Take a close look at the image. A court in Italy has just ruled that the crossover pictured above, the five-seat CEO built by Shuanghuan Automobile of Shijiazhuang, China, is not a clone of the BMW X5. Um... yeah. The legal battles began when Shuanghuan introduced their "Noble" last year, a near-clone of the Smart fortwo. Mercedes-Benz wasn't impressed, and threatened a lawsuit. Shortly thereafter, BMW started losing sleep over the Chinese CEO, an obvious facsimile of their previous-generation X5 (E53). The Bavarian automaker took Shuanghuan to court in Munich this past summer and won their case, and when Martin Motors (the distributor of Shuanghuan Automobiles in Italy and central Europe) started selling the CEO in early 2007, BMW again took legal action, this time in the Italian judicial system. Last week, the Germans met their defeat when the Italian courts rejected their claims. To date, Martin Motors has sold about 200 copies of the CEO and expects to sell about 1200 this year in their European markets. "We are convinced the CEO wasn't a clone of the X5. We are happy to see our view supported by a court ruling," said an obviously pleased spokesperson from Martin Motors. We have to wonder how quickly the Italians would change their tune if Shuanghuan began to knock-off the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4.
We've seen before how companies in China can take a radical concept design never meant for mass production, modify it a bit and offer it for sale. The latest evidence of such activity can be seen in the Jeepzter. Ostensibly a replica of the Jeep Hurricane concept from 2005, the Chinese replica does away with the dual 5.7L HEMI V8 engines for a single 650cc unit. That lone powerplant sits up front and powers the rear wheels, not all four like the concept. Of course, it goes without saying that the ridiculous turning ratio of the Hurricane has been lost in transformation, as well. In reality, what we have here is a normal run-of-the-mill off-road utility vehicle with a plastic body cribbed from the classic Jeep concept. We're a bit fuzzy on how this sucker is "street legal" as claimed in the Craigslist ad, so we'd definitely check with your local authorities before actually making a purchase. If you just want to have a Jeep Hurricane-looking thing sitting in your garage, though, now is your chance.
The car you see here is not a GNX. Hell, it's not even a Buick. You'd be forgiven if you thought it was, though, and it does sport a turbocharger underhood. David Morad was so enamored with the 6.6L LB7 Duramax diesel in his truck that he wanted to put it into something lighter and more fun. He decided to build a Grand National around the engine, and started buying up whatever applicable Buick body parts he could find -- right down to legit GNX dash plates. Next, he bought an '82 Buick Regal diesel that was to be the subject of the transformation. Unfortunately, that car literally self-immolated as he drove it home, sending Morad straight back to square one. He subsequently found and bought an '81 Olds diesel and got to work. The car was cut in half so that a Regal rear end could be welded on, and then a laundry list of major modifications followed. To retain the stock Buick exterior appearance while incorporating the new powertrain, everything under the skin is is either extensively modified or custom fabricated in order to allow for the deception. Sure, it looks like a GNX, but this is really a scratch-built machine. Wilwood brakes lurk behind some absolutely wicked deep-dish Budnik wheels (dig those steamrollers in back), which nicely compliment the menacing black bodywork. Diesel Power magazine covers all the build's specifics in detail, and it's well worth a read.
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Lovers of good car design: avert your eyes! The Sunmotor Group, an EV hopeful based in Boston, has announced plans to release its first all-electric vehicle before the end of the year. We wish they wouldn't because this sucker is über-ugly. Obviously based on a smart fortwo clone, major modifications were required to allow the use of a large solar array on the misshapen roof, which has created a textbook case of function punching form in the mouth. The windshield has been disfigured along the way in an effort to meet up with the excessively long canopy, while the upper rear probiscis could easily behead someone standing behind this thing when it's backing up. Last joke: SsangYong called, they want their designers back.
Despite looking like a Scion that swallowed a canoe, the specifications of Sunmotor's EV sound decent for a low-speed EV. The company believes it can get 160 miles per charge, though only with a top speed of 25 miles per hour. Plus, with 10 horsepower pushing around 2,600 pounds of mass, the supposed acceleration of 0-25 in 5 seconds sounds rather optimistic.
Fiat's Panda is the best selling minicar in Europe, and has been for four years. When China's Great Wall Motor -- Chrysler's Chinese partner -- decided to make a minicar called the GWPeri, it borrowed from the best. That is, if by "borrowed" you mean created a car that differs only from the Panda in it's headlamps and bumper details.
Fiat didn't just do a double-take when it saw the GWPeri, it sued Great Wall Motor both in Italy and in China to prevent the car from being sold in Europe and China. A court in Turin recently decided that "the [GWPeri] does not look like a different car but is a Panda with a different front end." Furthermore, if a Peri ever shows up in Europe, GW will have to pay Fiat €15,000, with every GWPeri after that incurring a €50,000 fee.
Great Wall has already said it is going to contest the European verdict. The Chinese ruling hasn't come down yet, where the GWPeri went on sale earlier this year.
That criminals go to great lengths to accomplish their goals is not news. How they do so can be interesting, however. ABC News has posted a report on its Blotter website detailing an FDLE study on how smugglers "clone" vehicles to make their criminal enterprises easier to run. A few thousand dollars can net a bad guy some high quality decals or wraps that help transform regular trucks into replicas of actual, branded delivery or municipal vehicles. Throw in an official (or official-looking) uniform and criminals can hide in plain sight, traveling freely without raising suspicion. The ABC report tells of one traffic stop in which authorities stopped what appeared to be a Cable/Satellite service van only to find hundreds of pounds of cocaine inside. The van's disguise even included a toll-free number for other drivers to report bad driving. Anyone who called it found themselves on a phone sex line. Smugglers also appear to have a healthy sense of irony if the tale of a bust in Arizona is any indication. There, border patrol agents caught someone ferrying 31 illegal aliens in the back of a van. Its markings? U.S. Border Patrol.
Die-hard enthusiasts and moneyed customers continue to debate whether the Porsche Cayenne – now in its second iteration – is deserving of the Porsche badge, but while its driving dynamics have been lauded, most can agree that the aesthetics are less than superlative. Many aftermarket firms have sought to improve the Cayenne's looks – some with more success than others. German tuning firm Hamann Motorsports, which should be no stranger to regular visitors of this page having done up everything from the Ferrari 599 to the MINI, is the latest.
Called the Cyclone, the Hamann kit gives the Cayenne the full wide-body treatment. There's a front bumper with a pair of integrated LED lamps, flaired wheel arches, a roof spoiler and a diffuser around back. You'll also notice new taillight covers around back. The brakes have been upgraded to 380mm slotted and ventilated discs grabbed by eight-piston calipers up front and four in the back. The pneumatic suspension drops the ride height by 35 mm, and a new 4-pipe exhaust system improves the sound. Buyers can also opt for one of two rolling stock packages in either 22 or 23 inches (monstrous either way).
Hamann also offers a nearly endless spectrum of options for customizing the interior, and the demo car features a truly unique snakeskin upholstery job "complimented" by a 36-piece carbon fiber interior trim kit, velour carpeting and aluminum pedals.
Clubman: potentially described as cute. Lifan 3 Series: Not cute. Not even ugly to the point of being endearing. Enough of the MINI's cues make it through in the Lifan that you can just picture them laying a huge sheet of onion skin over the Clubman and coming up with this. It's close in a lot of ways, but misshapen in others. A weird front overbite is the result of small wheels and a longer overhang than the MINI, and the C/D pillars appear thick – just a big blind spot where the Clubman has visibility. Underhood might be an actual legitimate link to the MINI. Lifan has invested in the Tritec four cylinder that powered the R50 first generation of revived MINIs. Ingress and egress in the Lifan is aided by four conventionally hinged doors, versus the Mini's clamshell treatment, but it ends up being reminiscent of a LeCar, but not as cool. Lifan could always outsource design to the rest of the world if this is the best they can do. We're sure they've got the engineering bit down, but the world doesn't need a MINI that reminds us of those cheap, anonymous knock off matchbox cars with no bottom.
According to media's R-U-based service the car of title, one of the hot rumours flying around the automatic Mass in Frankfurt earlier than this morning was this car of China, the German importer for the manufacturer of Chinese cars Shuanghuan, was going to obtain initialized out of the hall of exposed object. The polemic comes from the bad blood brewing between Shuanghuan and the traditional manufacturers of which the designs it in an obvious way, copies unashamedly. On posting in Frankfurt are the UFO and PRESIDENT SUVs de Shuanghuan. The UFO is a clone of Toyota RAV4, and the PRESIDENT is a copy of 95% of BMW X5. (We say 95% because Shuanghuan apparently elected with the Mercedes-Benz copier for the design of the end before President.)
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