I was wondering how Ineos was able to copy so much of the original Defender. Turns out LR never patented the original design of the Defender. When they found out what Ineos was doing, they tried and a judge shot them down saying that by that time it wasn't unique enough from other boxy SUVs.
The newly introduced SUV is the pet project of a British chemical company founder who loves old-school off-roaders, and it's coming to the U.S.
www.caranddriver.com
@JeepColorado There was a story about it long ago on this thread somewhere about the licensing lawsuit that JLR tried putting on Ineos over the body and that is how it went down; no patent on the design but I think they had it for the name. JLR lost and Ineos went forward and here it is. Almost impossible to win a design patent lawsuit cuz the next guy can make a few changes and split the seams; I think that is the same reason why the Ineos grill set up is very different; almost too different on purpose cuz that is a sure design of the legacy Defender they probably intentionally redirected but then kept the headlights as an ****....lol.
@soflorovers very true, but like my point I mentioned pages back; it takes legal processes so if I take my Ineos to BMW cuz I think I have an engine issue but then it turns out its a body control harness, who fixes it and who is responsible for the warranty? That is all I want to know; I think Ineos owes the population a support plan on a vehicle that is put together with something like 7 different countries worth of labor and manufacturers to say "Here is your Ineos, this is how it gets fixed and where you take it."
Exactly what Tesla had to do when they did not have dealers and their support plan was massively expensive their first years but they held to their customer base even though they got beat up pretty bad over some big issues. I'm all for Ineos and want to see this thing all over and I would love one if it is affordable and makes sense, regardless, there is no talk of dealerships, warranty service, etc.. on the public sites yet to what I can see to answer the questions I think many people want to know. Just cuz it has a BMW engine in it, doesn't mean BMW is going to fix it or be responsible for it or put it in front of their service claims unless that is what the agreement is. If my door seals leak, panel shifts, wheel bearing, etc.. who gets that service call?
On that note, like I said before I am not a warranty guy but on a new Vehicle you bet your ****** I am to get things fix that are deficient; I'm not talking about squeaks and rattles, etc. but that will surely get fixed if its an issue by the dealer/manufacturer as I don't do the J##P Spirit thing; I'm referring to major issues that limp the vehicle or are significant enough that either inhibits the usage or high expense items. 95% of maintenance can be done at home no issues, but that is not what I paid for on a new vehicle that comes with a warranty and service plan. If I am out and about and have a problem and do my repair, I could very well have just voided my warranty on the entire powertrain. Is their talk of Ineos dealerships, service centers, etc. in their PR releases?
So yeah, if I have a 3 year or 5 year warranty service plan with my sweet new G-Fender (that's what I am calling it Defender/G-Wagon
), I mean Ineos needs to inform peeps on the plan for consumer confidence or warranty claims and lawsuits will bury these guys in litigation. Tons of people talking about how they do not have a JLR dealer in their area for hundreds of miles and it was a showstopper for a JLR purchase to travel hundreds of miles for service/warranty; Ineos has exactly ZERO in the country and people are like yeah, BMW engine, they will fix the whole vehicle...........INEOS actual public release; crickets!
I can't be the only guy thinking this; too many assumptions on that one for me to get on board. I'd like to think BMW might pick up the service on the whole vehicle but until Ineos releases that publicly, I think we are making a lot of assumptions at this point.
