QOTD: Are Chinese Car Designs Getting Worse?

Mark Stevenson
by Mark Stevenson

The 2015 Shanghai Auto Show is coming to a close – finally. I love cars but Chinese designs are still the worst.

It seems nearly all vehicles offered up in Shanghai this year (and most years before it) fall into two camps: horribly obvious knock-off or super-cheapo plasticy concept.

Case in point – the Jiangling Yuhu.

Let’s ignore for a moment the truck’s name is pronounced similarly to the grossest drink on earth. Let’s also ignore it’s what “doves of the roost” in Old West saloons would shout to capture the attention of new cowboys in town. Instead, take it in for what it is.

There’s not a single part of the Yuhu that shouts, “Hey! I’m built with quality! People care about my craftsmanship!” Even the grille looks like a series of tow hooks; at least when you inevitably need one and it breaks, there will be many others from which to choose.

That’s the good part, though. Concept vehicles are allowed to be bonkers. We don’t put them under too much scrutiny. But, unlike the rest of the world, knock-offs get a free pass in China, too.

I know. This isn’t new. The Chinese have been knocking off literally every consumer good since the dawn of time in order to make a profit. Yet, when you roll out three brand new SUVs, all of which are obvious Xeroxes of quite iconic vehicles, you just need to give your head a shake.

The first of Beijing Auto’s SUVs – the BJ20 – cribs its side profile from the recently discontinued Toyota FJ Cruiser.

While only sporting a five-slot grille and square headlights, the rest of Beijing Auto’s BJ40 design is straight out of the Jeep Wrangler playbook.

And the biggest of the BJs is this painfully obvious Gelandewagen knock-off … right down to the paint colour.

[Images source: CarNewsChina.com]

Mark Stevenson
Mark Stevenson

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  • LOmnivore Sobriquet LOmnivore Sobriquet on Apr 22, 2015

    What I fear most is that our home French designers may take this as a new trend... Don't laugh, Yes They Peuvent !!!

  • Infinitime Infinitime on Apr 23, 2015

    Don't knock it just yet, the "BEIJING B80" G-wagen clone is build on an evolution of the Jeep XJ platform... which the company got when it had the licensed production rights from the 80s... http://www.carnewschina.com/2013/07/25/spy-shots-beijing-auto-b80-testing-in-black-in-china/ In other words, this thing is basically an updated Cherokee XJ from the late 90s, which incidently, is still manufactured largely unchanged by the same manufacturer as the BAW Knight: http://www.carnewschina.com/2011/02/01/beijing-auto-qishi-s12-listed-priced/ So unless they REALLY screwed up an antiquated design which has been in production largely unchanged since the 80s, this thing won't be any worse than a Jeep Cherokee XJ, in terms of actual off-road capabilities. The only issue may be that the original XJ did rather poorly in crash tests, so this thing may be no better.... There is also a military version of the B80, which sells for about $35,000US, at current exchange rates. The somewhat scary thing is that the B80 is actually replacing the REALLY old BJ212 for military use, which is a clone of the Soviet UAZ-469, the decades-old staple of the Soviet Red Army, itself a rather rugged vehicle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UAZ-469 Everything else being equal, the B80 should be at least as capable as the BJ212 it is replacing... So the bad taste in cloning the styling aside, this thing may actually be decent.

  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
  • 3-On-The-Tree Son has a 2016 Mustang GT 5.0 and I have a 2009 C6 Corvette LS3 6spd. And on paper they are pretty close.
  • 3-On-The-Tree Same as the Land Cruiser, emissions. I have a 1985 FJ60 Land Cruiser and it’s a beast off-roading.
  • CanadaCraig I would like for this anniversary special to be a bare-bones Plain-Jane model offered in Dynasty Green and Vintage Burgundy.
  • ToolGuy Ford is good at drifting all right... 😉
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