Massachusetts man reveals how driving cheap Chinese cars helped him finally understand why they’re illegal in the US
Published on Mar 17, 2026 at 3:34 PM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Mar 17, 2026 at 3:34 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
A YouTuber from Massachusetts drove a bunch of different Chinese cars, including a lot of BYD vehicles, and he’s finally found the answer to a question everyone’s (indirectly) asking.
The thing is, many of these vehicles are either banned completely in the US or are so heavily burdened by tariffs that it makes no financial sense to buy them.
What they all have in common is that you can’t go out and buy one from a dealer.
And this YouTuber may have found an explanation for that.
Click the star icon next to supercarblondie.com in Google Search to stay ahead of the curve on the latest and greatest supercars, hypercars, and ground-breaking technology
This is why so many Chinese automakers are conquering the market
Modern cars heavily rely on software
This is why so many ‘legacy’ automakers are struggling to keep up.
They’re great at building engines and designing cars, but they’re not tech companies, which they also need to be.
As a result, they’re now being forced to completely rethink their manufacturing processes to include more tech, and that takes time and money.
By contrast, most Chinese automakers started from scratch, which explains how they were able to adapt quickly and easily.
That’s also why so many tech companies, from Huawei to Xiaomi, are now making cars.
Here’s why this YouTuber thinks these cars are banned
Massachusetts-based YouTuber Rich Benoit – he goes by Rich Rebuilds on his channel – traveled all the way to Alaska to test a few different Chinese vehicles.
He tested the BYD Yangwang U8, the SUV that can famously float and do tank turns, and a hybrid sedan that looks like a Taycan but only costs $45,700.
According to Benoit, the one thing all these Chinese cars have in common is that they all look and feel more expensive than they actually are.
Officially – if we wanted to use that word – these cars aren’t available in the US for reasons that we could describe as ‘political.’
Tariffs, security concerns over privacy and software, and so on and so forth.
But, in his opinion, it may also be because they could potentially disrupt the market.
Which is also a big reason not to have them on sale in the US…
DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie
After beginning his automotive writing career at DriveTribe, Alessandro has been with Supercar Blondie since the launch of the website in 2022. In fact, he penned the very first article published on supercarblondie.com. He’s covered subjects from cars to aircraft, watches, and luxury yachts - and even crypto. He can largely be found heading up the site’s new-supercar and SBX coverage and being the first to bring our readers the news that they’re hungry for.
