GM's $5K Minivan Is a Smash in China

General Motors has a major overseas hit in its Wuling Sunshine, a $5,000 minivan that gets more than 40 miles to the gallon. It sold 590,000 of them in China last year, but don't be too quick to complain that its foreign-only status is totally unfair: The Sunshine's three-cylinder engine has less power than some lawn tractors, there are no seat belts in the back row, and it doesn't have airbags.

With a top speed of 80mph, it's a "pumpkin on wheels," an analyst tells NPR. And while GM believes it can make money off a modified version, it would have to be entirely re-engineered to pass a US safety inspection. And to even hit its top speed it would "probably take a wind behind you and a downhill ramp to get there," says a dealer. On the plus side, it currently comes with a radio. (More General Motors stories.)