Chevy doesn't like Chery
General Motors noticed that the brand name used by Chinese automaker looks an awfully like Chevy. Chery Automotive has big plans with Malcolm Bricklin at the helm in the U.S. but GM has threatened Chery with legal action if it uses the brand name in the America. Bricklin told the Financial Times that he would use the name anyway. GM already slapped Chery with a lawsuit over intellectual property stating the Chery QQ is a direct copy of the GM-Daewoo Matiz sold in China as the Chevy Spark. Chevy. Chery.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
BJBarron 10:32PM (12/18/2005)
Who didn't think this was going to happen? That dumbass arrogant Malcolm? I hope GM wins.
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KaiBeezy 10:32PM (12/18/2005)
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Who's the bigger idiot:
? Chery, for thinking GM won't sue them.
GM has hundreds of lawyers, with nothing they would rather do. Chery will lose, too. Can't wait to see what their logo will look like. And why not pick a new, unique name? Who wants to buy a Chery? 16 year old girls? Take the opportunity to come up with something exotic and evocative, like Hyundai, Daewoo or maybe Datsun.
? GM, for wasting their time worrying about Chery.
They have more immediate problems. Like firing the spokesman quoted in the NY Times yesterday who said a huge drop in GM sales last month couldn't for sure be correlated with higher gas prices. Gee, GM, aren't all your bigass SUVs gas guzzlers? You think people don't notice? Same article, Toyota and Nissan both crowing about having THEIR BEST MONTH EVER. Toyota sold a bazillion Prius's. Duh.
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BrianS. 10:32PM (12/18/2005)
Well, #2, it will become a problem if dumbass Bricklin does succed in bringing Chery to the US and it turns out to be as good of a car as the Yugo was.
Yugo was basically synonymous with Piece of Sh!t car for years, and for anyone over 25, it still is. I can't blame GM for not wanting any confusion between the two, especially as the start their drive to improve quality.
Also, I can see the confusion causing some blow back as people start to believe the Chevies are built in China instead of Lansing.
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KaiBeezy 10:32PM (12/18/2005)
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Agreed, #3. I sure didn't say it wasn't *going* to be a problem, just that they have more *immediate* problems.
Even President Bush seems disgusted with GM, thus bailout unlikely, proving once and for all, he's no Jimmy Carter ;)
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SoloTwo 10:32PM (12/18/2005)
Everytime I see Chery on this site I think its a post about Chevy...its annoying.
I'll just sue Chery for annoying me.
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Scott 10:32PM (12/18/2005)
Jesus, some of you people bash GM just to bash GM. Talk about jumping on the bandwagon.
Kai, you mean Toyota and Nissan DON'T have gas guzzlers? What about the FX, Tundra, Land Cruiser, Sequoia, Titan, Armada? Why don't you check out those MPG ratings and tell me just how stellar they are.
Oh, those don't count though, do they?
Yeah, let's compare a Prius to a Suburban. (Idiot.)
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KaiBeezy 10:32PM (12/18/2005)
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It's pretty well documented that GM and Ford made big profits on big trucks and SUVs for a decade or more, and now suddenly are not making money. It's also pretty plain that Toyota and Nissan are making money now on their *cars*. Someone planned ahead for a rainy day when gas prices might not be so low; someone made hay while the sun shone and is now getting soaked.
GM and Ford chose to wring fat short-term profits out of old-timey truck platforms by spiffing them up with shiny bits and plushy seats. They don't seem to have looked ahead or planned ahead by making an array of vehicles that includes enough models that would be desirable in the totally foreseeable event of higher gas prices. They will get the bite in the ass they deserve for this error. Natural selection at work.
(What are you, 5 years old, calling people names?)
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Dave 10:32PM (12/18/2005)
No, but a good comparison would be a Camry to a Taurus, or a Tundra to and F150, or an Escape to a Rav4. Toyota has better milage accross the board for similar vehicles
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Michael 10:32PM (12/18/2005)
I had friend who used to work at Ford in Michigan, determining which cars when out to the dealers. He said every dealer wanted Lincoln Navigators and Ford Explusions (excuse me, Exhibitions), as the profit margins on them were huge. He had cars he had to move off of factory lots...so, he'd say, "OK, I can get you 3 Navigators, but you'll have to take this Escort Pony." The dealers would then groan, and take the Escort Pony (a stripped verion of the low-end Escort that Ford sold at the time) when they knew they'd make less money than it cost to process the paperwork to sell the thing.
So...wonder why they don't sell all those cool small cars you see in Europe here in the U.S. It's about money, money, and money. Welcome to the real world. There's a reason you can't get a cool mini-hatchback in the U.S. like the Chevy Celta, the Hyundai Atos, the Puegot 306, The Ford Fiesta, the...I could go on. THEY DON'T GET THE DEALERS & CAR COMPANIES ENOUGH $$. This is because of the pressure from Wall Street on Short Term Profits...a.k.a. what did you do for me this quarter? This also keeps a desire in Detroit to keep gas prices low...as gas guzzlers give them more profits...so it encourages the big 3 to support wars for oil...which is why we're in Iraq...and why our Prez & VP are oil company shills...and...oh, why do I even bother...it won't change anything.
Michael
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