| Adding Insight to injury |
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We read a lot about Chinese manufacturers plagiarising existing designs like the smart and the BMW X5. Last year at the Paris Show, I saw BYD Auto’s facsimile of the Toyota Aygo which they nattily named the f0. The same car was on display again at the Detroit Show this month but it narrowly failed to win the ‘Best Lookalike in Show’ award. That accolade went to Honda for its new Prius…oops, I mean Insight. Creative Chief Designer, Motoaki Minowa, said he was delighted when, at the Paris Show, some onlookers likened the profile of the car to a Lamborghini Countach. “That is a big compliment,” says Mr Minowa. You’re not kidding. I too was delighted when I was recently mistaken for Tom Cruise. Oh, per-lease! Enough of this. Insight - hindsight more like. It’s the spitting image of the Toyota Prius which just happens to be the world’s most successful hybrid car. It simply looks as though the same clay model was presented twice with two different sets of graphics. This, from a company that sells itself on the ‘Power of Dreams, is a major disappointment. If you’d like to judge for yourself, our Detroit video news special captures the likeness beautifully (around the 2 minutes 40 mark).
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