2016年CRI Car Inventories from Tianjin Blast Site Sold in China

 

Reports of the vehicles from last year's Tianjin explosion being sold on the market first emerged in November, after a buyer from Hebei agreed to purchase, what she thought, was a brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee from a qualified¹ dealer².

After paying out 625-thousand yuan for the vehicle, and completing all the paperwork, she went to pick up the vehicle, but instead was handed an unexpected surprise.

"The sales person took out a safety notice, which said the car had been stored near the warehouse³ blast site in Tianjin last August. The document said the car had been affected⁴ by the explosives at the site but had since has been cleaned and repaired inside out. I thought I bought a brand new car, but it turned out to be a fixed⁵ up vehicle from the explosion site. If the shop had told me the truth initially⁶, I would have never made the purchase. "

The dealer in-question now claims it was not aware of the vehicle's origin when the woman first decided⁷ to buy it.

Last December, Jeep published a notice regarding its inventory⁸ which was parked near the Tianjin explosion site.

It says that while most of its Jeep Grand Cherokees were outside the blast radius⁹, they were in the open-air when the explosions took place.

Despite cleaning them and reparing them all to safety standards, Jeep still requires its dealers¹⁰ trying to sell the vehicles to inform their customers before they buy them.

Professor Zhu Wei with the China University of Political Science and Law says even though Jeep claims to have fixed all the vehicles its since put on the market from Tianjin, a third party should still be involved.

"The manufacturer alone should not be allowd to make the judgment¹¹ call about whether these cars can be sold on the market. They should be handed over to an independent and third-party authority for testing, and only then can a decision can be made. "

Jeep's December notice also says the company did destroy over 2,000 vehicles after the August explosions, and that around 1,300 others were handed over to an insurance company after the insurance benefits were paid out, as required by law.

Jeep says these vehicles were severely¹² impacted by the blast, and told the insurance company not to sell them.

All authorized¹³ Jeep dealers have been banned from selling them.

However, its since been revealed a black market of dealers and repair shops has now surfaced, which has been fixing up these vehicles and selling them at half price.

Some of the dealers say the cars were auctioned¹⁴ off by the insurance company, obstensively for their parts.

However, they admit they've been able to use connections within the local traffic department in Tianjin to get these vehicles registered after they fixed them up.

Professor Zhu Wei says this revelation is more proof industry regulators need to step in.

"Quality monitoring authorities and business regulators have to be evaluating all these affected vehicles. Their job does not stop at the evaluation¹⁵; they should also ensure the cars that are meant to be destroyed are indeed destroyed. "

A vehicle identification number search on Jeep's Chinese website can help determine whether a car was affected by the Tianjin Blast.

Last August, a series of explosions rocked the Port of Tianjin, killing¹⁶ over 170 people and injuring hundreds of others.

The explosion was caused by the illegal storage of hazardous¹⁷ chemicals, which were spread throughout the port area.

Numerous car companies were using the port site to house their vehicles before moving them to their various dealers around the country for sale.

For CRI, I'm Victor Ning.

1 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

2 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

3 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

6 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

9 radius   

n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限

参考例句：

• He has visited every shop within a radius of two miles.周围两英里以内的店铺他都去过。
• We are measuring the radius of the circle.我们正在测量圆的半径。

10 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

11 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

12 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

13 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

14 auctioned   

v.拍卖( auction的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It was sad to see all grandmother's lovely things being auctioned off. 眼看着祖母那些可爱的东西全都被拍卖掉，心里真不好受。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder. 电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

16 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

17 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。