US company to import Chery cars

US-based Visionary Vehicles said it had agreed to forming a partnership with Chinese auto manufacturer Chery to design, build and import low-cost Chinese-made cars into the US market. The company said it planned to begin selling the cars in 2007, beginning with five new models consisting of compact, mid-size and crossover sedans as well as a luxury sports coupe and a sport utility vehicle. European and Japanese design firms behind Ferrari and Lamborghini luxury sports cars have been enlisted to design the launch models. Visionary Vehicles is headed by entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin, who also brought Subaru and the less successful Yugo cars to the US market. In an effort to quash concerns about the quality of cars made in China, Visionary said its cars would carry 10-year/100,000 mile warrantees, a package first used by South Korea's Kia Motors to crack the US market.