Yeah, GM won’t see one red cent from these rip-off cars.
When the Chinese complain that they have a bad reputation in the global business community, perhaps they should reflect inward to find the reasons. If they did, they might be confronted with the uncomfortable truth that they’ve profited off the intellectual property western companies have toiled away developing, all without a single utterance of gratitude. The latest blatant rip-off of American automotive icons was unveiled during the 2020 Beijing Motor Show recently. This C1 Corvette knock-off “developed” by Songsan Motors is called the Dolphin SS. No, we didn’t make that up, but please keep laughing.
Sure, there might be a few differences in the front and rear fascias as well as the interior and elsewhere on this car, but the thing is overall a crappy copy of one of the most sought-after Chevy Corvettes ever built. Don’t worry, some Chinese company will rip off the C2 next.
As you can see in the photos, the cars come with the iconic side coves, of course, including some more flamboyant choices such as red, like what was available for the later C1 Corvettes.
These are not exact copies of the C1 because the dimensions are off, just like some of the design details. Oh, plus these are plug-in hybrids, something the Chinese government keeps trying to compel its citizenry to buy. Excuse us while we puke.
This is far from the first time a Chinese automaker has blatantly ripped-off a foreign automaker’s design. Jaguar Land Rover actually pursued legal consequences when the Range Rover was copied down to the finest details. Surprisingly, it won in court but was drug over the coals by Chinese media, which encouraged shoppers to avoid Jaguars and Land Rovers. As a result, the automaker saw a big dip in sales, so there are consequences for enforcing copyright laws in the Middle Kingdom.
We really love the stage where these Corvette knock-offs were displayed. It was like someone from China slapped together a random montage of Route 66 and Harley-Davidson iconography to make it all feel very American to people who know little about America. In a way it’s flattering that other countries are so obsessed with our culture. However, what isn’t amusing is how some will blatantly rip off what we worked so hard to build from scratch, while simultaneously badmouthing our automakers.
