Visionary Vehicles to bring Chery to USA
I previously blogged about China Pirates, where Chinese automobile makers were ripping off Japanese and other automobile manufacturers blatantly. Inside China they are virtually invulnerable. They rip off without a second thought, with the worst of worst case being the Chery QQ, a 100% copy of the Chevy Spark.
Now Visionary Vehicles wants to bring the Chery marque into the USA. GM legal staff immediately took a chance for legal action on fair grounds instead of the Chinese courts. GM legal staff threathened litigation if Visionary Vehicles brings in the cars under the brand name Chery. GM says the Chery name is too similiar to Chevy. Quite a blatant shameless knock-off I say.
Originally, Visionary Vehicles CEO Malcolm Bricklin dismissed the letter and gave the following statement:
GM should focus on developing a better product for consumers, rather than waste time and resources with veiled threats of frivolous lawsuits. The American consumer will see soon enough that comparing Chery to Chevy, is like comparing cherries to lemons.
Now he’s changed his tune. Bricklin has said he will not market the Chery cars under the original brand name and is currently seeking for a new name to call the cars. He is considering his own company name Visionary Vehicles. He told the press:
They win. The last thing I need is to have 250 signs taken down. can’t afford to even gamble.
Visionary Vehicles targets 250,000 Chery vehicles sales in the first year with an eventual target of 1 million units a year. The cars will retail from USD$19,000 to USD$25,000 and will be mainly low-end luxury vehicles.
September 22, 2005 @ 12:46 am
Well well well , I’d like to know the prices of Chevy cars in the US , Is it worth getting a rip-off version of it considering the price difference or so?
And pirates suck. It really does.
September 22, 2005 @ 12:49 am
i dont think americans have the mindset to buy copy-in-ur-face products like these…n thats good! as long as thy dont bring these junks here,nobody cares wat thy do
September 22, 2005 @ 1:08 am
USD19K? That’s damn expensive. Impreza is that price over there.
September 22, 2005 @ 1:28 am
Isn’t this an old story? Anyway, selling under low end luxury segment will kill it straight away ..
September 22, 2005 @ 1:41 am
wiraone: the decision to change the name was just only… 20th sept
September 22, 2005 @ 2:52 am
but simply dont get it lah… first thing is the name, i wouldn’t wanna say
“eh! i drive a chery qq leh, quite good!”
are they bringing it here?
den second thing is, it’s a blurdy photostated car frm chevy… i feel annoyed to see that they aren’t putting any creativity in designing their cars man… haih… bloody looks the same man!
September 22, 2005 @ 8:13 am
looking at those two photos posted above i can’t help but notcing the current version of the kancil being quite similar; abide ‘less robust’
September 22, 2005 @ 8:55 am
Interesting … watch the Marketing Wayang Kulit going on. First, GM so biiig, why they bothered about me ? Then, OK, OK, OK, they scared me, so I change to new name. Watch for next steps in this floor show - akan datang.
What are the chances ? To most Americans, these cars should still come with a big RED STAR on the roof, and a slanty eyed driver in khaki uniform. How ah ?
September 22, 2005 @ 11:50 am
heh!. .so then, some of here said b4.. When will the cherry coming to our market? i want i want - lah..
huh!..
USD19K = RM70+
so how lucky we are.. proton = as WORSE and BAD WE ALL SAID but at least still our own design.. our really own product.. and not copycat.. if a copy it’s a legal copy indeed.. (satria etc)
Change our view to Proton-lah.. Huoyehhh!!
We r better than china car maker!..
September 22, 2005 @ 2:04 pm
19k
nutheads
i can get a 2.6cc eclipse for that kinda money there
25k
haha i can get a full specs eclipse hahahha
September 22, 2005 @ 2:04 pm
lets go there and sell fried mee for usd 8 hahhahaha
good idea heh?
September 23, 2005 @ 1:13 am
if enter sure good one…..
IF i buy that car….. 1st thing i do is change that logo to chevy logo…..
hey… why not.. what you call me ’siau liau’? ’sam pat’?
then why some of you change our car to other car….?
admmit it…
i saw at back of that car mtisu… so-and-so… at front..a cresent with star of 14 point logo..or thundercats logo..
same thing at infront of that car… 3 diamond shape(replace one) at the back?
left 1 say proton right 1 say wira aeroback…
same story perotdua…(perodua lar)…..
but most of you does’t do that right?
why i say this becoz…
at my place i saw 1 guy . he ‘botoks’ his car to other car .he event change the grid.
September 23, 2005 @ 9:47 am
wait till u guys see the quality of chinese-make cars! they suck big time
September 26, 2005 @ 12:17 pm
cibai chinese mainland ppl owez wana copy things…i wonder there is any fxxxxng copycat version of potong wila (proton wira) in china?hahaha…
October 10, 2005 @ 9:53 pm
When chery comes to the us a will be one of the first standing in line to buy one. If they are as cheap as they say, i don’t care if the cars say made in china. I f you would to see a picture of their hardtop convertible go to my blog @ http://visionaryvehicles.blogspot.com
Ryan
October 20, 2005 @ 12:19 am
Where are these people from? Speek English!!!! or is it just bad translation????
October 20, 2005 @ 12:28 am
OOPS, HAHA, I even misspelled speak, Thank God for spell’-checker.
November 23, 2005 @ 3:49 am
They might be worth it if they were less expensive and had a 20 year/200,000 mile warranty. Here in the USA you can get a 300 horsepower Ford Mustang for 25000.00 US$. The general opinion is that if it is made in China it is cheap crap.
February 22, 2006 @ 4:40 am
[...] Visionary Vehiclesd has brought in Chery’s first sedan for the US market - the Chery A520. The Chery A520 is part of the Chery A5 series, with the number 20 indicating a 2.0 liter engine. It is said that it’s based on an extended Volkswagen Golf Mk3 platform, something like an older Seat Toledo. [...]
July 2, 2006 @ 3:36 am
[...] It will be interesting to see how Chevrolet distributor Hicomobil will react to the imminent arrival of the QQ here on our local shores. Perhaps another “real Spark” campaign? In the USA, a company called Visionary Vehicles backed by Malcolm Bricklin, Maurice Strong and George Soros is trying to bring in the Chery marque into the US. General Motors have threathened litigation if Visionary Vehicles used the name Chery because it sounded too similiar to Chevy. While at first they adopted a blase attitude to the legal threats, in the end they decided to pick a new name which has not been decided on yet. [...]
July 2, 2006 @ 3:37 am
[...] It will be interesting to see how Chevrolet distributor Hicomobil will react to the imminent arrival of the QQ here on our local shores. Perhaps another “real Spark” campaign? In the USA, a company called Visionary Vehicles backed by Malcolm Bricklin, Maurice Strong and George Soros is trying to bring in the Chery marque into the US. General Motors have threathened litigation if Visionary Vehicles used the name Chery because it sounded too similiar to Chevy. While at first they adopted a blase attitude to the legal threats, in the end they decided to pick a new name which has not been decided on yet. [...]
July 2, 2006 @ 3:52 am
[...] Chery Tiggo (Chery T11) coming to Malaysia Chery QQ coming to town this month Visionary Vehicles to bring Chery to USA [...]
January 15, 2007 @ 4:17 pm
[...] Here’s Malcolm Bricklin’s new plans for his Visionary Vehicles brand. Hybrid cars, made in China for real cheap. Bricklin’s previous plans with Chery to bring in Chery vehicles into the US under the Visionary Vehicles name collapsed when the two parties did not manage to agree on how to use the money financed by investors. [...]