The initials of the Chinese battery and carmaker BYD stand for “Build Your Dreams.” That led some observers to expect a gala event when the company came to the Detroit auto show and showed off its fleet of very interesting green cars (including the F3DM plug-in hybrid that the company is already selling for around $22,000 in China).

But despite BYD’s plans to enter the United States market by 2011, glitz was in short supply. The debut, featuring an address by Wang Chuanfu, chairman of BYD Auto, was a low-key affair with little new information and echoing microphones that left most of what was said inaudible.

Some journalists may have walked away disappointed, but then they looked in their takeaway bags and found a lovely bound book, “Paper Cut of BYD Car Culture.”

The BYD logo and product lineup — named simply F1 to F8 — are rendered in lovely red detachable paper cutouts, suitable for framing if you’re into that kind of thing. “The transportation starts with the wheel,” the book informs in (what can only be) an awkward translation from Chinese, a burgeoning tradition here at the Detroit auto show. “Our BYD Auto people,” it says, “will strive forward steadfastly along the bright route.”