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Is imitation the sincerest form of flattery? Nobody told the Germans, who seem to be growing weary of China’s ceaseless automotive design flattery. “The Copy-Shop is open again” grumbles AutoBild, of the Emgrand EC6-RV, which marks the second obvious Chinese MINI clone here’s the first) in the last several years. At least Emgrand’s parent company Geely isn’t ripping off its joint venture partner… but then, didn’t Geely buy Volvo so it wouldn’t have to rip off Western brands? Old habits must die hard…
20 Comments on “MINI Cloned In China… Again!...”
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All of these BMW/MINI copies just come off as being quite cheap-looking when compared with their respective originals. Guess it just goes to prove you can’t make a poor man’s Bimmer without cutting something.
I can only imagine what visibility is going to be like with all that plastic around the rear of the rear door and C-pillar.
Visibility? No worse than a Scion XB. Better than any panel van.
I’m looking at the Emgrand, and the only thing Mini about it is the paint job.
If a white roof is cloning a Mini, then I guess the Ford Flex is guilty, too.
The first thing that struck me about this is that the Clubman looks as much like a chintzy Chinese knock-off of a Mini as anything possibly could.
Chintzy Chinese knock-off? I think it looks like a four door FJ Cruiser! Look at that roofline/window line.
is as make sense as finding old Dom Perignon bottle and fill it with Sparkling wine.
After all is not as simple as have an A Good Louis Vuitton hand bag( A good = very well imitated LV and Super A will be extremely closed just lacking the lock which most ladies kept them at home), it may look like a Ferrari but if it only corners like a Mack Truck then what for?
Western goods are priced out of the reach of most Chinese consumers. That said, most don’t care to pay the premium for the real thing versus the imitation anyway.
edit: something is seriously wonky with the comments system today …
Western goods are priced out of the reach of most Chinese consumers. That said, most don’t care to pay the premium for the real thing versus the imitation anyway.
edit: something is seriously wonky with the comments system today …
Reminds me of the way my 150cc Chinese scooter “resembles” many Japanese bikes.
It’s very derivative but not a 100% copy…and to be honest it actually looks pretty good, almost like a Mini from the future kinda vibe.
I guess it’s mocking the Mini Countryman’s weird “stretched” headlights.
I can see the other design influences (some of the cues were copied quite cleverly), but overall, it just comes across as a cheap-looking copy of a “premium” car. Like the Chinese car industry hasn’t done that before…
http://www.bizaims.com/content/copycat-cars-price-over-quality
Although this isn’t one of the total shameless rip-offs, it’s still pretty funny. Interesting that so many Chinese companies seem to have no qualms whatsoever as marketing slightly uglier carbon copies, eh?
OOH! Question for all you TTAC readers– if you had to drive one lovely Chinese imitation vehicle, which would it be?
Although I’m not a Hummer type of dude, I’d have to go with the Dongfeng EQ2050– a delightfully shameless Chinese Humvee.
BYD T6
Umm, you know that the DongFeng EQ2050 is a LICENSED production version of the HUMMVEE, right? In fact, it is built on an imported AM General chassis, made in the good ol’ US of A?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humvee_manufacturing_in_China
Wikipedia to the rescue! Last I heard they used a number of suspension components and the licensing was a grey area. In any case, change my vote to the Schuanghuan Sceo, AKA X5. BTW, nice choice, Cole.
It certainly has more Soul than the Mini does.
*rimshot*
I’ll go with the Nissan Cube, thank you.
The irony is that the MINI itself is a shameless pastiche of late 1950’s Morris styling
Well, not quite. BMW actually bought the brand and designed the MINI to fit all the modern safety gadgets and fit modern (read much bigger) wheels. Hence the bloated size. The Chinese did not buy the brand nor licensed any of the design from anybody.
Still, I think the back end looks more Aveo than MINI.