Keepin' it real fake, part XXXV: China's CMEC duplicates Smart Car design

Yeah, cellphones, media players and logo'd clothing items are all well and good, but if you really want to stand out in China's competitive market of highly commercial disregard for intellectual property, you've gotta think big. That's why we're so impressed by CMEC, who not only managed to rip off an entire car, but are also sneaking their electric version of the Smart Car into one of Smart's own favored markets -- Great Britain. While externally the "City Smart" from CMEC is virtually identical to the Fortwo model that inspired it, CMEC modded up the interior a bit to avoid legal woes: "When we designed the car we were aware that we might be opening ourselves up to legal action," sez Jerry Chen, sales manager for CMEC. "That's why we've imitated the outside but concentrated on making the interior look different." Um, right. Their electric motor is also quite a departure from the real Smart cars, and while its 34MPH top-speed won't have it venturing far from congested city streets, it's hard to complain about the 4,200 euro ($5,270 US) pricetag. Well, other than the incredibly shady legality of the whole affair. DaimlerChrysler, parent company of Smart, is currently doing its darnedest to keep the City Smart out of the rest of Europe, while they prep their own Fortwo successor that most certainly will cost more than $5k, but is also more likely to involve certain niceties like original design and at least a teensy bit of pep.

[Via The Raw Feed]

[Javaflash @ Oct 17th 2006 12:07PM]

"might be" ... more like "should be"

[robotrock @ Oct 17th 2006 12:40PM]

chinese knock-off cars are notoriously unsafe as well....

example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnP6_J3x7kQ

[tekdemon @ Oct 17th 2006 5:38PM]

Don't be a jackass, that video shows a licensed clone of a Japanese designed vehicle (an Isuzu Rodeo-aka the Honda Passport) that was just as horribly unsafe. Pretty much all cars of that era were horribly unsafe-have you seen the crash tests for older F-series pickups from Ford?!
You might as well go around telling people to stop buying used cars because they'll all die.
Don't believe me? Just look at the IIHS crash test rating for the old Rodeo/Passport:
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=56

Am I saying that Chinese cars are awesome and safe? Not at all, but this nonsensical Chinese bashing has no real basis because Honda and Isuzu were selling the exact same thing back in 1997. And it's not a copycat-it's a legally licensed clone in that video-the Chinese car company bought not only the design but also the tooling used to make the cars to begin with.

You're equally unsafe driving either the Landwind or going to a used car dealer and buying an old Isuzu Rodeo or Honda Passport.

Chinese cars will get safer in time-whether it's because they'll be able to license 2000's designs soon or whether they'll improve safety themselves. But to link to that video as if it's evidence of lousy Chinese engineering is just plain misinformation.

And heck, plenty of US cars of even recent years were deathtraps. Go look at the crash test ratings for something like a Cavalier, or the 5-door Focus' rear seat, or whatever. Does that mean you shouldn't buy any US-built cars just because I can point out one model that is horribly unsafe?

[Chris Johnson @ Oct 17th 2006 1:04PM]

Compare it to a scooter rather than a car and you have a compelling offer. Compare it to a car and it flops miserably.

For $5,000 to knock around the city and run errands it's cheaper than pretty much any motorcycle and about the same price as a scooter. Plus you can use it in the rain or snow, which you can't comfortably on a scooter. At $5,000 this would absolutely sell in NYC, Boston, DC, maybe Miami, and pretty much anywhere densely populated that people could use it as a second car.

This is why I think the Smart is going to fail in the US. At the price DCX is talking about it's too expensive for what you get. You can get a Yaris for the same price, and though it's not as cute it's much more useful.

[quahogian @ Oct 17th 2006 2:11PM]

I agree here with Chris, I personally living in NYC would love to have something this small and affordable, of course hoping that it gives me better protection than the little Honda cruiser I currently own (almost none). If I could I would go on my motorcycle everywhere, but alas...it is raining right now in the city BTW.

[Eric @ Oct 17th 2006 3:53PM]

I dunno how well this will fare in DC, given that traffic in the city is horrible and a vehicle this size will be easily bumped off the road. As some of us say in this city "The lanes are for reference only, it's every man for himself out there".

[rockintom99 @ Oct 18th 2006 4:01AM]

...What the hell are you talking about? The same price as a scooter? I bought one recently for SEVENTY NINE DOLLARS. It runs about 20 miles per charge, but at that price, how could you complain?

And then again, my friend got a *very* nice motorcycle recently for about 2 grand. Where do you come up with your terrible prices?

[Ken @ Oct 17th 2006 1:50PM]

Hell, for that price it competes with golf carts here in the states. I'd say someone would be damned smart (hehe) to import it here, not as a primary mode of transportation, but for something as a rental for vacation spots, resort, golf courses etc. You'd then be able to bypass all the DOT crap (safety, licsencing, registration, left side drive) since it won't be considered an on-road vehicle.

[Deezee @ Oct 17th 2006 3:15PM]

Why cant the Chinese just copy Ferrari so I can have an affordable Ferrari clone.

[evo @ Oct 17th 2006 8:54PM]

Eric: Clearly you've never driven in China or India. No matter what you think about DC traffic, there's NOTHING in the U.S. that compares to that traffic.

[Chasqui @ Oct 17th 2006 4:40PM]

Is that the picture of the knock-off? Its electric, right? Why did they copy the GAS CAP?!
As far as 34 mph... Its a fancy golf cart / enclosed scooter. Nothing new except that it LOOKS like the smart.

[tekdemon @ Oct 17th 2006 6:01PM]

That's a picture of the real smart car, that's why. If you google for it there's a picture of the Chinese clone in yellow somewhere. It basically has different headlights and uglier wheels.

[Sarah @ Oct 17th 2006 5:40PM]

I've spent a chunk of time up in Canada, where SMARTs have been present for quite a while, and a good friend of mine, she has one. Spent the whole time I was in Toronto whizzing around in it; back streets, city streets, highway ... it was wonderful.

The thing is when you are in the thing it doesn't feel small in the slightest, and the fact that you are encased in a bubble impact/roll cage makes you feel damn safe.

Course, I still have a weakness for a Mini Cooper S :)

But I think making this electric with such awful performance is really going after too small a niche I think ... I mean, those people comfortable enough with their masculinity, or not really caring, to purchase the thing was small enough group to begin with (even given the incredibly awesome gas mileage).

[Chasqui @ Oct 17th 2006 6:18PM]

Thanks, tekdemon. I searched for pictures of the clone smart-car. Found some here:
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=117126#5
You are right - uglier wheels but otherwise almost idetical from the outside. Interestingly, they still have a gas cap!

[xuelan.hou @ Oct 17th 2006 6:41PM]

This is a fair market. Overpriced products will eventually all be replaced by cheaper ones. Only stupid consumers would purchase overpriced products and defend them when cheaper immitations are created. Dumb Americans!

[Nyx @ Oct 20th 2006 9:24PM]

A scooter, as in a Vespa, not those tiny little glorified skateboards with handles. Something with an actual engine...

The Smart cars aren't made for teenagers - but for commuters in an urban area, like me, they're just about the perfect thing, combining good mileage, tiny size [more parking spots!] and an ENCLOSED SPACE. It's pretty much the same as a Vespa - but I won't freeze my arse off trying to keep it going in January.

I admit, I wish the real Fortwo cost the same as the knockoff, though.

[ksmith @ Oct 18th 2006 3:18PM]

There's only one way they can make this thing so cheap, leave out the high-strength (and high cost) steel. No high-strength steel means one ugly, ugly crash scene. The original Smart ForTwo could get rocked by a big Mercedes and still keep the occpants alive, this thing will crunch like a pop can.

[aStopperBy @ Oct 20th 2006 1:49AM]

The Chinese will knock off almost anything--with the government's support. A few years ago, I think there was a company in China using Toyota's logo, and a man who worked for Daimler-Chryler switched to a Chinese car company to produce an exact replica...But this hardly proves anything, except that US carmakers will have more competition--look at Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and now, Hyundai!