Patrick George of the automotive blog Jalopnik offers unsolicited tips to representatives of a Chinese manufacturer after visiting its booth at the Detroit auto show.
He proclaims constructive intent in an amusing open letter to the Guangzhou Automobile Group:
I'd like to help you out, like we did yesterday when we checked out the Trumpchi and informed a few of your extremely friendly company reps that "sackbut" is almost certainly not the word you wanted to display on its windshield. We weren't trying to make fun of you or be mean -- many manufacturers have issues when entering a market that doesn't speak their native tongue.
I grabbed a couple of your spec sheets on the way out, and I wanted to let you know that they have a few missteps that we native English speakers find really comical as well. Instead of keeping the company totally within China, which is commendable, I would advise you to branch out and hire an American, British or Australian person who can copy edit these things properly for every market.
These are among George's comments:
"6 Gear Shift Mode of Transmission" -- Just say "6-Speed Automatic Transmission." "Driving Speed Inductive Door" -- Um, I got nothing for this one. Is that even a thing? "Can Sensitive Integral Transmission" -- Not sure what you were going for here, but it sounds important. "Bionics Leather Seats" — I think you meant "power seats," but now I really wish bionic seats were a thing.
