The Wuling Hongtu is a five-door, five- to eight-seater

microvan A microvan is a van or minivan which is within the Japanese kei car classification or similar, and is smaller than a mini MPV. In China, these vehicles are nicknamed ''miàn bāo chē'' ("bread-loaf vehicle") because of their shape.

SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co., Ltd. ( zh, 上汽通用五菱汽车股份有限公司, abbreviated as SGMW) is a joint venture between SAIC Motor, General Motors, and Guangxi Auto (previously Wuling Group). Based in Liuzhou, Guangxi in southw ...

), a

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

joint venture of SAIC with Liuzhou Wuling Motors Co and the

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

n automotive company

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

. Unlike the company's earlier

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group traces its origins to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company that existed from 1870 to 194 ...

-based products, the Hongtu is an independent development. Codenamed LZW 6381B3, the Hongtu is also marketed as the Wuling Journey and Sunshine (the cargo version - confusing, as there is another car called the Wuling Journey and Wuling Sunshine in other markets) in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, and Chevrolet N200 (Latin America, North Africa, Middle East).

Specifications

The LZW 6381B3 Hongtu is equipped with Wuling's own B-series four cylinder engine of 1.2 litres displacement (engine code LAQ). Its at 6,000 rpm is enough to propel the car to . The Singaporean market Sunshine and Journey receive the modelcode LZW 6381C3, the one-letter difference denoting its being equipped with the older 1.1-litre LJ465Q3-1 engine, which is based on the thirty-year-old Suzuki F10A. With only on tap, the Sunshine/Journey's top speed is barely over . Suspension is independent by

MacPherson strut The MacPherson strut is a type of automotive suspension system that uses the top of a telescopic damper as the upper steering pivot. It is widely used in the front suspension of modern vehicles. The name comes from American automotive engineer ...

s in front, with either

leaf spring A leaf spring is a simple form of spring (device), spring commonly used for suspension (vehicle), suspension in wheeled vehicles. Originally called a ''laminated'' or ''carriage spring'', and sometimes referred to as a semi-elliptical spring, e ...

s or

coil spring A tension coil spring A coil spring is a mechanical device that typically is used to store energy and subsequently release it, to absorb shock, or to maintain a force between contacting surfaces. It is made of an elastic material formed into the ...

s in rear depending on the equipment level. Brakes are discs up front and drums in the rear, and only a five-speed manual transmission is available. Safety features such as airbags and ABS brakes are available at extra cost. Sales in Latin America began in July 2008, as the car entered the

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

vian market under the name of Chevrolet N200. The N200 receives another grille and prominent Chevrolet badges. Since August 2009, the Chevrolet N200 is sold through GM's distribution network in markets in Latin America, Africa, and Arab countries.

Motorsports

A Wuling Journey in Singapore christened The Journeyman undertook multiple grassroots motorsports events around Singapore and Malaysia. The entrant to these events took the spectators by storm that a microvan could be on par with the other participants. A group of fans who labelled themselves as the Journeyfans will always show their support for the vehicle at events.

References

{{Chevrolet vehicles Hongtu Microvans Minivans Cars introduced in 2007 Cars discontinued in 2012 2010s cars Cars of China