I know is has been brought up before but this is getting ridiculous. It really looks like they can't come out with their own designs and rely on popular trends and make it their own.

In my opinion these vehicles resemble:

Santa Fe----------Rav4
Sonata---------styling cues from Acura
Kia Sedona-------Honda Odyssey
Hyundai Genesis sedan--------BMW fused with Mercedes and Lexus
Hyundai Genesis Coupe---------Toyota Supra
Kia Soul----------Scion Xb or Element

BUT THIS TAKES THE CAKE

Meet the all new Hyundai Enclave
http://photo.netcarshow.com/Hyundai-...9_photo_02.jpg

Kia is introducing a car called the KIA FORTE which I feel takes design cues from the CRUZE and CIVIC. The instrument cluster resembles a Malibu
http://photo.netcarshow.com/Kia-Forte_2010_photo_1b.jpg

 

 

KIA, like just about every other major car manufacturer, has a SoCal design studio which is manned primarily with american designers. Most of which where already in the industry working for other manufacturers.

All of the auto companies' "poach" each other's design talent. Most car designers come from only a handfull of design schools worldwide. The two major ones in the US are CCS & ACCD. So it shouldn't be a surprise that MANY cars share design similarities.

 

This is nothing new. Many times, a foreign manufacturer wanting to attract American buyers has taken American styling cues... or more.

70s era Celicas carried design themes from the '69 Mustang fastback. Kia had a minivan that looked like it was a badge engineered Ford Windstar. The MR2 idea came directly from Pontiac's Fiero.

There's a few others, but Korean automakers aren't the first. And US automakers have occasionally taken on foreign design cues.

Automotive plagiarism is nothing new.

 

Pontiac's Fiero came from Fiat's X1/9.





If something sells, imitate it. Why GM did that with one of the ugliest vehicles on the road




I'll never understand.

 

Mercedes called...they want their grille back.

 

i think when the HHR came out there was a long thread on here about how the HHR wasn't ugly and how it wasn't a copy of the PT cruiser

 

If I recall correctly, the story behind the HHR design is that GM hired the same guy who designed the PT. I think that's a little different than the Chinese and Koreans making carbon-copies of designs unrelated to them.

 

Hhr > pt

 

I didn't see too many similarities between the Genesis Coupe and the Supra?

There were several people who were pointing out small similarities between the Coupe and other imports. The wheel designs were almost direct copies from other imports.

 

PT Cruiser was actually a highly successful vehicle. The fact that it's lasted 10 years is telling, especially in light of those who said it would be simply a fad that would quickly burn itself out.

The Chevrolet HHR was designed by the exact same person who designed the PT Cruiser, Brian Nesbitt , who Rick Wagoner snagged from Chrysler.

Being that the HHR was designed by the same person who not much earlier did the PT, one could make a very convincing case that the HHR is a defacto redesigned updated PT Cruiser (perhaps with a different grille and tail lights), and that there is more you can do to update a "Retro" design than many people would have you believe.

 

I agree with that. PT Cruisers are everywhere. I just don't understand why

 

Not necessarily - the "inspiration" used for the HHR was not the PT Cruiser styling. Certainly the PT's success as a retro-styled vehicle was what GM was attempting to duplicate. However, styling wise, even though both vehicles look similar (in fact designed by the same guy), the HHR should not be considered a "rip-off" of the PTs styling. It can (and should) be considered a copy-cat of the PT's formula for success (retro themed entry-level vehicle with appeal to tuners/customizers), even though the HHR was not nearly as successful. But that's a discussion for another thread.

Both designs were based off of styling cues almost directly lifted from vehicles of each car company's (Chevy & Chrysler) respective vehicle lines from the 30's - point being that, yes, even back then many cars looked very much alike.

 

I thought it looked more like the G37 coupe?

 

I know its a copy. But I still think the PT is hideous and the HHR is pretty good looking in black (esp the SS trim).

But when the PT has gotten no updates in a decade and is still alive, that does say something valid.