Hyundai, KIA and Genesis has been copying designs for a long time now. Its well-known.

The G70 is a good looking car but it definitely has an Infiniti front look, Audi Grille, C300 Rear/2 Series BMW rear, and a Chrysler badge.

 

Luc Donckerwolke (born 19 June 1965) is a Belgian car designer at Hyundai's Genesis luxury division and a former design director at Volkswagen Group's Bentley, Lamborghini and Audi.[1] Hyundai appointed Donckerwolke in 2015 to lead Genesis[2] in design alongside Peter Schreyer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luc_Donckerwolke

Design emphasisI n 2006, Hyundai hired Thomas Bürkle as head of the company's design center in Russelsheim, Germany. Bürkle had previously worked for BMW, having designed the BMW 3 Series (E46), and the BMW 6 Series (E63).[25]
[26] Hyundai's current design philosophy is known as Fluidic Sculpture,[27] which is heavily inspired by nature.[28]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyundai_Motor_Company

Pierre Leclercq, a former designer at BMW
As head of design for Great Wall Motors since 2013, Leclercq oversaw projects including a revamped Haval H6 SUV that was “well-received for its refined design”, Kia Motors said in a statement on Thursday.Leclercq also designed BMW’s SUV models X5 and X6 before overseeing the German automaker’s M performance sub-brand. “Leclercq is one of few star designers who have experienced all of the major automobile markets including Europe, the United States and China,” Kia said.https://www.reuters.com/article/us-k...-idUSKCN1BP074

Peter Schreyer (born 1953) is a German automobile designer,[1] widely known for his design contributions to the Audi TT.[2][3]
[4] He has been the chief design officer at Kia Motors since 2006[5] and on 28 December 2012, was named one of three presidents of the company.[6] He is currently the chief designer at Hyundai-Kia and works with Luc Donckerwolke, former design director of Volkswagen Group - Bentley, Lamborghini, and Audi from 2016.[7]In 2006, Car Design News called the Audi TT one of "the most influential automotive design in recent time".[8]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Schreyer

SEOUL (Reuters) -- Hyundai Motor Corp. and affiliate Kia Motors Corp. hired Albert Biermann, chief engineer for BMW's M performance cars and light trucks, to develop performance models and improve ride and handling.As executive vice president, Biermann will become the South Korean automakers' second-highest foreign executive after design chief Peter Schreyer, formerly of Audi AG."We will have him in charge of developing high-performing vehicles and leading [research efforts on] performance, safety, durability, noise oscillation and system development," Hyundai said in a statement released Monday in Seoul.
http://www.autonews.com/article/2014...mance-car-push

Hyundai Motor Co. has recruited another BMW engineer, this time to lead vehicle architecture development at the Genesis luxury brand as the upstart marque begins to expand its lineup and target international rivals from Germany.Fayez Abdul Rahman was appointed vice president of Genesis architecture development to set vehicle specifications on everything from electronic systems to user experience from the early stages of product planning, the company said in a =RES&listPageUrl=news.release]news release Tuesday.A key focus will be improving the performance and quality of Genesis vehicles, Hyundai said.Rahman, 58, is a German national who previously led concept and platform architecture development for several model lines at BMW, including the 7-Series, X models and high-performance M-brand vehicles.
http://autoweek.com/article/luxury/h...gineer-genesis

 

 

I know that Hyundai hired German designers and engineers. Just because they hired German designers and engineers - doesn't excuse them to make something that is so close in similarity to German cars. Could have been a bit more original is all I'm saying.

 

If you previously knew they were hired, why did you say they were copying the other brands? Artists (designers) have an individual 'style' that is unique. This will carry through in their work.

 

Genesis dethrones Porsche as top brand in J.D. Power's APEAL study

Porsche's 13-year reign as champ has been ended by an upstart luxury brand from South Korea, and that's pretty cool.

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/g...-porsche-2018/

 

Because they are still copying other brands....

Sure designers have individual style that is unique but they can make better effort to be more original. Originality and uniqueness is important to a young brand like Genesis. Hyundai head could have asked for more original - make Genesis unique to Genesis. I like the G70 design - I think it looks handsome. However - I do wish they could have been more original. I want to see a G70 and think Genesis - not think 3-4 car companies having a baby.

This isn't me bashing Genesis - its just constructive criticism. I want Genesis to do well so it can push other car companies to do well.

 

Point taken on competition being a good thing.

 

No, those are not individual styles showing, those are copying of design traits from various brands, probably done to make the G70 "fit in" with the established entrants and seem more established itself.

Also none of those designers were involved with the current crop of the G70's competitors which this car copies.

If Genesis and this car are to be successful, their own uniquely compelling styling is a must. Looking like a car from an insurance commercial is not a good plan, and if hiring designers from other companies results in that, maybe that should change.

 

As Mr. Burns from the Simpsons say it, "Excellent". That's what I would call your comment.

I agree. If Genesis and this car are to be successful, they need their own unique styling. Genesis should have something that is unique to Genesis - similar to how every brand has something that is unique to themselves. This allows the brand to stand out and make a statement. A good example of this is the Germans and Lexus now.
Regardless of how you feel about styling of each of those brands - they made sure their cars scream their brand name.
Mercedes Benz - Grille, and headlights.
BMW - Angel eyes and kidney grille.
Audi - LED stripe lights
Lexus - L check mark LED lights.
That's on top of their own in depth design language that is unique to themselves.

I want people to see a Genesis G70 on the road and be like "Yeah. That's a G70.". I don't want people confused on what it is.

 

If they can build a quality product at a good price, it will be successful. At the end of the day I doubt the majority of car owners will care less about whether or not some people say their car has similar looks to another brand. Some may even take it as a compliment. How many years did it take for Lexus to settle into the current spindle grill and over all 'look'. This is still a first gen car and will evolve over time.

 

Sure. If they can build a quality product at a good price, it will be successful. However - I would argue that is only successful for the car - not the brand. If the Genesis brand wants to transcend time and be remembered, it has to do something unique to themselves. It has to build a history of design.

Yes. I do fully understand the Genesis brand is young and it takes awhile to grow. But they should grow by making their own unique designs, learning from them, and changing them over-time. I feel like Genesis is pretty much just throwing bits and pieces together until they have something.

Yes. It took Lexus many years to settle on the current spindle grill and their L Check mark design. You have to remember Lexus never really copied competitor designs. They did their own thing, learned from it, and evolved into the spindle grille. That's what I want to see from Genesis.

I'm just trying to leave my 2 cent because I want the Genesis to stand out as a Genesis and be better. When your brand is not well known and you have a host of designs from other companies, people will get confused on what car that is. But if you have a uniqueness to it, people will know its a Genesis.

 

Going to have to disagree there, the first few generations of the LS was a "copy" of the S-class. Many magazines and journalists said just that. Where Lexus shined was giving you the S-class look without the s-class reliability and repair costs. And I don't know if the Lexus design path is much to credit. They have given us such beauties as the bloated sea cow that was the SC430, and some of the worst origami looking SUV's ever sold to the public.

Hyundai/Kia/Genesis is working into its own design language over time and has made monumental strides in quality (moving form the bottom to up near the top.) This silly arguing that such and such looks like this, or they stole the front/back/vent/etc from another company is ridiculous, very little int he automotive design world is truly original. If the design looks good as a whole, which allot of the new stuff does, why all the hate?

 

Like I said, they "never really did". Maybe I wasn't clear and I do apologize. I meant that in a way where Lexus didn't do that much copying. Yes. Lexus is guilty for taking some design ques from Mercedes-Benz. My point was Lexus didn't do it to the level Genesis is doing - at least the of the past still had some uniqueness.

Style and beauty is in the eye of the be-holder. Good looking or not - they still offered designs that were unique to themselves. Its better to fail trying than copy multiple design ques.

Again - I'm not trying to hate. I'm not sure why when stating something that is negative in a constructive way is hate. I didn't out right say the car is ugly or they should stop copying. I merely gave my 2 cent that said Genesis should try to be more unique and start a design que of their own. Especially in today's market, where the competition is insanely harsh, they need to stand out more and show they are a serious luxury brand. Its a bit hard to do that when you have such a good looking car like the G70 looking like other German/Japanese cars. Non-automotive enthusiasts might even think its not even a Genesis and that's the issue here. I want people to know its a Genesis when they see a G70 - not think its another brand.

 

I agree that an easily identifiable brand "look" is a good thing when selling your product, especially if that product is trying to establish itself in the marketplace (just don't make all your cars look like a mini-me of your flagship, Audi!) However, I believe it is better for the cars to look good, even if harder to identify than to be ugly but easily identifiable. I will admit the G80 turns my head more than any Lexus this side of the new 2019 LS and the LC. Someone in my neighborhood just picked up an all black Kia Stinger, very sharp car in the flesh, definitely a head turner. Even the G90 has a presence when parked among the masses, more so than a Lexus GS or the past gen LS. I have not seen the G70 in person yet, but expect it will be a nice car as well. At this point from an exterior design perspective Audi has started cribbing sharper angles from Hyundai, if we are going to play the "who wore it best" game.