$3000 motorcycles, courtesy of Chinese manufacturing

Cleveland CycleWerks is producing low-cost, high-quality motorcycles the Apple way:

Leveraging the power of low-cost Chinese manufacturing (his engine cases are built in the same factory as Harley's) combined with his own designs for bespoke components and heavy quality control, Cleveland CycleWerks CEO Scott Colosimo is applying Apple's business model to motorcycles to bring high-quality, well-designed bikes to the US market. They aren't just any old motorcycle either, but stylish cafe racers and bobbers. 

Below is a video also provided by Jalopnik from the series Ride Apart.

James Cameron goes to China

Fascinating article from the Economist (by way of The Dish) about James Cameron's search for a Chinese co-producer for the next Avatar movie. Mr. Cameron's movies are spectacularly popular in China, and finding a Chinese co-producer may be one way of increasing the percentage Mr. Cameron will receive of the Chinese box office returns.  

The economic advantage he has in mind would be on the tail end, when the box office takings are divvied up. Mr Cameron does not need funding assistance for his films (a common reason for other foreigners in search of Chinese partners), but he would like China to share more of its blockbuster revenues with him. When “Avatar” made $200m in Chinese ticket sales, China was returning to Hollywood only 13% to 17% of the receipts on imported films, a far lower share than the American studios receive from other foreign markets. Going forward China will share up to 25% of the takings from imports, per an agreement announced during Xi Jinping’s visit to Los Angeles in February. That remains lower than Mr Cameron might be able to negotiate in a co-production deal. Chinese producers, after all, can collect up to 45% of the box office for domestic films, the 55% remainder going to satisfy the cinemas and distributors.

Mr Cameron’s meetings this week come shortly after the news that “Iron Man 3”, starring Robert Downey junior, will be a Chinese co-production. The gravitational pull of the Chinese movie market, nonexistent less than a generation ago, is now an undeniable force, sucking in all Hollywood blockbusters (and lesser projects) that venture within its event horizon. Hollywood studios, independent producers and directors regularly cycle through Beijing in search of partnerships with Chinese production houses—often seeking money to finance their movies, as well as access to a suddenly lucrative market.

Afterall, if James Cameron is to land on an astroid after visiting the deepest part of the ocean, he's going to need a much higher percentage of Avatar 2 China ticket sales.