Remember when Ford dragged Ferrari into the U.S. district court in Detroit, after Ferrari had the nerve to call their new Formula One racer the “F150”? Ford feared massive dilution of their F-150 truck mark and sued. Ferrari relented. Let’s see what Ford will do about this overdose of trademark and design patent infringement:
This is the new JAC 43R pickup truck. It looks “more than a little bit like the good old American Ford F150,” Carnewschina says. Even the logo is a blue oval. The headlights look like a 3rd shift job from a producer of OEM Ford headlights. The semblance is so canny (or uncanny?) that even the Chinese interwebs are abuzz about the intellectual property infringement. You can rest assured that they have seen it all. The F150 lookalike is not even out yet, it exists only in spy photo form, and already causes a dust-up . The 43R will likely debut at the Beijing Auto Show in April, Carnewschina reckons. Ford will be there.
The F150 is not officially on sale in China, but there will be colossal likelihood of egregious confusion once the Chinese truck gets to Africa and South America. JAC and other makers of Chinese cheap pickups do brisk business there, filling the voids left by the now expensive offerings of GM, Chrysler and, yes, Ford.
Another day, another Chinese knock-off
Are the headlights and other OEM parts for an F150 made in China? I haven’t really looked at a window sticker of a truck in 10 years or so, just wondering.
@LectroByte
A lot of the current production GM headlights are made in China. Not sure about Ford.
F150 is 60% domestic parts, Silverado 61%, Ram 70%
http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story.jsp?section=top&subject=ami&story=amMade0611
I wouldn’t be surprised. The Mustang’s widely-panned manual transmission is made in China. I’m sure Ford would have no problem manufacturing lesser parts there too.
Jesus I hope this stops. America is a corporate state, and sooner or later we’ll go to war over this. And I’ll support it. If our most important export is design and ideas, and they can be copied with impunity, we’ll lose our only competitive edge. Trade disputes have sparked conflict before. Either IP is protected or it isn’t.
It’s not the cheap knock-offs that will be the problem – it’s the danger of superior originals that we need to really worry about. Don’t underestimate the ability of the Chinese to produce superior vehicles on their own at some point in the future.
As IBM learned with Lenovo, your suppliers eventually become your competitors.
Not concerned about superior originals. Our firm switched totally over to Lenovos (10k employees) and switched back to HP two years later because of the horrible quality. You need a respect for the customer which, illustrated by 3rd shift knockoffs, does not exist yet. I can’t think of one customer who’s OK with their pricing being insultingly undercut by a firm that does no R&D. In our cost-sensitive world we have no choice but to hand over our best ideas to the cheapest manufacturer who’s likely to pad their margins by selling the blueprints. Mark my words: this is a bad thing.
Yes, there will be compelling reasons to go Chinese, but I don’t expect a purified ethic like the Japanese had, or the astonishing learning culture of the Indians. The Chinese government system is weirdly rotten. Whatever original products come from China will be a guaranteed weird mix of bad and good.
@bryanska: I hope you’re wrong, but I dont think you are…
‘America is a corporate state, and sooner or later we’ll go to war over this. And I’ll support it.’ I would support it as well :)
IBM sold its personal computer business to Lenovo to focus on higher margin services.
bryanska,
I’m surprised your company had problems with Lenovo. Most of my colleagues in the IT world view them as a very cost-effective option. I’ve had two clients switch to them from HP and each saw around 3% fewer malfunctions over a two year span. SquareTrade even did a study a few years back that projected a 3 year life cycle of major laptop manufacturers and I believe HP was the worst and Lenovo was closer to the middle of the pack.
looks like a Ford style nose on the old Isuzu/GM Colorado chassis
same old 2.8 turbo diesel that is down on power and high on pollution
“The 43R will likely debut at the Beijing Auto Show in April, Carnewschina reckons. Ford will be there.”
Opportunity for Ford publicity stunt (Real F150 crushing 43R impersonator, i.e. another F150) noted. If they are willing to be that blatant with knockoffs, then why not capitalize on it? I hope they are right next to each other. Embarrass the hell out of them. Make a Chevy Volt-like song and dance routine that just insults these counterfeits.
But for an insult to stick, the insultee has to possess a sense of shame.
Exactly right; therein lies the problem.
The only thing they’ll understand is economic starvation, but nobody wants to do that. $29 microwave ovens are just too seductive to pass up.
China is going to end up in a big mess if they are not careful (and they don’t appear to be careful). There are indications that making stuff in China is getting more expensive as labor costs increase and shipping costs increase. China may soon find themselves in a position they have not planned for (and they don’t appear to be aware if it).
i’ll take one in that sexy bronze if the price is right (sub 15k)
This country thanks you for your continued support…
welcome to the 21st century, where your neighbors outsource everything, and unions are pests that are squashed daily.
what’s that old saying? “If You Dance with the Devil, Don’t be Surprised When You Get Burnt”
But of course we Americans don’t care because we just want cheap shit made in china that gives us instant gratification…
Hate to say it, but I think it looks better than the Ford…
Um…what? The only real difference is the headlights being charcoal instead of chrome based on the pic. They are the same truck.
The whole truck is different except for the front clip. I’m trying to figure out who the cab was ripped off from, it almost looks like a Dakota, but I don’t think that’s it.
Looks like one of those “fake” cars you see in GTA or Saints Row that are an amalgam of what’s on the market because no one wants to use licensed products in their games.
I was surprised Activision or Infinity Ward licensed the Jeep Wrangler for use in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, but all of the British police Volvo estates received nose jobs so they wouldn’t be real Volvos.
Jeeps also appeared in Farcry 2.
Those guys didn’t license shit. Games are a billion dollar industry eclipsing Hollywood long ago.
Infinity Ward and Jeep have a long standing agreement. Sergio in fact pays IW to have their vehicles in the game. Average age of a console owner is well into the 30’s and male and prime demographic for Jeep products.
Jeep even made a limited edition Modern Warfare edition Wrangler!
The media never mentions it, the academia has been co-opted with contributions from the banking industry, and most people find it easier to scapegoat those they deem to be below them. Thus we cite bottom-feeding foreigners and lazy union workers for the pathetic state of industry.
Post-Keynesian economics states that economic decline comes from the financialization of the economy. Higher cost labor leads to more efficient use and higher productivity. The lure of easy profits from low/zero taxed land/asset speculation makes industry inherently more expensive here than elsewhere.
American unions, especially the UAW, usually strongly resist any efforts to make their workforce more efficient and productive.
“American unions, especially the UAW, usually strongly resist any efforts to make their workforce more efficient and productive.”
Union labor is currently building a high-tech coking plant at the union operated US Steel Gary Works. It will make it the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly integrated steel mill in the world.
“Union labor is currently building a high-tech coking plant at the union operated US Steel Gary Works. It will make it the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly integrated steel mill in the world.”
@Chicago Dude: Unless you meant it, you didn’t say “cheapest”. These days, lowest cost for a given specification wins the day. The Gary plant won’t get bonus points for being green, except from the tree huggers in its community.
I look forward to seeing Chinese made R8.
JAC must be the Chinese initials which mean “shameless” and “lame”.
In truth, these lamers probably don’t care as long they get paid for lifting the work of someone else.
Knowing JAC’s current product line-up, the chassis is probably an Isuzu-clone, most likely built off the previous Colorado or even the upcoming Colorado ladder frame.
Ford may sue, but their heart won’t be in it. If you’ve ever driven a JAC pick-up, you’ll know that they aren’t exactly competing in the same circles as Ford is with the F150. Besides, Ford’s upcoming Ranger would eat this thing alive and spit out the kibbles.
I wan’t them to start faking GTO’s Chevelles, Mach 1 Mustangs and all the early Muscle cars