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BMW CEO Fuming Over Chinese Knock-Off Of Popular X5 SUV. (Pics)
CEOSMACK ^ | 8/28/07

Posted on 08/28/2007 11:27:43 AM PDT by LibWhacker

BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer is not happy. In a case which proves that nothing is immune to the sleight of hand of Chinese manufacturers and their ability and willingness to clone any product on earth, BMW has been forced to threaten legal action over a cheap knock-off version of their popular X5 SUV.

The Chinese-made SUV which ironically enough is called CEO is almost identical in appearance to BMW’s X5…especially from the rear.

“We have already taken steps against the marketing of the CEO (SUV) in Europe. Should this car be presented at the IAA, we will look into taking further legal steps,” a BMW spokesman said.

Forbes reports that Karl Schloessl, the owner of independent importer China Automobile Deutschland said he knew nothing of the legal action, but said it might well help sales of the model.Schloessl said he is planning to sell the cars at around 100 dealerships in Germany starting in October…again proving there is no shame among the Chinese or the vendors who get rich selling their knock-off merchandise.

The BMW X5 is pictured on the left and the Chinese CEO SUV is on the right.


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: automakers; bmw; ceo; china; intellectualproperty; knockoff; suv; trade
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To: LibWhacker

They don’t look alike to me, and anybody who can’t tell a Beemer from Chinese junk deserves what they get.


21 posted on 08/28/2007 11:48:27 AM PDT by ozzymandus
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To: DCPatriot
You first..


22 posted on 08/28/2007 11:49:13 AM PDT by xcamel (FDT/2008 -- talk about it >> irc://irc.freenode.net/fredthompson)
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To: VOA
When my dad was buying stuff for the Army & Air Force in 1950s Far East, a manufacturer offered some machine parts that were made in USA. Usa was a tiny Japanese fishing village that might have had three or four hibachis but no manufacturing capability...
23 posted on 08/28/2007 11:49:36 AM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks (Go Hawks !)
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To: VOA
Give 'em time. Because similar things were being said about "Jap junk" only a couple of decades ago.

LOL ... well, as just one example - the ChiComms have been trying to manufacture an AK47 knockoff for decades, and to this very day, it's still crap and likely to be that way for the foreseeable future.

24 posted on 08/28/2007 11:49:59 AM PDT by mgc1122
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To: PeteB570
...I think every since the 80s most cars have been “mind melding” into look-a-likes....<

They all look like bars of soap with wheels to me.

25 posted on 08/28/2007 11:50:11 AM PDT by FReepaholic (Vini ,Vidi, VD: I Came, I Saw, I Cankered)
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To: Brakeman

They copy everything and when they don’t have ever clear they use antifreeze, and human waste for fertilizer.


26 posted on 08/28/2007 11:50:31 AM PDT by boomop1 (there you go again)
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To: Always Right

Exactly.

Do a google images search of Kia SUV. Or Hyundai SUV.

Those South Korean SUV’s are knock-off, too.


27 posted on 08/28/2007 11:53:22 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd
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To: PAR35
They don’t look any more alike that any other two SUVs in that size range.

You could not be more hopelessly wrong.

The dominant design cue on the BMW X series SUVs is the stong concave curve just under the rear window. This is unique to BMW, and strongly diffentiates them from other manufacturers.

The copying of this design cue, along with the very similar taillight treatment, glass shape and rear bumper make it abundantly clear that CEO is knocking off the BMW design.

28 posted on 08/28/2007 11:54:23 AM PDT by gridlock (You cannot coexist with somebody who wants you dead.)
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To: xcamel
Um, the pricks make jokes about the people who drive them?

Wait, that's not it. Uh, the pricks would rather drive a p.o.s. pickup truck with a picture of Calvin peeing on a Ford or Chevy logo in the back window, and chew tobacco and spit into an empty beer can while they're driving over to pick up their cousin for a "date"?

No, that's not it either...

29 posted on 08/28/2007 11:54:47 AM PDT by Sicon
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To: rottndog

If a Western comapny knocked off anything the ChiComs made they would sue, and win, we in the West do nothing.

We in the West are indeed “stuck on stupid”.


30 posted on 08/28/2007 11:55:38 AM PDT by padre35 (Conservative in Exile.)
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To: 1Old Pro

What’s the big deal now. The Japaneses have been doing this for years.


31 posted on 08/28/2007 11:56:50 AM PDT by Roklok
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To: LibWhacker
So...how much does it go for?

If it offends the rednecks and the metrosexuals equally, it may be worth the entertainment value to buy one!

Just saying.

32 posted on 08/28/2007 11:58:08 AM PDT by Publius6961 (MSM: Israelis are killed by rockets; Lebanese are killed by Israelis.)
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To: xcamel
See ya when you can post again...
33 posted on 08/28/2007 11:58:35 AM PDT by Publius6961 (MSM: Israelis are killed by rockets; Lebanese are killed by Israelis.)
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To: mgc1122

Parts will start breaking off after a few uses like most of the chinese crap I have.


34 posted on 08/28/2007 11:58:55 AM PDT by I_like_good_things_too (Don't make perfect the enemy of the good)
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To: padre35
We in the West are indeed “stuck on stupid”.

Agreed.
35 posted on 08/28/2007 11:59:49 AM PDT by rottndog (Government is a necessary evil, but as with all evils, the less of it the better.)
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To: I_like_good_things_too

Let’s just hope those parts that break off don’t poison our dogs.


36 posted on 08/28/2007 12:01:45 PM PDT by mrmargaritaville
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To: Plutarch

IIRC, they copied it so thoroughly, that there was even a “Boeing” emblem on the control wheel ;)


37 posted on 08/28/2007 12:01:57 PM PDT by SJSAMPLE
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To: xcamel

“What’s the difference between a BMW and a porcupine....”

Oldie but a goody. :) Oh, how I do love the M3, though.


38 posted on 08/28/2007 12:02:33 PM PDT by L98Fiero (A fool who'll waste his life, God rest his guts.)
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To: caver

a taurus looks like a bar of dove soap, maybe sweetheart soap from the vermont country store catalog


39 posted on 08/28/2007 12:02:55 PM PDT by Taffini (Mr. Pippin and Mr. Waffles do not approve)
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To: LibWhacker
How can they tell it's knockoff?

They both look like every other nondescript car on the road these days.

40 posted on 08/28/2007 12:11:22 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Islam is a religion of peace, and Muslims reserve the right to kill anyone who says otherwise.)
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