On the left-hand side of your screen, we give you the 2008 Smart Fortwo.  On the right, the 2008 Shanghuan Noble.  Or maybe it's the other way around.  Wait…which one has the rear-mounted engine, the removable plastic body panels and the tridion safety cell?  Oh, right, the one on the left.  The Shanghuan car keeps its engine in the front, and uses normal unibody construction and steel panels.

What's going on here? 

Let's be clear about this much -- the Chinese auto industry has begun to produce some quality cars that must be taken seriously in the international market.  You'll probably see Chinese cars on U.S. roads within ten years.

But there is another side of the Chinese auto industry.  One that auto writers have been having some fun with during this week's Beijing Auto Show: the knock-offs.  Visual copies of western cars that, in some cases, could fool the eye from just a few feet away…but the resemblance is only skin deep. 

Motor Trend says "the motto of China's barn-storming domestic auto industry" seems to be, "If you see a good idea, copy it."  According to MT, "Despite the Chinese government's protestations to the contrary, foreign automakers' intellectual property rights are simply not enforced. There are numerous Chinese made cars that borrow, or, more truthfully, simply steal anything from the occasional design cue to a whole vehicle concept. The Noble smart, which comes complete with what the brochure calls "sports car door" and the "first colorful body in China" is one of many automotive rip-offs on display at the 2008 Beijing Show."

 
Motor Trend offers another Shanghuan model, the S-CEO.  "It's a copy of a BMW X5 -- at least from the rear," MT says.  The resemblance is pretty close…that's the X5's liftgate on the right, and the S-CEO's on the left.

 
Autoblog says "The Chinese auto industry has never been shy about (ahem) 'borrowing'" designs from western and Japanese automakers.  They point to the Beijing Auto B40, which "is obviously Jeep Wrangler-inspired," and "is in all likelihood derived from actual Wrangler mechanicals." 

Jalopnik offers the Lifan 320, "a Chinese Mini Cooper Clone."  The only Mini feature the 320 is missing is…well…the mini part.  Under the skin, the 320 is essentially a much larger previous-generation Suzuki Swift.  Jalopnik says "it's almost as if they're saying 'Look, it's not mini-sized anymore, so it's obviously not a Mini.' 

The BYD F8 is another Motor Trend favorite.  It looks like nothing so much as a Mercedes-Benz CLK convertible.  But, "Unlike the real thing, the F8 is front drive, powered by a 16-valve 2.0-liter four that develops 138 horsepower."  That's a bit of a step down from the CLK's base 3.5-liter V6 at 268 hp.

Some Chinese companies even have professional relationships with the international automakers they crib from.  On your right, the Mazda3.  On your left, the Haima3.  On the surface, the two are nearly indistinguishable.  But under the skin, the Haima3 is still a Mazda -- it's just an old one.  It's a Mazda protégé, discontinued in other markets when the 3 appeared, with the body of a 3.  Automotive World reports that Haima is "a former partner of Mazda," and once built Protégés under license.  Now, they build Protégés disguised as Mazda3s, without anyone's permission.

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