Buicks and Haagen-Dazs are two of the hottest items in China. From the Boston Globe via The Paper Tiger blog:
Consider Buick, often considered a grandpa’s car in the United States. In China, ”Buick is an expensive car, and has a very big name,” said Yan Lili, 30, a corporate manager in Beijing. ”I’d love to own one.” […]
In Beijing, freezers selling Haagen-Dazs ice cream stand proudly in the lobbies of five-star hotels. The price for a pint of Swiss vanilla: $10, compared to around $3 in the United States.
”Part of the reason for such pricing is simply extra costs, such as transportation and duties,” said Eddie Lu, marketing manager with Haagen-Dazs in Shanghai. … in China Haagen-Dazs has sidestepped its US image of being a premium supermarket brand to position itself as the deliverer of a uniquely luxurious culinary ”experience”, Lu added.
The strategy is working well because ”there’s a ‘reward yourself’ lifestyle here,” said Lu. ”People don’t mind paying for prestige items, especially if they are foreign.”
So! What’s your favorite FOREIGN car and ice cream? (I’ve never heard of imported Chinese ice cream!) … But this is an OPEN THREAD:
I used to have a Buick Century. It was a great MOM-mobile. I could cart four or five kids easily, and safely. I dug the V8 engine too …
Never buy Haagen-Dazs. Too ‘spensive. And Tillamook ice cream is yummy enough. I try not to buy it anyway!
SAY. Did anyone else see Paul Hackett on Bill Maher’s show on Friday night? He bombed… hard to explain. it was like he and Maher were on vastly different wavelengths. Maher, I thought, seemed turned off.
Hackett used a bad word too!
The four-letter a word? it was weird because i’ve heard him several times on the radio, and a little bit on tv. Maybe, I decided, he was trying to be funny on that show and it came out forced. He’ll learn. He’s smart. But it was weird how turned off Maher seemed.
I just meant the comment he made about Limbaugh’s cyst.. and speculation about how he got it.. I didn’t think he was too bad, I don’t know. I thought that he could have had a better answer to why he thought Bush wanted the war, but maybe he thought it was wise not to speculate.
But I do love my Volkswagen Jetta. Those crafty Germans sure know what they’re doing when it comes to cars!
I want this car:
The Audi TT Roadster… I salivate over this car and I’m so not a car person.
I cannot think of an imported ice cream. I’m a Ben & Jerry’s kind of girl.
Is anyone here watching the CNN special report called “Dead Wrong” right now?(west coast 5:14pm). They are talking about all the wrong intelligence but here’s the good news ex Cia analysts, including Larry Johnson are REALLY calling the White House out on the false statements made and they keep playing Cheney in 2002 saying there is no doubt there were WMDs. Watch it! Ooooo now about the tubes and Niger and this can’t be true.
Oh crap. I forgot it’s on!
I just emailed you about it too.
It’s on many times ..
Future Airings:
CNN Presents, CNN Aug 21 08:00pm
CNN Presents, CNN Aug 21 11:00pm
CNN Presents, CNN Aug 27 03:00am
CNN Presents, CNN Aug 27 12:00pm
CNN Presents, CNN Aug 27 05:00pm
CNN Presents, CNN Aug 27 08:00pm
CNN Presents, CNN Aug 27 11:00pm
CNN Presents, CNN Aug 28 03:00am
CNN Presents, CNN Aug 28 05:00pm
CNN Presents, CNN Aug 28 08:00pm
CNN Presents, CNN Aug 28 11:00pm
Those are Pacific times, btw…. my tv.yahoo.com is set up for my provider and my time zone.
Thanks Susan…I cannot believe what I am hearing. Please tell everyone you know to watch this program. It just makes me think something big is coming out and CNN got the jump on it and is running with this story. Where the hell were they 3 years ago?
Don’t forget Iraq On the Record, Waxman’s report:
NOT a happy guy.
Thanks rba…will go read it.
Talk about an unsung hero. Great research, great opinions, prescient and courageous views while the rest just lope along with whatever they think the polls are saying. God, he must feel lonely sometimes.
needs help. I sent my donation last week.
I have lactose intolerance so i don’t eat ice cream. My car still gets 37 mpg, and it’s only 13 years old with 33,000 miles on it. I’d get a Prius if I needed a new car.
Hrm, I haven’t ever bought a new car, mostly because I prefer old stuff I can tinker with, but if I were — and ignoring for the moment my fantasy about a 1979 Lamborghini Countache — I’d probably buy something from VW or Toyota. If American companies ever feel like making something fuel-efficient and reliable, I’d give that a shot, too.
I confess I don’t really like ice cream, though I do have a nostalgic thing for vanilla ice cream sandwiches on hot summer days.
If you get a 1979 Lamborghini Countac, all of us BooTrib girls will go out with you.
Haagen-Dazs in China? Damn the price. When it’s almost 100 degrees in Nanjing (where we actually pick up baby Andrew) I won’t care about the price. I will just want something cold and familiar!
. . . is what my folks used to make on summer evenings when I was a kid, in a big ol’ crank-by-hand ice cream maker. They always made pineapple ice cream, for some reason–never plain vanilla, never any other fruit flavor. It was yummy in its just-made soft-serve form, and it was yummy later after some time in the freezer.
Favorite foreign car? Well, a college boyfriend promised that someday he’d buy me a Mercedes convertible. Still waiting . . .
My parents did that too. With fresh peaches. So yummy. I’ve seen those electric ice cream makers but I’m suspicious of them … i wonder if they make ice cream as good as the old-fashioned crank-by-hands.
when my mom in law sold their house all i wanted was hand-cranked ice cream bucket-unfortunately somebody else was in front of me in the line–GRRRR
Long ago and far away, O best beloveds, I once went out with someone who drove a Ferrari. ’nuff said.
After several years of driving a big, squishy van with automatic transmission, I’ve recently switched to a small, more fuel efficient car with 5-speed transmission. Much better.
And more fun. I grew up driving VW Beetles and European sports cars, so I’ve never liked automatic transmissions. The roads in my neck of the woods are narrow, high-crowned, twisty, with short, steep hills, so you do a lot of changing down. Vrooooom.
I wouldn’t mind having another Saab one of these days. Great winter cars, and they hunker right down on curves, hang on to the road beautifully.
As for ice cream, there’s local stuff made that’s wonderful: vanilla with bits of lemon zest, vanilla with ginger, plus all the usual flavors.
I’m into classic American cars but if I could choose a foreign car it would definetily be a Porsche 911 Turbo Carrera though I doubt I’d get my legs in it.
Haagen Daz is alright but….Ben & Jerry’s Chunkey Munkey is the best ice cream on the planet. I even nicknamed one of my daughters after it :O)
Here is a pic of a car that is exactly the same, color and all, as my 66 Pontiac Lemans. Now that’s a real car.
OMG just like the ‘buke’ we used to have!
Of course hub- surfer that he is still wants a woodie.
Volvo (I can get my long legs in it)
Homemade (from egg custard) banana
Toyota rocks; functional rather than fancy. The in-laws 1980 Cressida is still running with over 200K in mileage, and my mom’s (now our) 1988 Camry is doing great (the headlight switch is a bit loose which we’ll get checked after vacation). And a hybrid is on our list for the next car, either the Prius or the new hybrid Camry they’re coming out with. (My brother bought himself a hybrid Honda Accord; I’ll have to get his opinion next time we have a family get-together.)
As for ice cream, love Ben & Jerry’s of course, but Baskin-Robbins isn’t too bad (and they have a great variety of lighter ice creams)…
In my opinion there is one car that transcends all:
I already weighed in on the dulce de leche.
I haven’t owned a car in 7 years but I used to have a metallic pink 1978 Lincoln Continental. Talk about an interesting car 😉
I did ride in a new Škoda the other day and it seemed extremely nice. That’s a Czech brand now owned by VW and mostly manufactured in Slovakia… people always bad mouth it for some reason but the car seemed fine to me.. but what the heck do I know about cars?
Pax
well, I own a Volvo..love those Swedes..and since I’m Italian I know I ought to say Gelato..which I do adore..but I’m also found of red bean paste and milk served over shaved ice..(Japanese dessert) kakigori….
as to Chinese dessert..I’ll take Almond Jelly or fresh lychees any day.