Debunking the misinformation in Larry Chen/Hagerty’s Hong Kong videos

Рет қаралды 5,530

Күн бұрын

The title really says it all, iykyk.
Long video this one! So use below chapters if bored!
0:00 - Intro
3:22 - His videos
6:40 - Misinformation on CCCHK
8:07 - Impounding cars & arrest
11:15 - Fake news about HK gov confiscating cars for no reason
15:04 - Conclusion

Пікірлер: 66

@alvene1 3 ай бұрын

I think being an influencer, it is vital to have the information presented correctly. Thank you so much for clarifying for us in HK!

@instacarhk5963 3 ай бұрын

Thanks for your support always!

@GordonTamf35 3 ай бұрын

As a HK car enthusiast, I do try to gather news of roadblocks to avoid police impounding my car (not a JDM). I guess JDMs are worse so I understand Larry Chen's point. I don't know the true story about that NSX-R that got stopped by the police which Larry claimed was for the lack of air bags originally, but I've heard an owner of GT3RS complained about his original car got questioned by the police because of the large original spoiler and original roll cage. So HK governement is indeed quite narrow-minded about car cultures (Not to mention classic cars have to get their rear seat removed if the car doesn't come with rear seat belts. Aftermarket seat belts are treated as illegal mods. We can also speak to the classic defenders owners about the 15 years road legal limit applied to all diesel trucks without any exceptions) Anyway, I do agree with all your points abut his misconeptions. I just want to share Hong Kong is not the best city for car enthusiasts. At the end of the day, the police carried out these operations because of the complaints (illegal racing, noise pollution) from HKers as many believe Mods = Illegal street racer. The CCCHK helps to educate and embrace the importance of car culture of Hong Kong. Together with collective effort from other car enthusiasts, hopefully this will make our lives easier in future.

@instacarhk5963 3 ай бұрын

I agree, I myself have had my fair share of unfriendly encounters with police even in my Indy (clearly not a street racing car because its so old and slow 😜), so yes that should be highlighted and called out. But not with the exaggeration and misinformation his videos included, which only cause more divide and fearmongering.

@robertsothmann8110 3 ай бұрын

It seems as if although he missed the nuanced points of life in Hong Kong, you may have misunderstood the thrust of his points concerning what most North Americans would consider governmental overreach. Having lived on both continents and for many years in mainland China I can say that without a doubt mainland Chinese who are smart don't always profile with their most valuable cars. The fact that the older gentleman might be reluctant to show their most valuable assets publicly is entirely due to overzealous government investigation. Part of the nuance of life in China is knowing that the higher you climb the more people will try to take you down for ever increasingly innocuous reasons. Larry is an American and though he may not understand all the minutiae of your day-to-day automobile issues, he tried to relay to Americans how good they have it in terms of freedom to automotively express themselves. He did a good job overall IMHO.

@moktoya1 3 ай бұрын

Speaking the minds of a lot of people in HK I’m sure. Thank you for this video.

@instacarhk5963 3 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching!

@mrleonhunter 3 ай бұрын

He most definitely did not say anything maliciously, he most likely repeated what locals told him. If someone was to blame its the locals themselves

@marcolim4193 3 ай бұрын

Thanks for clarifying Justin

@adnesis 3 ай бұрын

As a car guy myself and a fan of both of your channels, I must commend you for speaking up in this video and clarifying the misinformation. However, I'm sure Larry did not have ill intentions though, and wasn't simply sensationalising it for the sake of clicks - it was probably just his honest take from what he managed to gather from his short (and admittedly quite limited) experience of HK. In his defence, I walked away from his feature about HK (which I enjoyed) with newfound admiration and respect for HK's JDM (and larger) car scene, so I didn't find that he painted an unnecessarily negative picture. However, you do make good points about the feature's potential negative effects down the line. I hope that is something Larry will reflect on, and maybe learn from.

@instacarhk5963 3 ай бұрын

Thanks for your support! I just think someone with his following he should be careful with the message he tries to convey. In his HK videos, his overarching message was all car guys in HK live in fear of the government, which is inaccurate and grossly exaggerated. I just hope I am wrong with my prediction of what will happen here after he has left!

@colinlai1807 3 ай бұрын

Good on you JL for setting the record straight!

@thomaschantt1 3 ай бұрын

Well said! Can’t agree more

@justicewing 3 ай бұрын

Larry's videos of HK car culture are heavily biased and exaggerated. he definitely takes side and adds his own take on stuff. It is not to be viewed as a trust-worthy documentary.

@classicsracerco4171 3 ай бұрын

Good Point … thank you JL

@david_from_to 3 ай бұрын

Thanks for the clarification

@CY980 3 ай бұрын

Good job and thank you for making this video Justin, someone has to speak up and clear the nonsense this guy makes.

@acecarrera1 3 ай бұрын

Funny how he said the cars in the collection are legal, but the owner tries to hide them.How come? They're all registered, the government would have known them by now.If he wanted to tell a story, tell it as it is, you can't write a better script than what happens in real life.

@instacarhk5963 3 ай бұрын

As I mentioned, the owners who did not show their faces are just low profile and has nothing about the government 'knowing' anything. It's the government, they know how much money and what assets we have anyway (it's called the IRD haha). That whole not wanting the government to know claim in his video is utter nonsense.

@Ak-lv6xw 3 ай бұрын

@@instacarhk5963 (it's called the IRD haha) , not entirely. For tax matters you should ask me.

@ss5153 3 ай бұрын

Good video! Thanks for clarifying his nonsense!

@hkoljsm 3 ай бұрын

After seeing your video, I felt the need to post on that video. Basically, the HK law he referred to (about police having the power to “take away” your car) is enacted since 1991 ie by the British Colonial government. UK has a similar law.

@instacarhk5963 3 ай бұрын

Thank you for the support! You are correct re the legislation. He just quoted it as a (weak) support to his half-arsed 'apology' lol. He is very clearly still pushing the narrative that cars here get confiscated left right and centre arbitrarily.

@SLO722 3 ай бұрын

One of the reasons why the Hong Kong Transport Department have such restrictive rules when it comes to vehicle modifications is because public safety is their number one concern, and to this day there are NO established (deemed competent) and accredited bodies/groups of local engineers who are officially entrusted to undertake vehicle modifications. In countries such as Australia (the state of New South Wales), one could go to an accredited mechanical engineer and get modifications approved and done professionally, and legally that meets all the relevant Australian Design Rules standards. The same regime and system of accreditation does not exist in Hong Kong. There should be no problem if the cars were imported to Hong Kong legally, and are stored in a warehouse that meets the relevant fire standards and regulations. I can see in Larry Chen's video that some of the collections are in building units that may not have been legally converted into a space for car storage, and therefore the owners do not want the location disclosed. As for Larry Chen's assertion that owners fear their cars might be impounded and taken away by the HK government. That's a little far-fetched and the only reasons I can think of being illegal road-racing, hit and run, being driven on the road without registration (no third party insurance) or misuse of T-plates, and/or the cars were purchased with proceeds of crime (money laundering). In conclusion, the Hong Kong government has no sinister intent on clamping down on the local car culture scene. They have historically put safety as their top priority and as a result the rules (no matter how archaic) on what can be done are indeed very restrictive and in many cases prohibitive, even for those with deep pockets.

@PorscheFanatic27 3 ай бұрын

I was always very interested in HK and the Car Scene over there but I was in shock about the videos from Hagerty. I thought why would you want to live in such a place where the government can take your car so easy and you can’t pursue your passion. Thanks for a more realistic view on the situation. I think that today we all must watch videos and read articles different. Everywhere are always straight up lies or most of the times half truths. Thanks for the video. Greetings from Bavaria Germany.

@instacarhk5963 2 ай бұрын

Thank you mate - 'international' comments like yours make me very happy that I made this video! The traffic police here are definitely not easygoing at all these days, but Larry's video is just too much exaggeration/lies. Agree with you that these days we must read and watch more before blindly believing one source.

@speedywinger10 3 ай бұрын

I have been Larry’s follower for sometime now, I thought the video about hongkong series was really harsh.. from a neutral perspective, I think it sounded anti China.. Thanks for the clarification for people all around the world.. cheers! Hope this gets more view..

@instacarhk5963 3 ай бұрын

Agree and thanks for your support!

@kenric1460 3 ай бұрын

Thanks for making this video. I've been trying to correct Larry's lies in some of the forums. I met Larry a long time ago when I was living in the US, he already had scumbag vibes back then.

@instacarhk5963 3 ай бұрын

Thanks man - just trying to do my part for the HK car community!

@Ak-lv6xw 3 ай бұрын

great comments. however @16.59 you failed to point out where film shows reckless driving with people leaning out of windows is an issue with local laws, as well as most other jurisdictions worldwide

@philipmo4609 3 ай бұрын

Modifications aren’t allowed or have certain rules. Example, in the UK, one is not allowed to tint the vehicle’s windows too dark and the fronts aren’t even allowed (Yianimize video).

@ChirpywaraTofu86 3 ай бұрын

Thank you for making this video, everyone needs to know that the HK government is not so oppressive or malicious towards the car community My uncle has been with the Collectors Car Club of HK for a long time and it would be terrible if this negative reputation generated by Larry impacts car meets. I am glad that someone like you made this video to defend the HK car community :)

@e36boy 2 ай бұрын

I found his video about having cars in HK exciting. I don't think it was negative but that's just how I perceived the video.

@Bee_happy986 Ай бұрын

It wasn’t at all, Larry Chen is just sharing what he was told about their car culture. This guy should have verified as well who among the people in their circle shared the wrong info to larry chen. Could have been handled by dm’s or pulling strings to actually talk to larry rather than making a video for your channel.😅

@Valetudochicago 3 ай бұрын

You didn’t really debunk anything. You can’t say that you talked to the people that Larry did and that those weren’t their experiences. You just gave your opinion with no support.

@AliasHSW 3 ай бұрын

Larry Chen is the Chris Harris of car photographer

@AliasHSW 3 ай бұрын

Larry is a super pro photographer and documenter, not an “influencer”. He has worked with Toyota, Nissan corporate ad campaigns. Official photographer for Pikes Peak and many world class races.

@jackoho5703 3 ай бұрын

there is no such thing as bad publicity

@kabobsyea9985 3 ай бұрын

mate you looks like real life ironman

@canto_v12 3 ай бұрын

I was especially taken aback with his comments on the CCCHK being “government sanctioned.” Like…how is that a bad thing?! 😂 Thanks for clarifying for so many who may not have much exposure to the HK scene.

@instacarhk5963 3 ай бұрын

His entire HK series was basically criticising the government and pushing this 'HK car enthusiasts against the government' narrative. Then he turns around and say the CCCHK is 'very close to the government', which implicitly pitches the rest of the HK car community against us, hence I had to call that out and clarify his totally ungrounded remarks.

@canto_v12 3 ай бұрын

@@instacarhk5963 yes. Also, what’s even sadder is that some people in HK are spreading the same harmful misinformation for selfish reasons.

@IDv8I 3 ай бұрын

I'm sure Larry is just repeating what he has been told, whether it was misunderstood I don't know, but I am sure he isn't doing it maliciously.

@duileyah 3 ай бұрын

why are you sure? were you there?

@IDv8I 3 ай бұрын

@@duileyah Simply by following Larry for many years and I have never seen Larry even try to be controversial. He is well respected in the car community and voted SEMA Automotive Influencer of the Year in 2022.

@canto_v12 3 ай бұрын

I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. But the repeated, frequent parroting of 2019-style scaremongering themes just sounds so intentional.

@sc1793 3 ай бұрын

Well done Justin!! don't let people spoil HK !!

@autofocus_tree5948 3 ай бұрын

I totally agree! Larry really didn't have to make such video based on Hong Kong cars culture that political.

@jimmyfongjfm 3 ай бұрын

Agree with most of the points, but blame LC for the possible paid back from the police? It doesn't sounds fair yo him. Btw，ask those old jdm daily driver,usually type r, they do live in fear every day 😂😂😂

@instacarhk5963 3 ай бұрын

Not blame him la, but my point is there are potential consequences and ripple effects when someone with his following says and posts things, so he should do his due diligence before saying whatever. I daily drove a DC2 for about 8 months or so, luckily okay hahaha. But it was stock admittedly.

@DT-xk9sd 3 ай бұрын

Too binary. Larry’s video is not a missed opportunity at all. It raised the profile of HK’s car culture and brought respect. The macro issues he talks about are also true - such as HK becoming more China day by day, year by year. Whether that has impacts on policing and car ownership, I’m sure people all have their own experience. But the trend is there, even if the micro experience are obviously not uniform nor will ever be. I wouldn’t be surprised if a classic car club was treated differently than a JDM one. That police can ask for any modifications to be reversed is odd, unless they are dangerous to the public. That a large police presence was felt needed for a car meet (regardless of why it was called), smacks a bit of China-like fears of gathering. That the rich, amassing private property, and the private sector has been demonized in China is well documented (check out what Ray Dalio just said about 48 hrs ago - long time China bull). On the arrest, cops can book charges as they like even if their initial arrest might have been much more influenced by another concern/bias that doesn’t see the light of day. The point is, car culture has always had some element of pushing boundaries. And it’s fine for there to be tension. But certain kinds of tension is more acceptable than others. As a car enthusiast, you should understand that the hobby is predicated on expression, pursuit of ownership, and freedom to use. You can draw your own conclusion if HK has allowed this more or less these days.

@instacarhk5963 3 ай бұрын

Yeah what do I know, I am only born and raised here and an active and well immersed member of the local car community. You watch Ray Dalio and obviously a fan boy of Larry Chen, who came to HK twice in the last ten 10 years. Thank you, HK and China expert, for your valuable insight. Clearly, the majority of the comments here by people actually from the HK car community here agrees with you.