Quote:
Originally Posted by c63er
As many others have said. This is actually a good thing for the autonotive industry 
Competition is a double edged sword. Sometimes it results in a much better product. Sometimes it forces a race to the bottom. Only time will tell. But why not roll the dice and see.
After all, imagine if the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord never existed. Can you imagine what kind of horrible noisy shit boxes we'd be driving. German cars if the 80s were cool back then,but aside from the high end, quality was bad. We won't even talk about American cars.
What I do find very disturbing is the name of the division and overall colors and theme they are promoting which is obviously an m rip off. You have to wonder if the hiring of Bierman is also a ploy to just give the brand credibility as he is mr bmw m. I'm also going to sound like a xenophobic nut a little bit (in the farthest thing from that) but it's also disturbing if this is accepted by any of us. One of the great features of the automotive performance culture we have is that everyone is trying to beat each other in their own way. This whole blatant rip off thing hasn't been a prevalent feature of our culture so far. If this changes its bad times ahead in afraid 
If Hyundai could do like Lexus and stake out their own path (like F division) and they can do it better then bmw/Lexus/amg then I'm all for it. But by copying the logo/branding/colors then this should be completly rejected for what it is. |
Yeah, really have to agree with you there. As excited as I'd be to have a mid-engine hatch on sale in the US market, it is really disappointing that they haven't gone their own direction from a branding and design standpoint. Look at the image presented by brands like Honda's R and Nissan's Nismo. Both companies built their strong heritage over time. In the US domestic market, Cadillac has done a hell of a job branding their V line-up.
Then Hyundai comes along with Bierman at the helm, "N" as their name, and colors that are dubiously close to BMW M GmbH branding. It's a real head-scratcher, but not entirely unexpected. Both Hyundai and Kia have made a big business of ripping off other brands' designs.