2019 CopyCat Awards

​​"Not all snowflakes are the same, but yours is too close to another."

    Not all copycats look exactly like the model they are copying.  Some utilize key aspects, while others copy the entire design.  Each year AutoLooks outlines which products are utilizing someone else's design and gives them our CopyCat award.  Below is our list for 2019 and an outline of what each company has borrowed.

    For 2019 the CopyCat arena has died down a bit.  With a few less than last year, 2019 is an average year for copying designs.  The automotive world is getting better for automotive designs, but there are still those out there who think they can borrow someone else's.

Everett J.
#autolooks

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2019 Aston Martin Vantage
(copy of a 2016 Jaguar F-Type)

   Aston Martin usually isn't one to borrow designs from others.  Usually they are the one other companies want to look like.  But for 2019, they have borrowed some key design elements from the 2016 Jaguar F-Type for their new Vantage.  They may seem different close up, but from the side, they are essentially the same.

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2019 BMW Z4
​(copy of a 2006 Dodge Viper SRT-10)

    The Viper may have just left us, but its appearance can still be seen today.  Not just the left over models still lingering at dealerships.  No, the all new Z4 seems to borrow its profile.  From far away, these two (2) models could be hard to tell apart.  BMW even one step further and added on their own interpretation of the side exhaust port.  This cements the Z4 as a true Viper CopyCat.

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2019 Dongfeng iX5
​(copy of a 2018 Audi Q5)

    Coupe CUV's are all the rage and for 2019 Dongfeng is releasing their new ix5 CUV coupe onto the world.  Too bad it borrows its rear profile from an Audi Q5, as this new product could be considered, almost new.  Only utilizing the tailgate features, the ix5 is not a full on CopyCat.

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2019 FAW Hongta T340
​(copy of a 2012 Ford Explorer)

    FAW is no stranger to our Rusty Awards, but it seems this year they wanted to give our CopyCat Awards a try.  Using the front end from a 2012 Ford Explorer, their new Hongta T340 truck  really puts a new truck version of the Explorer into perspective.  Guess, FAW wanted a 2nd generation Explorer Sport Trac.

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2019 Honda Passport
​(copy of a 2016 Jeep compass)

    The Passport name has been revived for 2019, as Honda brings back its original SUV nameplate.  Similar to last go at it, the Passport looks just like another.  This time its not built off of an Isuzu platform, but instead it borrows the profile of a Jeep Compass.  We see this as rather odd, as the Compass really isn't a game 

​changer.   But I guess when you want to quickly fit into the market, you might as well look like it.

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2019 Huansu Hyosow
​(copy of a 2018 Lamborghini Urus)

    The Urus has just taken the world by storm and in its wake, it has created an all new Super Sport SUV marketplace.  Trying to follow in Lamborghini's footsteps, new company Huansu wants to bask in some of that glory with their Urus knockoff the Hyosow.  It may not be a complete replica, but we all know what look they were going after.

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2018 Suzuhou Eagle EG6330K
​(copy of a 1957 BMW Isetta)

   Adding to their worst for 2019 Rusty Award, Suzuhou Eagle has added on a CopyCat Award.  Everyone can tell what they were going for here, the only real difference is that their model has four (4) doors.  Its similar appearance to the Isetta, could help it sell itself as an energy efficient product, but its overall design will still turn some away

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