Ford Stealing Styling Cues From VW?

Saw one of these the other day and thought, WTF?

Ford Sport Trac Adrenaline

VW GTI

Uh, have you been living under a rock for the past 5 years?

Or did you miss the passing resembance between a 500 and I'm not sure which audi/VW?

QUITE a bit more than a C pillar resemblence. If it's just that, then there a lot of copying going on.

E-

Eh, I can maybe see resemblance between the B5.5(01.5-05) Passat and the 500 in the basic shape. The grille treatment on the truck above just seemed like a total rip off, considering how vocal people were about the new grille styling of the VWs and Audis when they first came out.

alfadriver wrote: Uh, have you been living under a rock for the past 5 years? Or did you miss the passing resembance between a 500 and I'm not sure which audi/VW? QUITE a bit more than a C pillar resemblence. If it's just that, then there a lot of copying going on. E-

Oh, and I forgot- our Design VP, Jay Mays, used to be chief designer at VW/Audi.

Lots of long running jokes about it...

E-

alfadriver wrote:

alfadriver wrote: Uh, have you been living under a rock for the past 5 years? Or did you miss the passing resembance between a 500 and I'm not sure which audi/VW? QUITE a bit more than a C pillar resemblence. If it's just that, then there a lot of copying going on. E-

Oh, and I forgot- our Design VP, Jay Mays, used to be chief designer at VW/Audi. Lots of long running jokes about it... E-

I didn't realize that, but it makes sense.

I'll be so happy when the huge black grill craze is over. Every new VW looks like a mouth breather.

DILYSI Dave wrote: I'll be so happy when the huge black grill craze is over. Every new VW looks like a mouth breather.

Yup!

I love black and red but that is still a pretty lame styling cue

There's a 2009 Nissan Sentra running around here with a black vinyl panel on the bumper, I guess to make it look VW/Audi style.

VWs are gay.

Hasn't that sport trac adrenaline been around just as long as the new GTI?

I always thought that the original taurus had similar stylings to the Audi 100 that came out a couple years prior.

Hasn't that sport trac adrenaline been around just as long as the new GTI?

No, it will always be the domestic carmakers fault. Duh.

psst!! Hyundai and Kia copy everyone! shhhhhhh.

DILYSI Dave wrote: I'll be so happy when the huge black grill craze is over. Every new VW looks like a mouth breather.

Yup. I'm one of those who hates that as well. Over at vwvortex, someone once posted that the most common mod to the Mk.5 GTI was the Mk.5 "Rabbit" bumper cover, since it didn't have the lower grille portion.

I think they were trying to go a little retro..and remind us of this grille.

DirtyBird222 wrote: VWs are gay. Hasn't that sport trac adrenaline been around just as long as the new GTI?

Nope. New GTI came out in '06. The Adrenaline came out in '08.

In reply to 16vCorey:

Adrenaline concept with the same styling cues has been around for years, at leat 04 I think. It just took a long time for SOMEthing similar to make production.

Regardless of the styling ripoff, the SportTrac is as near useless as anything I've ever seen, right up (down?) there with the Subaru Baja and the rest of those pickups with the little dinky beds. WTF good is a pickup with a 4 foot bed?

Jensenman wrote: Regardless of the styling ripoff, the SportTrac is as near useless as anything I've ever seen, right up (down?) there with the Subaru Baja and the rest of those pickups with the little dinky beds. WTF good is a pickup with a 4 foot bed?

Agreed.

Jensenman wrote: Regardless of the styling ripoff, the SportTrac is as near useless as anything I've ever seen, right up (down?) there with the Subaru Baja and the rest of those pickups with the little dinky beds. WTF good is a pickup with a 4 foot bed?

Tall things that dont fit in a SUV? Think of it less as a small bedded pickup and more as a suv with a small bed. I kinda like them.

16vCorey wrote:

DirtyBird222 wrote: VWs are gay. Hasn't that sport trac adrenaline been around just as long as the new GTI?

Nope. New GTI came out in '06. The Adrenaline came out in '08.

The Adrenaline concept was initially shown in March of 2005 at the New York International Auto Show. Granted, the GTi was show at Paris in Sept of 04.

I prefer the baja over the sport track. it is more useful, especially with the fold down gate that extends the bed when the gate is down

Big/tall stuff that won't fit in an SUV? I couldn't fit the new 60" Sony TV in the Trooper and it wouldn't have fit in a SportTrac either. To avoid a $75 delivery fee, I used my 5x8 trailer. It would have easily fit in my old Nissan 4x4's bed.

The 4x8 sheet of plywood is the 'gold standard' by which pickup beds are measured, as in if it won't hold/carry that without assistance it ain't a real pickup. I can go with a shortbed (6') which can carry said sheet with the tailgate down and proper restraints but those dinky beds just don't get it. Can't even carry a dirt bike in them, by golly. So IMHO that makes the whole grille thing moot.

Okay, same idea different brand...I think the new Dodge Rams look like you took an 2010 Mustang and stretched it vertically.

or maybe the reverse since the dodge is a 2009 revision

I used to haul 4'x8' sheets of plywood in the old fox wagon with the back seat folded up. Yep, my crappy old VW was more of a truck than the SporTrac. That is until it looked like this.

Owww... sorry to see your truck come to such an ignominous end.