Nov 28: Unbelievably blatant

How would you like to have written "Fifty Shades of Grey", only to find that, in the People's Republic of China, the identical book is selling there, but with one change? In China it is called, "Forty Nine Shades of Grey". This is not too far fetched and it could certainly happen in the Forbidden Kingdom, since they do not have copyright laws. Don't believe me, then take a look at this.........

One of these is the Chery QQ. The other one is the Daewoo Matiz. General Motors (who owned Daewoo) complained to Chery about their blatant copying to no avail. This example is extra interesting, when one considers that the Daewoo itself, might be considered a knock off of an early '90's Renault Twingo.

Another good example is this Mini knock off (the blue one)........

Not exact, but awfully close to the original. Or this Hyundai Sante Fe clone on the right........

You can see that the designers in China are equal opportunity, as they will knock off any company or type of vehicle. Now, people say that many cars look alike and I've written about exactly that recently, but there is a big difference between looking alike and looking identical. For example.......

I think you might agree that the JAC pick up in the top pic looks rather similar to the yellow Chevrolet Colorado below it.

I'm leading up to something here, so bear with me.

China is becoming a player in the car market these days and it won't be too long before they start selling outside of their region. When they do this, you have to know that, in short order, they will be a strong competitor. After all, the same thing happened with the Japanese and the Koreans. They learned that, while you can steal or "borrow" some design cues, in order to move ahead, you must develop your own style. I'm really surprised that the Chinese still knock off those designs so blatantly.

A small sport ute that I really like the design of is Land Rover's Evoque.......

To my eye, everything looks right about its aggressive stance.

No matter the angle, this is a great looking vehicle. Look again, folks, the second pic (courtesy of CarScoops.com) is not of the Evoque, but the brand new Landwind X7. See any differences? Even the name is spelled out in the same format. Need another look?

 The Evoque is on the right. A competitor? Not really, as the X7 sells Evoque style for the equivalent of about $20k in China, while the real real deal is about $70k. What a bargain! Think Land Rover is amused?

Personally, I thought that, as China strived to become a player in the world market, they would change their ways. They have shown some interesting and originaldesigns recently. But I guess I was wrong, along with many others in the car business. Old habits die hard.

Want to read "Fifty Shades of Grey", but can't spring for even the paperback version? No problem, just wait until it is knocked off in China, pick up a copy cheap. Only the name and price will have changed.

Until next time........

Nov 25: Starting a styling tradition

Quick, what car is this and please ignore the BMW insignia above the twin kidney shaped grilles, when you answer? Ok, so that was hardly a test, but even without those numerous clues, is there anyone, except your old, blind Aunt Maude, who wouldn't recognize this as the classic and traditional BMW front end? Brand recognition is key to helping establish a brand's identity in the market place. I drive around my neighbourhood and see all sorts of those recognizable twin kidneys and think, gee maybe that is a really good car. Surely all those people can't be wrong (another question for another time)?

Can you think of some others? Here is a hint.........

No question that the dominant three pointed star in that oblong grille is fronting a Mercedes Benz. Again brand recognition. Cadillac is another brand that has a distinctive brand end, which has similarities to their grilles going back to the '30's.

The big crest superimposed on their traditional egg crate grille, an example from 1969 is shown here........

This immediate brand recognition is one of the keys to a brand's success. People see your cars, no matter what the year and viola', instant recognition. Lately, some old brands have been struggling to get their house in order and to come up with something "special". Lincoln finally seems to have settled on their throwback design from the '30's......

........and after some false starts, they are making it a rather pleasing design. See the similarity with the old Zephyr front end from long ago?

Another brand struggling to come up with a new and readily identifiable corporate car face is Lexus. Their electric razor design might eventually work out, but for the time being it looks forced and stands out by being just plain strange and unattractive. Not the first time a company has gone over the top like this, in an effort to stand out.

Others though, have had immediate success with their front end designs. Take a look at this Mazda grille, which is being rolled out across all their lines. I really like this tulip look and it readily says "Mazda" or at least it will after it ingrains itself in our minds.

Some companies have cheated a bit and stolen from another company. Does Ford immediately come to mind? If not it should, take a look.........

I love their Aston Martin knock off grille (the lower pic is the Ford). I don't think that many folks will confuse a new Fusion or Fiesta with a $100k plus Aston sportscar, but hey, it looks great. Maybe not original, but great never the less. Obviously A-M didn't patent their grille, as Rolls Royce has with theirs.

In my opinion, two companies that are really struggling to start their own styling tradition are Hyundai and Subaru. Each one has tried different fronts, but now they seem to have settled on what they consider to be a pleasing and readily identifiable grille. What do you think.......

Do these two cars, which compete directly with one another, have a too close resemblance? And not just from the front view. My point is, wouldn't you think that two successful companies, with competent styling staffs, would end up with two cars, which are more differentiated than these two? I sure would. I'm guessing that neither of these front end designs will have staying power. Notice that I didn't identify the two models  -  can you?

Starting a styling tradition. Save this blog and come back and read it again in 2024. See which of the newer styles has morphed into a long term brand feature. Want to place any bets?

Until next time.......

Nov 21: Maybach - 2nd time around

Remember this car? Sure, you do, it's the Mercedes Benz Maybach. The car that Benz developed to compete against BMW's new Rolls Royce in the early 2000's. That hard to pronounce name came from a famous old German luxury car. Unfortunately, a few things got in the way of this car's success. It didn't look much different than a bigger and more luxurious S Class and as you can see in this picture, the only thing that stands out, is that beautiful yacht in the background. It also cost half a million Canadian and its competition was this car........

Now, you tell me, which of these two cars has more presence? The Maybach or the Rolls Royce Phantom (limo version shown)? The Maybach gets lost in traffic, but that Roller smacks you upside the head with its "look at me" style. Ok, so after a few years of poor sales to people like P Diddy, who bought one for his son's 16th birthday, Benz quietly consigned this model to the scrape heap of history.

But there is gold to be mined and Mercedes sorely lacked the equipment to find it. They were missing out on the ultra luxury car market sales. Heaven knows, they seem to have every other niche covered. So, time to give it another try, but try do it right this time. I present to you the 2016 Mercedes Benz S600 Maybach......

Sure looks like the new S Class, but please look more closely. It actually is being touted as an ultra, ultra S Class Mercedes, but this version is 8" longer and the C pillar is restyled. Oh, and the price is considerably less than the one from just over ten years ago  -  about $250,000 Canadian. Now that is much better. They are calling a spade a shovel, but gold plating it and charging a somewhat more reasonable price.

These days, the outside is one thing and an important one, but the interior is where the money is being spent. Can't you just see it oozing off those, oh so very soft, leather seats?

And doesn't that rear seat look cozy? Is there any African dictator, who wouldn't like to be envied, pulling up in front of his starving citizens in this ride? Not a single one, I think. And with enough power from that mighty V12 to lug around all that armor plating. Ah, the perfect ride.

So Mercedes has decided to reinvent the wheel, or at least that famous old name, Maybach. Let's hope that this time, they got it right and this car will once again rival the old gems from which that name was derived.

Until next time.......

Nov 18: My, how things have changed

My, how things have changed. Cadillac has just announced that the car to carry their racing colours and reputation into the 2015 season, will be the new for 2015 ATS-V coupe. Wasn't too awfully long ago that any mention of Cadillac racing would be laughed off. Maybe just the way, we might suppress a chuckle, if Lincoln unveiled a ready to race Navigator (or any other model).

Year and years ago (almost before my time), the only racing Cadillac would do, was if one of their, powerful for their time, motors was installed in an old hot rod. Theirs was the motor of choice for all the up and coming cool dudes.

Well also, there was a brief venture over to France in 1950. Briggs Cunningham had the idea to race a couple of Caddy's in the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race. One was so hideous, that the French nick named it Le Monstre. Wonder why? Take a look and judge for yourself........

Yep, easy to see where that name came from. The other car was a standard Coupe de Ville with probably a few choice mods, so that it wouldn't completely wander all over the course. Seen here, the two Caddies race thru the French countryside on that famous day in June.......

But that was then and now is now. Cadillac, over the past dozen plus years, has sought to gain for itself a reputation that, could only be achieved, by winning on the racetrack. After all Audi, BMW and Mercedes all have proven themselves track capable in a variety of series. Now it was time for Cadillac to follow suit.

The first serious effort was this CTS-V sedan from the mid 2000's.......

Well known Canadian Corvette racer, Ron Fellows. helped sort out Cadillac's first effort. Eventually, their racing duties fell on the shoulders of the hot looking CTS-V coupe, seen spouting fire in this pic.......

Both achieved very good results, winning races and also series championships. More often than not, Cadillac ended up leading the pack of Porsches, Vipers and the occasional Ferrari, when they entered a race.....

My, how things have changed. No longer the track side joke, Cadillac is a real contender and winner. So, when they announce their new standard bearer, the competitors take notice. After all this ain't the '60's, bucko.

Until next time........

Nov 14: Worth duplicating?

Some things are worth duplicating and of course, some things are not. When was the last time, you saw an update of the Pontiac Aztec (hey, Barry, haven't you picked on the Aztec enough already?)? But there are other cars that, have tributes done for them many times. Take for example the stunning, Bugatti 57S Atlantic from the 1930's......

This art deco design from 1937 was, as they say, pure. Those voluptuous pontoon front fenders announce the arrival of this car like no amount of trumpeting could possibly do. The sensuous long hood and short rear deck make a wonderful design statement. Duplicated, but never equaled? Well, let's see........

This replica has added a few differences, like coach builders such as Franay of France might have done. Franay seemed to add those over the top front and rear fenders on many of their designs. Better than the original? Personal opinion, of course but, to me this design comes across as a little too heavy handed, but still rather spectacular.

Well then, what about a tribute to the tribute......

Amazing what one can do to an '80's Corvette (C4 to be exact), when time and money are relatively limitless. Almost a dead ringer for the other tribute car, seen below in the same colour as the 'Vette version. Can you imagine trying to park this example? Or hustle it around a few tight corners? By the way, a cool $65,000 buys you this Corvette based custom, recently advertised in Hemmings. Before you go off the deep end about that price, think about this......the original, of which there are several, has sold for between $30 and $40 million US in 2010. So the tribute car's price is less than pocket change to one individual.

The original is such a tasteful design, that style icon, Ralph Lauren, has one in his collection. I do as well, but the scale is much smaller.

So, folks, what other cars come to your mind as worth duplicating?

Until next time......

Nov 11: A Scion?

 The Toyota Auris. Not a bad looking car. Very reminiscence of the late Toyota Matrix, that versatile little hatch that Toyota shared with Pontiac for several years. Interesting fact: the Pontiac version was sold in Japan as the Toyota Vitz, the Matrix was not sold there. But I digress. Autoweek recently reported that this model was coming to North America badged as a Scion. Badged as a Scion? What is with Toyota?

Scion was started in 2002 as a way to connect with the Gen Y crowd, who were not too interested in the typical dealership sales techniques or the typical Toyota automobile. Hard to differentiate the name from Toyota, when they were sold out of the same building, but there was some early success........

 

.........the funky little xb breadbox really had youth appeal and it became the norm to personalize them, like the black one above. Although only available in the US, many found their way into Canada, such was the demand for this little cutie. Maybe Scion could work after all. Ah, but not so fast. When it came time to update the xb and also to bring the Scion name to Canada, here is the result.......

This bigger and uglier xb appealed to Toyota, but few others. Ungainly, but not in a good way, these models remained nailed to the showroom floor and the Scion brand withered on the vine. In Toronto, I've never sold a Scion or even had anyone ask about them. The soon to be discontinued iQ, also sold like mouldy bread. Finally, with their new sports coupe (shared with Subaru), Scion has a winner, but can it save the brand? What the heck is the Scion brand anyway at this point?

So now back to that Auris, which reportedly will arrive here as a Scion. Does Toyota really think that, this model will bring the youth market back and invigorate the brand? If I were them, I'd look at what succeeded initially and also the success Kia has had with their Soul. Interesting and funky designs.

I have an idea for Toyota. Take a look at what you have in your product line in other parts of the world. Anything fit the "funky" description? How about the Porte and Spade twins. The former is sold in Toyota/Toyopet dealerships, while the Spade is sold in Corolla/Netz stores, both in Japan. How do they look?

 

Cute? Funky? Wouldn't they do better under the Scion sign? They even come in AWD versions. And they also have a very unique feature........

Your eyes are not deceiving you, this little car has only one door on the passenger side (remember Japanese cars drive on the right). Boy, would these little cuties get folks' attention and in my opinion, the attention of the youth market, Toyota so covets and needs.

Wouldn't this be a terrific seller and make Scion stand out from the crowd? Something different than just another nice Toyota, but carrying a Scion badge like the Auris (and where does Toyota get names like this or Yaris?). So, may I be so bold, as to say loudly, "Wake up, Toyota!", and get this car stateside asap.

All I ask, is a nice thank-you card after the first sales results come in.

Until next time.......