Many of the first successful brands in China were American ones, including automakers like Lincoln and bikemakers like Harley-Davidson. In fact, a Harley-Davidson riders club loved American cars so much they started making tribute clones of classic Detroit metal on Chinese underpinnings.
The latest car from the company is the Full Good Rocket, which was on display at Auto Shanghai last week and looks like a lot like a 1959 Cadillac Series 62. It even has a real powerplant from General Motors. Everything about this car is slightly too much, which is why it’s absolutely amazing to me. Even the name: Full Good. I think this is a sub-brand, maybe? It’s a bit confusing.
Also, there’s an AI-created video running to promote the 1950s-on-the-mood aesthetic and vibe of the car. It’s equally enchanting and terrifying when you listen to the lyrics. Perhaps I should start there:
Here are some of the (I hope) AI-generated words:
Lights on lunar lanes
Sip our sodas, free from chains.
The world’s aglow, the future’s here.
Every day’s a frontier.
Robots work, while we just play.
Endless night, that feels like day.
The soda pop, cosmic tune, together we’re dancing past the moon.
Here’s to freedom, bright and true.
After starry skies so blue.
Seriously, it keeps talking about an “endless night” and being “free from chains.” An AI-generated woman puts her hand on a hot stove. The whole thing exists in the uncanny valley.
The car is fun, though.
Songsan Motors Is A Real Company With BYD As A Contract Builder
Tycho has written about the company before, mostly because they made the SS Dolphin, which sounds like a subplot from Danger 5, but is actually a ’50s Corvette clone built under contract by BYD. Songsan (or Song San) is a vague translation of easy rider.
Here’s Tycho’s brief explanation of the company:
These fellows love America. They started as a Harley club, then they started importing these motorbikes, and then one day in 2019 they decided to leave their choppers for motorcars. Their first creation was the Songsan Motors Dolphin SS, a two-door sports car with a retractable hardtop.
Design is inspired by the 1953 C1 Chevrolet Corvette. Songsan doesn’t hide that; they got pics of the C1 all over their website, mixed with pics of celebrities like Marilin Monroe, Johnny Depp, and Brad Pitt. The Dolphin SS honors the C1. But don’t think it is some cheap-ass kit car made in a shed in Boulder Creek. The machine is contract-manufactured by none other than Buffet’s BYD.
According to Tycho, these are not uncommon around Beijing.
The Full Good Rocket Makes Me Feel Good
Reader and member Dogapult happened to be on hand for Auto Shanghai and was able to return with photos and video from the display, as well as some intel.
Full Good is apparently some sort of a sub-brand from Songsan, which has been together since 1995. The company told Dogapult that total production capacity is 2,000-5,000 cars per year, with 2,000 vehicles produced in 2024. “I’m not sure I believe it,” observed Dogapult.
The car itself is built on the underpinnings of a GM/Wuling product, meaning this Cadillac tribute has a bona fide General Motors powerplant. It’s apparently the 1.5T motor/PHEV combo, which means the platform might be the Wuling Starlight PHEV, which has a range of 43-93 miles on the CLTC test.
“Other than the odd sunroof on the rocket, the details on these look pretty good. Quality-wise, I mean,” says Dogapult. “The chrome is definitely all plastic, but in looking at it up close, it still seemed decently built.”
The inspiration is extremely 1959 Cadillac Series 62, like this one sold by Classic Auto Mall:
The lights, in particular, capture the look on a scale that’s a bit more economy car than the original.
The interior doesn’t look half-bad either.
The color is right, although I’d be happier if it wasn’t covered in screens.
I’m not sure that the sunroof opens or adds much to the car.
I dig the badge.
The SS Dolphin is sadly out of production this year, according to the company, but you can nab a Full Good Rocket next year and/or the Summer:
It’s the ID.Buzz the way we should have gotten it: A plug-in hybrid with six doors. Wait, what? Why does it have six doors?
Admittedly, it falls apart a little in the rear, which adds two doors, making this an eight-door van.
I think Songsan is mostly for bikes now, which means this Morgan 3-Wheeler-inspired vehicle with a V-twin bike motor upfront is more a Songsan than a Full Good. A real Morgan 3-Wheeler is already a sketchy proposition, so I might take a pass on this one.
Overall, the fact that you can get ’50s Cadillac style in a car that’ll go up to 40 miles on a charge just goes to show how dynamic and fascinating the Chinese car market is right now. It’s like Japan’s ‘Bubble Era’ that’s 9,000% more into Americana.
Top photo: Dogapult
“Fullgood” does look a little like “Fleetwood” at a distance.
It looks like Mr. Incredible has moved up to management
Having once owned a 59 Cadillac Series 62, my opinion is that that thing is an abomination. It’s giving uncanny valley cringe.
The greenhouse really irks me. Like a Cadillac morphed from a Beetle.
for the love of god that is horrible….as the owner of a REAL 1959 Cadillac…that AI looking red mess will haunt my dreams.
That AI video was creepily impressive and disconcerting.
Yes, you perfectly captured the feeling. Did you catch the girl riding in what appeared to be a side car to the red convertible? @ 54 seconds
OH! I’ll check that out. Good catch!
I’ll take a Full Good Summer in metallic purple, please.
Does anyone else find the AI “beauties” creepy? I could only make it about half way through the video.
Their absurdly red cheeks and noses make it look like they’ve been observing nuclear weapon tests from within the exclusion zone, or painting radium on watch and clock dials.
It feels like an ad for Nuka Cola.
Songsan are basically just Chinese Mitsuoka.
With that retractable rear roofline this looks like a great choice of technical for the discerning urban warlord. Real Duke of New York stuff.
Man, reading this article feels like I’m on acid. And I’ve never done acid.
The first car looked like a red Batmobile. And isn’t “Rocket” a trademark of Oldsmobile?
The Chinese seem to be having a good time. Let’s see just how far out there they go.
And the AI women look amazing, but I really wonder about their personalities and intellect.
So it’s an actual AI of a ’59 Caddy in 3D form?
All I can think of is DT saying:
“Look, I bought this car for a…
SONG(san)!”
Wow, they totally butchered that Caddy dash…the original was absolutely beautiful! I want to rip out those screens and smash them to bits ha ha
I’ll wait for the self-driving tribute to the 1958 Plymouth.
Other than the very Chinese “Fullgood” name, I’m surprised to say I don’t hate the Rocket. It’s like a cover band interpretation of the Caddy and they did a good job changing the proportions and integrating a modern canopy. Much, much better than all the shed car designers like the murdered Karmann Ghia/SLK that was posted here not too long ago.
Is the rear roof section removable on the Rocket ?!?
Inspired by > Poorly copied
I did appreciate the eye-wash provided by Classic Auto Mall’s Actual Cadillac Series 62 Coupe.
As to that song/video, why Matt have you not been hounded by the “Super Panavision 70 Retro Home Pin-up Future Cleavage-Punk Trad-Wife Jetsons” videos that seemed to be all over YouTube for a hot minute?
Hey sent you guys a story where the UK military requires anyone driving a Chinese EV has to park two miles from any base, cont talk about anything in the Chinese car, can’t charge their phones in the car. Yet you keep saying Chinese EVs are here to stay. How about covering the fact the US refuses Chinese EV, the UK is blocking Chinese EVs because spying. And both the US and EU are blocking Chinese imports? Even the UK is considered blocking Chinese imports due to damage done by harmful imports.
About freaking time the rest of the world woke up to grey-zone Chinese operations and realized that as much as we have to trade with China, they are not our friend.
Tesla’s are banned from areas in China that are deemed sensitive, because the expectation is their cameras will be used to capture video of said areas and transmit the data back to the US, seeing as this is something the CCP would do.
BYD has plans to release 15 models over the next two years, with some of them using Huawei software. Yes, that Huawei, who have been banned by most Western Govts from installing 5G cellular services.
Do we not all realize how too damn late it is for all this pearl-clutching? Maybe the Western corporations should have realized that twenty or thirty years ago before offshoring all their manufacturing there. Piddly little bans here and there are purely performative given how Lenovo supplies countless government laptops and nearly every smartphone we use is manufactured there anyway.
Besides, what the hell would a Chinese car need to spy on? They can just go on Google Maps and use Street View. We’ve already given them everything they could ever want, and then pretend like having a few less BYDs on the road is supposed to change any of that. Ok, so ban government officials from driving one. Margaret down the street already owns three because they’re $5k cheaper than a Kia.
When the world’s car manufacturers told China that they wanted to build and sell cars there, the Chinese government replied, “Sure, but you’ll have to give us all your Intellectual Property.”
No surprise how that worked out in the end.
Yet so many on this site want to support slave labor and intellectual property thefts to get cheap EVs that CHINA can shut down at a moments notice. Yet they attack Musk
Yet both things can be true. Don’t trust China and Elon sucks.
You know what they should have done? Said no and exited the Chinese market. But they had to get those #profits.
I feel like I’m supposed to hate it, but I don’t think I do, honestly, a plug-in hybrid that looks like a tailfinned 1950s rocket ship land barge is kind of appealing.
There was also a Chinese company that made pretty dead-on accurate copies of Rolls-Royce Silver Clouds, accurate at least as far as the body, the wheels and interior were kind of giveaways
Full Good sounds like it could be NewSpeak, as sure as we’ve always been at war with Europa.
Or was it Gannymede?
I’m assuming Marilin Monroe is the AI vixen version of Marilyn Monroe. I kinda dig that Bizzaroritz.
Other than those A pillars, I like it.
I mean, they aren’t any worse than any of the high-dollar restomods that get a lot of attention.
I 100% approve of cars with tail fins!