Amadeus Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 It seems, the times when the label "Made in China" was only associated with toys and electrical goods are finally over, and more and more Chinese car makers are emerging. Actually, they're more car copiers, as that's exactly what they do: One the left is an MCC Smart, on the right the copied product, called Electric Car City Smart The BMW X5 and the copied version, called ShuangHuan SCEO A Vauxhall Frontera and the Chinese copy, the Jiangling Landwind On first glance, it might sound nice that you could drive something that looks like a posh Beemer or big Vauxhall for around 10.000 Euros, but these things are basically illegal copies that simply look like the real thing - underneath is outdated technology, and the budget for safety features wasn't exactly big - the Landwind was the worst performing car in more than 20 years when the German TUV crash tested it recently: The scary bit? The Landwind is already on sale in Europe, and the others are likely to follow, so look out for a death trap coming your way, soon... Forum with a few pictures of more copy cars Russian site with loads of info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonan3 Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 I believe they do some nice 'pirated' lines in Rovers as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Tatlock Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 I believe they do some nice 'pirated' lines in Rovers as well! ...and the arse end of kettles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempus Fugit Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 that's one for the local DoT, refuse to issue manx registrations to models which fail crash tests like that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinahand Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 Erm ... Amedeus are you sure you've got your facts right? The majority of automotive production in China is via Joint Ventures with the Big western car companies. Are you sure these are illegal copies ... I don't think so Jiangling Motors, which makes the Landwind, entered into a Joint Venture with Isuzu in January 1993. The build quality may not be as good, the designs will probably have been altered to reduce safety etc as the cost safety pay off in China is very different than elsewhere, but I don't think these are illegal copies. Don't expect western standards in a car made for another market. There's nothing illegal in making them, or then exporting them to the EU, but you get what you pay for. A cost reduced version of a 10 year old design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cret Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 I would think it a bit strange that the vehicles only look the same as the original ones and aren't actually very similar build overall. If you think about it (or even if you don't) if they wanted to use an existing set of body panels but make a crappier car to go beneath it it'd be a huge pain in the hole to invent up your own chassis & drivetrain & components etc that the same body would fit perfectly on top of. It'd be far easier to just make the same vehicle altogether so I suspect they probably do, but at a very basic spec in terms of safety features, and probably with crappy engines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
localyokel Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 Who the hell would want to make a cheaper tackier version of the FRONTERA, which has to be the most useless, poorly built vehicle ever made? However as they've bought the Rover 75 moulds as well it tells you all you need to know about Chinese motoring tastes. Its interesting though as China can probably do as it likes, its the biggest emerging consumer market in the world and copyright law is ... well ... patchy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 Jingaling Landwind That's the best name for a car, since the Triumph Dollymixture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amadeus Posted October 14, 2006 Author Share Posted October 14, 2006 Erm ... Amedeus are you sure you've got your facts right?..... ........There's nothing illegal in making them, or then exporting them to the EU, but you get what you pay for. A cost reduced version of a 10 year old design. Yep, you're right - some manufacturers are co-operating with companies in China on this, but there are loads of what can only be called illegal copies about, such as the Smart one further up - as far as I've read it on a German website, Daimler-Chrysler is currently filing a lawsuit, and Honda already has around ten of them running, one is mentioned here. And it's not only cars that are being happily copied and distributed without any regards for intellectual copyright, as the Plagiarius Awards show. Not all imitations and copies come from China, but a worryingly high percentage unfortunately does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsTrellisfromNorthWales Posted October 14, 2006 Share Posted October 14, 2006 The "Made in Germany" bit of the heading is misleading. The Smart car is made in Lorraine, France, and the BMW X5 in South Carolina, USA. The Opel/Vauxhall Frontera was made in England. First in Luton, then Ellesmere Port, although it was based on the Japanese Isuzu MU Wizard. Made in Germany? Er, no. That's too expensive. Don't be fooled by the badges. The Chinese were, until not long ago, making a version of the Morris Ital. Don't believe me? Well, look here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon Posted October 14, 2006 Share Posted October 14, 2006 The VW Shanghai Santanas are based on old european Passat designs. For example the Santana 3000 looks rather like a MK3 Passat. is a TV advert for the Santana 2000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amadeus Posted October 15, 2006 Author Share Posted October 15, 2006 The "Made in Germany" bit of the heading is misleading.... ...Made in Germany? Er, no. That's too expensive. Don't be fooled by the badges. Well, ok then: "Engineered, researched and designed in Germany", although a lot of different models are still being built in ze Heimatland, at plants such as the BMW one in Dingolfing near Munich, the Audi one in Ingolstadt (the company's largest production facility), the Mercedes ones in Sindelfingen, Untertürkheim, and Bremen (+ the AMG one in Affalterbach), the Porsche one in Zuffenhausen and Leipzig (where the Panamera will be build), the VW ones in Wolfsburg (which has now got it's own tourist attraction called Autostadt) and Dresden (the awesome new "Transparent Factory"), the Ford one in Cologne (where the AM Vanquish engines are hand-build), the Opel (Vauxhall) ones in Rüsselsheim and Eisenach , + there are a few smaller manufacturers as well, such as Alpina BMW or Brabus... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsTrellisfromNorthWales Posted October 15, 2006 Share Posted October 15, 2006 The "Made in Germany" bit of the heading is misleading.... ...Made in Germany? Er, no. That's too expensive. Don't be fooled by the badges. Well, ok then: "Engineered, researched and designed in Germany" Shame about the ones you picked to illustrate your point . . . And, to be fair, the Frontera was mainly designed and engineered in Japan. And the X5 nicked so much Land Rover technology as part of BMW's asset-stripping of Rover, I think you've got to accept it was engineered for the most part in Solihull. Germany does still make a lot of cars. It's interesting that the companies there have so many factories outside Germany now, though. TTs made in Hungary. BMWs made in South Africa. VW Fox made in Brazil. Beetle made in Mexico. GM's next Corsa likely to be built in Korea. Mercs made in Thailand, South Africa, Malaysia. Chinese companies have agreements already with a lot of big western and Japanese companies. It won't be long before Chinese-built cars are very common in Europe. But many of them will probably be wearing VW, Mercedes, BMW and Opel/Vauxhall badges, while the car-buying public still believes they're German. It's market forces at work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juan Kerr Posted October 15, 2006 Share Posted October 15, 2006 The Chinese were, until not long ago, making a version of the Morris Ital. Don't believe me? Well, look here. Thanks for that! The quote says "Outwardly, it looked like an Ital with a nicer looking front bumper" well thats great, they've used all that technology to fit a new bumper to the worst car ever made. I worry about China's tastes - it claims to be a hi tech melting pot yet they're all driving round in 30 year old Morris Marinas. That is only just up on India whose Hindustan Ambasador which is still in production is an early 50's Morris Oxford, or Iran who still manufacture mid 60's Hillman Hunters for the home market. Its great how the UK always seems to find a market for cars that are so crap long after we've given up on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amadeus Posted October 15, 2006 Author Share Posted October 15, 2006 Shame about the ones you picked to illustrate your point . . . He? Why? I was just trying to point out that a lot of cars are still being build in Germany, that's all... Of course do many manufacturers produce in different factories all around the globe - it simply makes sense in financial and logistical terms. Nissan and Toyota have plants in the UK - that doesn't mean they're suddenly building British cars... And Mercs, Beemers, etc, are still made with German engineering and development behind it, and quality standards, etc, are set by Herr Meier in ze Heimatland - just look at things like the Merc Diesels, still the most used Taxi engine ever, simply because it was engineered well - or the VW TDi, a legendary engine by now - it might be build in godknowsville, but it's still Made in Germany... V-Dub in da House! P.S.: Never liked the X5 anyway - most useless car ever - well engineered, but utterly useless... Well, apart from one particular version, that is: The 700BHP, V12, 4WD X5 Le Mans - driven by H.J "Striezel" Stuck (who just so happened to live a few houses down from ours in the village I grew up in, and who I still envy for not only having one of these, but also one of in his private collection), that thing managed a 7.49 lap around the Nürburgring - for a big SUV, that's quite a feat... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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