I cannot identify any of them in China – the countless, strangely styled Chinese cars of all shapes and sizes, with makes, models and emblems I cannot decipher at all.
Many of them bear testimony to the now notorious Chinese automotive “creativity”, which has “created” a great variety of weird cars that look disturbingly similar to certain continental models we’re familiar with. I spotted a “CEO” SUV that I mistook for a BMW X5, saw a “NCV” with a rear end that looks suspiciously like the Lexus RX350, and checked out several Cherys that blatantly copied Toyota designs.
That said, our learning curve always begins first by imitating, then improving on it, before finally developing our own original product.
It takes time, but Japanese automakers made it, Korean automakers made it, too, and I’m sure Chinese automakers will get there someday.
When that happens, maybe the Chinese can make their Great Wall red wine taste less like diluted Ribena and more like a French Merlot.
