Equinox

Make
Chevrolet
Segment
SUV

A disturbing report is coming out of China claiming that a driver of a domestically-built crossover, the Haval H6, was stuck inside the vehicle for about 320 miles on a highway because the cruise control system failed. This is definitely on the list of any driver's worst nightmares.

The information comes from the Chinese-language publication AutoHome, via The Drive, which raises many questions.

According to the report, the driver, identified as "Mr. Luo," was traveling outside the city of Zhuzhou in the Hunan province when the crossover's brakes failed to shut off the cruise control. The driver was going at around 62 mph and was forced to keep going until the vehicle finally ran out of gas.

Knowing he was in serious trouble, the driver called the police to make them aware of his situation.

Haval engineers were quickly brought into the call to see what they could do. The answer was nothing. The good news is that the driver didn't crash into other vehicles or pedestrians, but the Haval H6 just so happens to be one of the most popular vehicles in China. That's the bad news.

It's unknown whether other H6s are affected by this potentially fatal technical failure. The driver was the only passenger in the vehicle during the ordeal and claims, very understandably, he panicked once he realized what was happening.

Haval is a division of Great Wall Motors, and, as you've probably already noticed, the H6 looks similar in design to many American SUV crossovers, such as the Chevy Equinox.

Great Wall Motors has a presence in other countries besides China, including Australia, Brazil, South Africa, and Russia. The Haval H6 is assembled in China, Bulgaria, and Iran. It's certainly possible this was a one-off incident, but Haval will only know once a full investigation is completed. Given China's reputation for freedom of information, we doubt said report will ever surface in the public domain.

Chinese automakers have a reputation for building knock-off designs and sometimes questionable quality control issues. Cruise Control failing at any speed is simply unacceptable, to say the least.