The 2009 Wheego Whip could be a twin brother of the Smart Car. Made in China, it's categorized as a NEV (neighborhood electric vehicles) The 2009 Wheego Whip is limited to speeds of 35 mph or less and can be driven only on certain of roads with speed limits under 30mph. The car is priced at $19,000 and is built off an existing Smart look alike called the Noble. The Whip will be partially built in China with final assembly here in the United States.
This information is about the first attempt to bring this car here.
Chinese Shuanghuan Noble Smart Fortwo's Motto is: “Smarter Than The Rest” Automobile manufacturers from China are very transparent when it comes to making copies of production models from other manufacturers. The Shuanghuan Noble only just went on sale in various European countries. smart, GmbH prevented Shuanghuan from showing their rendering of the Smart car at the Bologna Motor Show in Italy. Then it was called the Bubble .
In January Shuanghuan was given approval to import their BMW X5 clone called the Shuanghuan CEO to Europe. BMW was fighting vigorously to stop that from happening, and may still be fighting to have the CEO’s approval revoked.
Pricing for a Greek Shuanghuan Noble ranges between 12,898 USD and $17,000 compared to the Smart Fortwo coupe which starts at $14,437 in Europe.
It remains to be seen if Europeans will be tempted to go for the Noble (Bubble) in order to save few bucks.
Below is a story we published several months ago.
Smart Car Look-alike Shuanghuan Noble To Go On Sale in China This Summer.
Daimler who thinks the car a bit too dignified, succeeded in getting a temporary order from an Italian court, prohibiting the Noble from being exhibited at the Bologna Auto Show, which opens this month. Shuanghuan also sells the CEO, a midsize SUV that borrows an awful lot from the BMW X5's looks.
Smart Car Look-alike Shuanghuan Noble AMT To Go On Sale in China This Summer.
The Noble, due to appear at the Bologna Auto Show will not be displayed. Daimler who thinks the car a bit too dignified, succeeded in getting a temporary order from an Italian court, prohibiting the Noble from being exhibited at the Bologna Auto Show, which opens this month.
The Noble “Bubble” as it is being called is a four-seat front-engine driven car. The S6 model is also a City-Car, is 10 feet long, and has an 1100cc engine and seats four passengers. The two rear seats fold down and create a luggage compartment. The car wholesales for $4,500.
The legal battle between Daimler and Martin Motors is mounting.
The resemblance of the Smart Car (left) to the new Martin Motors Bubble (right) is striking to say the least, however from a legal standpoint, it may be difficult to resolve.
Shijiazhuang Shuanghuan Automobile claims their cars are identical to others already designed and manufactured by their Chinese counterparts and claim all cars now a copying each other and are similar to each other.
DC claims the Chinese automaker's Noble car infringes on design copyrights concerning smart, GmbH's cars and DaimlerChrysler called the Noble a “as blatant attempt to copy the design of the Smart ForTwo, no matter how it was executed.”
In early October, Martin Motors unveiled the Noble at the Bucharest auto show in Romania. It says Daimler did not take any legal action to prevent the Noble being shown at that show.
According to Martin Motors, Shuanghuan's European distributor, they have appealed the injunction and it hopes the case will be resolved before the Bologna show opening.
Daimler obtained a similar court injunction in Germany which prevented China Automotive Deutschland, the German distributor from showing the Noble at the Frankfurt IAA back in September. Distribution plans for the cars launch in Germany have stopped pending the German courts decision.
However, Viviana Martinelli spokeswoman for Martin Motors said "the company still plans to sell the Bubble despite Daimler's court action." Martin Motors took action in an Italian court demanding that Daimler demonstrate the validity of its exclusive rights on the Smart design.
It is still waiting for a ruling from the court. “We are determined to sell the Bubble in Europe because we are totally convinced it is a different product from the Smart ForTwo,” Martinelli told Automotive News Europe.
Martin Motors had planned to sell the Noble as the Bubble in the UK, to avoid problems with Noble Automotive who already sells the Noble M12 sports car in Europe. Noble is a car company that has made several models including the M12 GTO3, M12 GTO3R, M400 and the Noble 15.
Martin Motors plans to sell the Bubble in other European markets including Austria, Greece, Hungary, France, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain.
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The 2009 Wheego Whip could be a twin brother of the Smart Car. Made in China, it's categorized as a NEV (neighborhood electric vehicles) The 2009 Wheego Whip is limited to speeds of 35 mph or less and can be driven only on certain of roads with speed limits under 30mph. The car is priced at $19,000 and is built off an existing Smart look alike called the Noble. The Whip will be partially built in China with final assembly here in the United States. 
