Edward Niedermeyer, Good for GM, Good for China; How did General Motors, a company not known for nimble adaption, find success in the Chinese market? Wall Street Journal, Aug 16, 2011
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904006104576501302843644740.html
(book review on Michael J Dunn, American Wheels , Chinese Roads; The story of General Motors in China. Wiley, 2011)
Note:
(a) Buick
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick
(the oldest still-active automotive make in US and the world; originated as the Buick Auto-Vim and Power Company in 1899, by Scottish born David Dunbar Buick in Detroit)
* The surname Buick comes from name of places in Northern England, Bewick--from Old English beo ‘bee’ + wic ‘outlying farm’, hence an outlying station for the production of honey.
(b) For "head-spinning sales numbers," see
spin (vi): "to have a sensation of whirling; reel: My head began to spin and I fainted."
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/spin
(c) chestnut (n):
"6a : an old joke or story
b : something (as a musical piece or a saying) repeated to the point of staleness"
www.m-w.com
(d) The review remarks "the last Chinese emperor had a fondness for Buicks."
News release: GM Prepares to Export Buick Enclaves to China. GM, July 25, 2008
http://archives.media.gm.com/archive/documents/domain_2/docId_47512_pr.html
("Buick is one of the most well-known automobile brands in China, with more than 1.7 million Buick owners. Last year, Buick sold more than 300,000 units there and more than 567,000 worldwide, a 17,000-unit increase over 2006. Buick has a strong history in China, where Dr. Sun Yat-sen, a Chinese revolutionary hero, and Pu Yi, the last emperor of China, both owned Buicks")
(e) S-10 truck 雪佛兰S-10
(f) eat out of one's hand: "to accept the domination of another"
(g) call option
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_option
, which is opposite to "put option."
-------------------Separately
Martin Hutchinson and John Foley, Reuters, Aug 16, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/16/business/a-gold-standard-is-unthinkable-no-more.html
(item 2: China’s Speed Demons)
My comment: You may want to read item 1, too, because I am going to deal with it today.