General Motors says Jiangling Motors stole Opel Frontera design
August 22nd, 2005 Leave a comment Visited 434 times, 1 so far today
General Motors says Jiangling Motors stole Opel Frontera design
General Motors have claimed that a company in China Jiangling Motors is exporting an automobile to European market, which it believes is a copy of its own vehicle. The car in question is the Jiangling’s Land Wind and it is said to resemble the body shape of the Opel Frontera which the company made until two years ago in Luton, near London. Incidentally, Jiangling Motors is a partner of Ford, which happens to be a key competitor to General Motors in their domestic as well overseas market.
General Motors have now handed over their case to its legal department to consider whether to start a lawsuit. However, no final decisions have been taken until now. The company said in a statement released to the press: “The Company is evaluating similarity in design to the former Frontera. As a result GM is considering the options available to it, but will not comment on litigation plans.â€
Jiangling Motors on their part denies any truth in this story. Xu Binzhang, a spokesperson for the company claimed that their company has its own Research and Development section and they have taken some technological help from their partners Ford in developing the car. He said: “I don’t think we copied anything from Opel’s Frontera. We deployed some international technology platforms that we got through acquisition.â€
A lot has to be considered by the company before they resort to taking legal action against the company…
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August 24th, 2005 at 6:10 pm
The GM Frontera and the Jiangling Land Wind may share more than looks. According to information found on the Jiangling Motor Company (JMC)website, JMC has been producing trucks based upon Isuzu technology since 1984. Similarly, the Opel Frontera is also based upon an Isuzu platform. The Frontera shares the same design and architecture with other makes and models as well. These models include, the Isuzu Wizard (known as the Rodeo is the US), and the Honda Passport. I was able to view and inspect an Opel Frontera at the Paris Mondial de l’autimobile in 1998. There was no mistaking that the vehicle I saw was a rebadged Isuzu. Since the JMC and Frontera may share DNA, GM should be reminded of the old saying, “You can pick your friends but not your family.”
August 30th, 2005 at 2:57 pm
lolz its funny!!! :)))))
September 15th, 2005 at 10:31 pm
Hah, Jiangling Landwind got 0 ( zero ) stars in euroncap collision test. picture 1 http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/na_pro/wrapper/jpegs.php3?filename=Auto=/jiangling_landwind_crashtest_front_4.jpg
picture 2 http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/na_pro/wrapper/jpegs.php3?filename=Auto=/jiangling_landwind_crashtest_dummy_4.jpg
you wouldnt wanna buy this if you wanna live.
September 19th, 2005 at 2:22 am
from what little ive seen it looks exactly like the vauxhall/opel frontera built from about 1991 to early 1999, when it was revamped. the opel/vauxhalls were based on the isuzu mu/wizard, which were also sold as the amigo/rodeo in the US and also built for Honda as the Passport, so this vehicle has had a long lifespan and looks like it has been resurrected again!
September 28th, 2005 at 2:38 am
jiangling was made only for loose some people from china.
November 8th, 2005 at 4:53 pm
i worked on the frontera in luton and know when it shut the track and machinery were brought by a chinese firm,is this the same firm