To me, the Hyundai Sonata resembles the BMW and Mercedes Benz models (CLS 550) very strongly.
Is this a case of convergent design, or is it outright copying?
Has any car manufacturer ever been sued for copying another manufacturer’s external designs?
Eh? The current Hyundai Sonata doesn’t look anything like any BMW or Mercedes, except in the sense that it’s a four door sedan. A better example would the original Lexus LS400, which clearly took its styling cues from the Mercedes S-Class of the time.
There are a bunch of Western and Japanese manufacturers suing Chinese automakers over what are essentially identical copies (superficially) of their cars. None of those lawsuits have gone anywhere to date, though.
I disagree, the current Sonata has very obvious styling cues lifted directly from the M-B CLS550. Hyundai and Kia have been doing this for years, there are hundreds of reviews online that discuss this.
If theft of styling cues could be turned into litigation money, Jaguar would be the richest car company in the world. No other design team has had so many styling cues stolen.
In Korea, Hyundai has a higher end line called Equus, which looked a lot like various Benz and BMWs to me. I’ve never seen one in the States, but they have it on their website here. It’s also popular in Korea to get aftermarket modifications to your cars to make them look (externally) exactly like a Benz or Audi or other high end car. They even have mashup names for them based on the original car and the cloned car, although I sadly can’t remember any of the names now.
That kind of thing happens with regularity: cheapo car company rips off a luxury brand’s design for one of their own models. No one bothers suing, IMO, because it would be “beneath the brand” to do so. If the best someone can do is buy a car that looks like a BMW but ain’t a BMW, that’s not BMW’s market anyway. :rolleyes: In other words: BMW isn’t worried about losing a potential customer…
It’s the same reason Rolex doesn’t sue the makers of those watches that come out of the gumball-machines. 
Feel free to point to some.
I work at a Hyundai dealer so I see lots of Hyundais every day. I have never noticed any cues taken from a Benz. I’ll look closer at a CLS and see if I notice any.
Yes they sell Equus in the US. Nice car.
My hubby had a 1999 Sonata at one point, and his boss has a Jaguar S-Type. Same colour (dark green). It was kind of embarrassing when they were parked side by side.
Here is a 2001 Mercedes.
Here is a 2002 Hyundai Sonata.
You would have to be blind not to see the blatant rip off of the headlight cluster, for example.
I think part of the problem is that styling is dictated so much by aerodynamics and maximizing interior space that virtually every car looks pretty damn similar these days. It’s only really the plastic parts like the grille, the lights, and the badges that distinguish one from another and there’s really only so much you can do with them.
The OP and your post were about the CLS and current Hyundai Sonata, not the 2001 S-Class and 2002 Sonata.
Didn’t Hyundai get started by buying the rights to produce an old BMW model under their own brand name?
Not exactly. Hyundai’s first car was a license built Ford Cortina.
Is it just one car called the Equus? I’m pretty sure in Korea it’s a separate line, like Lexus and Toyota, or Acura and Honda.
I just saw a new BMW 328I-looked a lot like a new Hyundai Sonata.
So how close can a “copycat” car get, before they can be sued for infringement?
BTW, the prominent side ridges on these cars appears to be a look that is just about spent (I like smooth sides myself).
How long before stylists go back to the “wedge” look of the 1970’s?
I don’t know about Hyundai but for just about every Kia vehicle I can name the inspiration for it. Compare the Kia Spectra 5: Canadian Auto Review - New Car Reviews, News, and Photos with the Mazda Protege5: http://i.oodleimg.com/item/3046649191u_3x424x360f_2002_mazda_protege5/?1337430975
And of course Kia is a division of Hyundai.
I know. Those two were to my point that they have been doing this for years.
I tried to edit and add the 2012 Sonata and 2007 CLS, but missed the time window and didn’t feel like doing all the work over again, but here goes.
Note the single side crease around door-handle level leading into wrap-around rear-swept headlights, as well as the side windows and roofline. There are obvious differences, but if you slapped a M-B grill on a Sonata, one would be forgiven for guessing it was a 2007 S-class little brother to the CLS.
After just being at the local Hyundai/Kia dealer looking for my replacement car, I can say:
- They have an Equus there and it’s really nice
- I looked at the current Sonata and liked the look from the rear and side, but, to ME, the front looked just like a Toyota Camry.
I liked the look of the new Optima and bought that because, again in my opinion, I thought it looked similar to the older Acura’s before Acura started going nuts with all the fake chrome like everyone else. That wasn’t the only reason, though. It had good gas mileage and a ton of features compared to other cars in that price range. Plus, the warranty couldn’t be beat by anyone!