now I see your point. but again its not the same thing as what we are having here. You can argue that VW is abusing their money and influence. But buying reviews, I think, is far more evil and deceitful act

[@pistonburner6448]

@@edwardmsr Even worse, for sure. And car companies give lots of gifts to automotive media, 'long term test' cars, etc. (just ask Johnny Lieberman). But accepting expenses is a mild form of being paid off too. Much milder, but still.

[@Elsmarto1]

Respect to you James for putting your head above the parapet and calling this out.

[@alanjames3021]

Good on your for preserving your integrity. I've just seen that Johnny Smith seems to have sold out on his Late Brake Show along with a few others.

[@TheDesignbloke]

Very honest amd refreshing. As opposed to The Late Brake show. Sad as I rate him. But 5k is 5k.

[@willum223]

Absolutely laser-guided timing on this, well done. Hope Jonny enjoys his shindig on the 30th

[@l00t3R]

I'm sure it's BYD in china has a problem with quality control over there. They seem to also spontaneously burst into flames

[@davidho5447]

It's not a quality control problem if they set their standards low enough.

[@naguoning]

I am in no way a defender of BYD normally but in this case it has nothing to do with them. Jaecoo is owned by the company I consider the worst of all major Chinese manufacturers. Chery. That's right the company that started copying a DaeWoo that was sold as a Chevrolet in some places (get it Chery/Chevy... ). That was not even a copy of a top of the line Daewoo but rather the bottom. The Chery car was called the QQ. It somehow managed to copy every bit but do it that much worse (like you could interchange say a door but find the QQ one was lighter because they had used thinner steel...).In general I would say the shit city called WuHu (in AnHui) that Chery is from is a leader in problems with quality and QC. Blaming BYD for this is like blaming GM for a Ford product. Chery and BYD are both Chinese but that's it. They are not even from the same city (BYD is ShenZhen based) and they are competitors.

[@l00t3R]

​@@naguoningwas talking about in general.

[@McBeamer94]

​@@naguoningNobody cares, all Chinese cars are only good for trash anyways.

[@canto_v12]

@@l00t3Rcan’t really talk about “in general” when problems are at specific companies. Same with any other country’s auto industry ljke Germany.

[@michaeln2768]

Jay, thanks for making this video and other similar ones. I’ve been watching car videos for a while now and have seen so much ethically dubious content over the years. Clickbait, paid reviews, misleading financial content that gives viewers false hope or feeds into their envy, etc. please continue to expose these bad actors, thank you!

[@tug1345]

The Chinese are masters of forgery, remember that old Top Gear where they highlighted a few cars that looked like European cars, that one that looked very much like an X5, our steel industry has to abide by certain regulations to get qualifications in quality, all of this costs money, and at the end of it our steel gets a CE mark, making our steel high quality, but expensive, China has undercut our prices for decades, how do China do it, allegedly forging CE marks and cheap labour, they've apparently done that for decades, I can't remember where it was, but a bridge was made using Chinese cheap steel, when nothing went across it, it was ok, but put weight on it, it was disastrous

[@jaromor8808]

You are a delusional imbcl, but so is most of the loud westerners. Chinese are already #1 in AI patents. Overtook US in AI already. The sooner we pull our empty heads out of our butts the better for us.

[@jamesmaybrick2001]

Its way more sinister than that. I dont know if James touches on it, im only a few mins in. China creates cheap and dangerous crap that IS killing its people (the corruption that allows it is systemic) but then covers it up. All this is documented. But they are also stealing western designs and tech. If you dont have the design costs then thats a massive saving up front. They had their knockoff Taycan out at almost the same time as Porsche released theirs. How is that even possible unless they had the factories ready to go, thus industrial esponage. Edit. Clearly this just CCP outreach. IF you could paid up front and IF the car didnt immolate the reviewer and IF you could stomach working for a g£nocidal government that is an ongoing humanitarian and Environmental wordwide catastrophe there would be a fun cheatcode. Wear a Winnie the Pooh T shirt, make sure that a no single camera in the car can avoid seeing a Winnie the Pooh toy and i guarentee they wont be able to use the footage. Xi has real Pooh issues.

[@jamesmaybrick6750]

Its way more sinister than that. I dont know if James touches on it, im only a few mins in. China creates cheap and dangerous crap that IS killing its people (the corruption that allows it is systemic) but then covers it up. All this is documented. But they are also stealing western designs and tech. If you dont have the design costs then thats a massive saving up front. They had their knockoff Taycan out at almost the same time as Porsche released theirs. How is that even possible unless they had the factories ready to go, thus industrial esponage. Edit. Clearly this just CCP outreach. IF you could get paid up front and IF the car didnt immolate the reviewer and IF you could stomach working for a country trying to unalive an entire people, an ongoing humanitarian and Environmental wordwide catastrophe there would be a fun cheatcode. Wear a Winnie the Pooh T shirt, make sure that a no single camera in the car can avoid seeing a Winnie the Pooh toy and i guarentee they wont be able to use the footage. Xi has real Pooh issues.

[@jamesmaybrick6750]

Its way more sinister than that. I dont know if James touches on it, im only a few mins in. China creates cheap and dangerous crap that IS killing its people (the corruption that allows it is systemic) but then covers it up. All this is documented. But they are also stealing western designs and tech. If you dont have the design costs then thats a massive saving up front. They had their knockoff Taycan out at almost the same time as Porsche released theirs. How is that even possible unless they had the factories ready to go, thus industrial esponage. Edit. Clearly this just CCP outreach. You could do it, wear a Winnie the Pooh t shirt, pocket the money safe in the knowledge the footage would never be used by the CCP. If you could get paid up front.

[@michaandrzejsigismundfreih7900]

@@tug1345 China doesn't forge CE marks, they just put a mark that looks almost identical but isnt legally a CE mark, say its an abbreviation of "China Export" and bet on laymen not spotting the difference. As an engineer Ive seen countless of those fake CE signs and even had a short course on how to spot fake chinese certifications.

[@MichaelHanna-c5i]

Always despised the term "influencer". Gets my back right up. Who the F do they think they are that I'm going to buy something just because they say so?? Makes me LESS likely to buy something because some pointless "influencer" tw*t is pushing it. I cut my teeth on CAR, Performance Car, Fast Lane, Evo, etc. and your pieces are just as good. Always informed and interesting.

[@RERM001]

Serpentza and Laowhy went to live in China for over a decade and even they admit that the Chinese would rather be seen on a 25 yo GM or VW ancient relic of a car rather than the newest piece of Chinese engineering, as the only difference between the safety of the Chinese car and the older foreign cars is that the older cars never had them while the new Chinese cars only have them nominaly (they don't actually work on the moment of an impact).

[@hopefultraveller1]

James, I'm not surprised you would make such an open video about this disreputable Chinese campaign - your reviews always have the air of honesty and give informed praise or criticism wherever deserved. Yes, some content creators will have been bought, and are therefore not objective in their 'reviews' - a Chinese electronics company tried to extract positive Amazon reviews from me for their badly-designed products, which I found thoroughly disreputable. With ever-more Chinese products hitting our shores, your warning is is timely and necessary - there will be more influencers tempted to 'shill', sell their 'approval', and falsify 'positive' opinions for personal gain - thanks!

[@visekual6248]

It's funny that Johnny Smith of all people accepted the deal.

[@LRSTGS]

Divorce is expensive!

[@pb5x5]

@@LRSTGS Is he getting divorced. Isn't that Richard Hammond.

[@bobhob35]

@pb5x5 Johnny smith was getting divorced

[@pb5x5]

@@bobhob35 As well. O that might be expensive. So I guess the payment helps.

[@oldskoolbmw]

My favorite was when my company advertised in the back of a magazine and the media department gave us pricing on "feature" status, cost of space on the cover, all reassuring us a positive review with some editorial control. It was revealed to be such a cash grab that it actually turned us off from advertising in magazines.

[@Lot76CARS]

James, thanks for highlighting this, it puts a very different spin on the video that Jonny Smith has just released! How can you possibly rely on the reviews independence when they are so obviously manipulated in this way? Plus, the request to have final editorial control of the content is a really concerning.

[@riikanlee1416]

Praise to JayEmm for honest and truth unbiased as always!!! Nowadays the world and internet are so polluted by some sillious corporates that honesty is becoming truly rare thing. I'm a Chinese and always ardently defending many labelled "Chinesium", but man do I say, Chinese products only have generally acceptable to very good build quality, and superb value for coast because very sounding industrial infrastructures, but Chinese bosses/worlers/developers have zero no "feelings/attatchment" to their products, they view those not as "their creation" but only cold "exchages for money", money and massive demands are their only sole motivation. This is so unhealthy and gloomy future awaits...

[@lotusgroup123]

James, why not try one of those small, revolutionary “technological miracle” plug-in heaters that pop up on KZbin with annoying regularity, just to confirm that they are also crap?

[@b127_1]

But an eletrical resistive heater is always 100% efficient. Other than not catching on fire, there is nothing one heater can do better than the other. It takes power from the wall and turns it into heat. Maybe with a light bulb or a computer, all energy use that gets turned into waste heat is considered bad, but with a heater that's all it needs to do.

[@sparky4878]

They’ll cut your electricity bill by 92% and heat any room in 30 seconds. It’s clear they’ve found a way to break the laws of thermodynamics. Nothing dodgy at all.

[@moosevision8113]

You mean the text to speech ads claiming they were invented by two British engineers? I always laugh at those because a heater is one of the few devices that can be 100% efficient (all energy going towards heating instead of some being wasted on sound, light etc), and plug in electric heaters are one of the most expensive ways to heat a room

[@dominicrusho]

“MY HUBBY WENT HARD ON ME ALL NIGHT WITH THIS ONE SIMPLE TRICK” etc, etc. Please confirm that these also work, James.

[@mrjohnnyk]

Those videos are probably made with a similar contract

[@air_cooled_andy]

An outstanding, Intelligent and articulate journalist with integrity. Well done Jay.

[@benfinesilver2250]

Chinese car maker = Chinese government official. They don’t have to buy reviews. They make them.

[@niklovell]

Utterly ridiculous. Their demands and tight deadlines are crazy. Also if I want to watch someone try to carry out a driving challenge like this using the least amount of fuel possible the last vehicle of choice would be a 3 ton SUV with the aerodynamics of a brick. So far as I write this there is 1 KZbinr that took them up on this offer.

[@mrjohnnyk]

This is common all over the internet these days with a large number of markets. Hard to trust anyone anymore with the way opinions are bought and paid for.

[@EdDale44135]

Dumb question? What if you went out. Reviewed a car. Gave your honest impression. And the company came to you and said “ we love what you said, and would like to rebroadcast that on our KZbin / instagram / little red book. How much for that reuse rights?” Same ethical concerns?

[@charlesmoss8119]

In the old days some of the local rag content seemed highly influenced by the advertising revenue that might come with it, so this has been going on for a long time. The change is the use of the medium now reaches a far higher level and seems to be belived even more strongly. My nephew, an intelligent lad, seems to absorb stuff on KZbin and Tiktok as absolute fact as it is published on those mediums and sees no balance as his account pivots his views towards his views, further reinforcing those views. I therefore see these paid influencers as far more of a risk to balanced opinion (not just in automotive) as ever the threadbare writer on the Bishopstone bugle could ever have been.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Yes the Internet has a habit of being an echo chamber, one that can sometimes be quite unpleasant

[@garbagesoupcan]

Your intro is a prime example of why I keep coming back to your channel, too funny with (seemingly) almost no effort. Keep up the cracking work boyo!

[@jameswilloughby5240]

I am very surprised by one of the influencers taking part. I thought he was better than that

[@bestcrazyboy8487]

Tip of the iceberg 😉

[@ph8077]

The old maxim "If you can fake sincerity, you've got it made." springs to mind. On the interwebz, you don't even have to be very good at faking it - there's a significant portion of gullible morons out there.

[@SquidwardhatesEVs]

Love the honesty. Never sell-out James👍

[@hfvhf987]

Running that heater has consumed all the profit from this video lol

[@nasko235679]

Your channel has slowly become my favorite. I love the random car topics you discuss and you're a very engaging speaker. Keep it up, (and that heater sucks)

[@oliverandersson1991]

As a Swedish citizen i even avoid buying Volvo by this point, i got 2 Mazdas instead :) a CX-30 2022 Cosmo Automatic and a Mazda 3 2010 1.6 Diesel Manual for daily commute. I will never buy a chinese car and yes i know Mazda just announced a chinese electric car and im pretty sure im going elsewhere for my car purchase if this is their new direction.

[@F-o-s-s-e]

Thanks Jay, glad to hear your not for sale, unless of course I want a watch or car soap :) Keep up the good work

[@samorr4668]

The Late Brake Show has posted, have a look😊

[@pauljakeman]

Well done to you for exposing this! This popped up on recommendations and glad it did! Shows that whatever “reviews” of this car have gone up, are a bit on the dodgy side. No wonder Chinese manufacturers we’d never heard of a handful of years ago are doing so well.

[@lawrencehooper4341]

Liked ! Turn the heating down James you look boiling 😅

[@suckmysilencer747]

The comment section in the last video was flaming him for being too cold! Poor sod, he can't win 🤣

[@bilakh7]

Watching it from Brave so my apologies for not supporting the ads! I don’t want to waste 5 min to watch a 10 min video!

[@julianevans9548]

JONNY SMITH TOOK THE CASH!!!! Jonny Smith's Late Brake Show has this: 'Car Road Trip Challenge - NO refuelling', featuring a Jaecoo J7 - uploaded in the last hour.

[@julianevans9548]

Now ask yourselves, how many of Jonny's MANY pro-EV videos do you trust?

[@julianevans9548]

Laughing my *rse off at those saying, 'You have to make a living', etc. Yeah, but I don't have to watch someone who is paid by the manufacturer.

[@julianevans9548]

Jaecoo is a brand of Chinese vehicle manufacturer Chery. Chery is a Chinese automobile manufacturer with its headquarters in Wuhu, Anhui, China; it is owned by the Wuhu municipal government. That's whose money Jonny's taking. Essentially the Chinese government.

[@davidowen3543]

You, hubnut and number 27 are my faves.

[@mrjohnnyk]

@@julianevans9548 I'd say none because it's clear how their "opinion" is bought and paid for.

[@shanesmith4079]

appreciate the honesty and insight :) - totally agree with you about Jag! lol

[@sayrerowan734]

I think one of the reasons Doug won't take a plane ticket is that he's just not interested in the travel. He likes to stay close to home, and honestly, his platform is so huge, the manufacturers will come to him. He's definitely not Matt.

[@DPW864]

Matt?

[@tomfurie2996]

Doug has gone to Ferrari at a launch on 100% his own dime. Within the last few years. Maybe it was during a vacation. But he will travel for something newsworthy.

[@TheBTG88]

As an American, speaking for myself, I don’t like a bunch of ads in my videos. 😊

[@huwjones5879]

I had a Quick Look on KZbin, couldn't see any content from this"race". I also looked at their UK website, the prose made me laugh out loud! The Jaecoo J7 is around the size of a RR Velar and has, wait for it,147 bhp. I'm surprised it actually moves. Jaecoo are owned by Chery. Apparently Jaecoo is a combination of the German word Jäger and the English word "cool".

[@nickregnier1]

I love your honesty and this video makes it even more special to watch entirely. Brilliant James! We need people like you to remain subjective. Great work!

[@rhodaborrocks-dy3fb]

Will be interesting to see who DOES take up the challenge 👀

[@John_O_Maoilearca]

Did I miss the part in the letter that stipulated that the generated content had to be positive about the car? I didn’t hear it say either way. It asks for content, when, how and where it appears. But not what it is in terms of positivity. It would have been interesting to do the task and review the car, warts and all - and see what happens. (And Western brands do blacklist negative reviewers - just ask Doug DeMuro about Ferrari).

[@allanfoster6965]

Very interesting to see who have actually taken on this advert.

[@garywilton1514]

“You may have seen some of them in the news over the last few decades”. Keep doing what you’re doing Jay. This is a difficult subject you’re a smart guy you’ve negotiated it really well. Your brand just got stronger again….

[@alexanderdeburdegala4609]

Chinese electronics suck too. They can make stuff if designed and managed by someone else, but their domestic companies make crap that just falls apart in a few years and it's very much on purpose. It's not just fast fashion it's fast everything

[@Fc-cb3tn]

Not to mention how badly calibrated most of them are. From overly boosted brakes to steering so heavily assisted I believe it is genuinely dangerous to drive.

[@pchakrav2000]

@@alexanderdeburdegala4609 that’s because most purchase chinese electronics at the bargain basement level prices. Buy their moderately priced goods and they are absolutely at the top of their QC game. You get what you pay for unfortunately holds true for Chinese tat as well. Except their moderately priced stuff challenges much higher priced comparative goods from the West. Compare the BYD products to Tesla for example. The Seal is priced similar to model 3 but the fit and finish is far superior at par with German products that cost much more

[@vincereynard4890]

Primarily why Mercs are a shadow of their old quality. Chinese tyres / brake pads / stuffed with cheapo electronics that just have to last length of PCP contract. Then the sucker who buys second hand pays the exhorbitant service costs . Win - Win

[@KissofDeath63]

@@vincereynard4890 don't forget that the chinese company BAIC owns 10% of Mercedes since 2021

[@jomo2483]

I disagree. I have been running on Chinese phones since 2017. They're well built. My last phone lasted 9 years. My current phone, has all the features of a flagship at half the price. The only catch with Chinese stuff, is you get what you pay for. If you're cheap, you get cheap shit. If you spend a bit more you get quality. When it comes to cars. Chinese cars are solidly built. Most European countries are running Chinese buses in their cities. And where in Africa, Chinese lorries stole the market from European lorries over 10 years ago.

[@mickm7592]

I had a chuckle at 'Jaguar'. Thanks as always for interesting content, James. It feels like companies like this really lack that car passion, it is just money! As an expat in Japan I feel that passion here. Have a good one, mate!

[@philipheijnen]

Jay, please also address how the mainstream press has somehow accepted that Chinese EVs are now superior to European EVs. Especially BYD, who has quite some quality issues, but is advertising everywhere, so buying the journalists through the adds. Of course this is the similar to what other companies use advertising for. But the odds at stake are very high here: the survival of European oems. So the lack of effort to check how good these Chinese cars really are and how healthy they will be in a few years is not acceptable. European oems have much more experience in designing and manufacturing good quality products. This is not comparable to companies who used to produce shirts 3 years ago and now churn out cars after a development cycle of a year.

[@kl9518]

MG, Volvo, Polestar, Tesla, London Taxi all made in China. How good are they?

[@Beer_Dad1975]

Have to say, anecdotally - had an Haval H6 rental (which was an HEV, so not really what you are talking about, but still a Chinese car) recently, and it was pretty good - compared to the rental I'd had previously, an Audi Q5 (the 2 litre turbo one) - which was a nicer car - but considering it's more than twice the price of the Haval, it wasn't even close to twice the car. The Haval also had no issues during my rental period - the Audi had a check engine light and tire pressure warning gauge that the rental company told me to "ignore them, we can't get Audi to make them go away" - this is on a car less than a year old at the time. I think Chinese cars have come a long, long way in the last few years - and given how badly most European manufacturers languish in the JD Power surveys every year, I don't think it is accurate to state "European oems have much more experience in designing and manufacturing good quality products." - most European cars now days go through years of effort to cut manufacturing costs and ensure the car is replaced after the warranty expires due to being too expensive to maintain. I think Chinese cars from at least some of the better Chinese manufacturers are probably going to outlast a lot of their European counterparts - and at far lower cost. Companies like Mercedes and VAG have proven how unethical they are, having no qualms in literally murdering people and animals in the name of cost cutting - and that's just the stuff they've been caught doing. My point is, European manufacturers have nobody to blame for any current woes they are experiencing. Now there is a discussion to be had as to the ethics of buying Chinese cars, given most Chinese manufacturers have tight links with the CCP - but then, that is the same for almost any product made in China now.

[@dwoolwichpoly9086]

I have to disagree here: We have and have had German, Japanese, Chinese, French, Malaysian, Korean, American cars etc and their various different models from multiple S classes to a £395 Toyota Starlet. Having now a BYD Seal, Lexus LS430, Toyota Estima, BMW 330d and having had Tesla Model X and Audi E tron, the BYD is a firm contender and surprisingly good quality. The only gripe I have with it is the brakes, they are subpar for a 540bhp car, same case for the Tesla Model X but not the Audi E Tron. These changes automakers aren’t the highest of quality in general…neither are the European counterparts. BMW, Audi, Mercedes Benz, VW group etc are PLAGUED with quality and reliability issues. The overuse of plastics in various components when metal or alloy should have been used as well as many electronic issues make it owning one a nightmare to say the least. This is very comparable to a Chinese car, the only difference is the Chinese cars cost so much less. And this is not just EVs either, their ICE counterparts are down right SHIT from the European side. The extra money it costs results in a slightly higher quality car but mainly due to the badge name. It sounds different when you say “I drive a Merc” compared to “ I drive a BYD”. When in reality the BYD has as much features as standard as an S CLASS (YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT!) with many options. The car industry has gone down the drain in terms of quality all across the globe. Only difference is the Chinese price it somewhat accordingly where as the Europeans overprice it because of their once good heritage. So it only makes sense for the commoner who goes A-B to get something a lot cheaper

[@dwoolwichpoly9086]

@@Beer_Dad1975same goes for European brands if you are talking about Ethics and Politics. The genocide that goes on in Palestine is directly funded by the West and all those companies have close links to the government as well. You can’t criticise one party of something and dismiss it for the other one!

[@PcPete123]

Followed for years. Thanks for being you, a true great car journalist.!

[@McBeamer94]

I believe it's the same thing they did with the Moose test in Spain. A Jaecoo was put to the test by KM77 and it passed the test with an exit speed of 79km/h. I was like "There's no way a giant car - let alone a giant dingleberry of a car like the Jaecoo - passed this test at that high speed. I mean, the last generation of the Ford Fiesta passed the test at 78km/h and that was because Ford knows (or at least knew) how to make great-handling small cars." That's just madness and even if I had decided to dismiss any Chinese car before, I now dismiss them twice. Maybe three times, even. The more times the better! 😂

[@ManilvaRS]

Literally as I’m watching this I’ve got a notification for Johnny Smiths Late Brake Show doing this exact event 🤣

[@mikeroz6549]

I've just unsubscribed from the Late Brake Show.😂

[@whyem516H]

Late Brake Show did the paid "challenge"

[@jimj2683]

More people need to see this

[@KittenMcGray]

You exactly tell why i am a subscriber, i value you're honesty and the knowledge you do not get paid by car producers, the old fashioned way off journalisme too me is very important.

[@joshschegan]

From someone who lives in Southeast Asia where Chinese cars keep getting more and more common on the road, sadly this is a very common practice for car companies to pay "KZbinrs" and "Influencers" to say good things about their products. Not only by the Chinese, but sometimes the Japanese and Koreans too. I havent seen these type of paid reviews from European manufactures personally, but i think its out there somewhere. You can tell these paid contents are usually titled something "A trip with *insert car name here* to blablabla", or something similar. These videos points out ONLY the good things, specifically what feature is it on their cars, and purposefully avoiding the bad bits almost at any cost. Some reviewers do dare to point them out, but then proceeds to say either its nothing to worry about nor that important.

[@dennythedavinchi3832]

Korean don't like the car. There are few ignorant numbers tried for cheap prices and never get repaired. France uses a Chinese car as a rent car.

[@bentullett6068]

They are also posting comments in YT videos trying to advertise their cars depending on the region the KZbin video creator is from. I have seen many recently saying I have purchased a (insert certain Chinese car brand and model here) on a lease of X amount. All of the specifications are mentioned and they will even add the energy supplier with the cheapest rates in the comment with the average cost (these are usually published in car magazines/Web articles with the same energy supplier). Only give away I can find that it's a advertisement is when they say they charge it from their apartment, now in the UK we usually call these flats and usually a flat or apartment is usually in a multi storey building. Unless they own the downstairs apartment/flat or have a very long lead to charge their car makes it slightly obvious that it's fake. I have also seen the same commenter names saying China is expanding its energy efficiency and China's car industry is the greatest.

[@timelwell7002]

Influencers who talk bout guitars face the same dilemma from time to time. Most of these are - like James and like Ian from Hubnut - entirely independent. However, there are some who seem a little to enthusiastic about certain brands, so you have to ask why. With both cars AND with guitars, however, ultimately you need to 'road test' any car or musical instrument for yourself in order to find out how good or otherwise any given product really (or is not).

[@Phillc748]

As a ‘former’ motorcyclist???? 😢

[@z-trip5457]

Good on you for undertaking the more controversial topics in the automotive world. Keep up the professional journalism!

[@ericpisch2732]

If I have remembered correctly this is a cultural thing, Linus from LTT/LMG has covered something similar with Chinese company’s. It’s the norm over there for companies to have full control over things like this and to dictate the agenda.

[@teertaa]

Linus credibility is falling down the hill since lots of things happened. From selling prototype coolers and pc parts to calling making unfixable devices "intellectual protection measures". Louis rossman once ranted about how apple (and some other companies in the same field) being allegedly involved with making beneficial NDAs to tech reviewers

[@ericpisch2732]

@ lol get your facts right and stop listening to jealous ego maniacs like Steve farming rage bait

[@GoksCarLounge]

Nicely put! I hope at some point in the future more PR departments start looking at beyond just the numbers

[@garycullen5307]

Thanks James for letting us know about these you tubers selling out. Just watching jonnys video I’m fuming.

[@thatcheapguy525]

love it James, you've just potentially blown the doors off a whole load of "good guys" we trust lol. can't wait to see who took the money!!! as a footnote, I sell various car parts on eBay and fully understand Chinese business ethics (or lack thereof), especially those openly claiming to be in the UK when they're actually shipping direct from China. loads more of this to come unfortunately...

[@beatles4sale2007]

I suppose it’s being going on for decades in one shape or form. However Jacoo seem to have over 100 dealerships in the UK, have various franchise deals with Arnold Clark etc….so definitely going in “big”, hence targeting the YT community and there are some of them that would go to the opening of an envelope, so no surprises there really.