Cloudy in Beijing Blogging about my time in China

The Star Trek car

Notice something interesting about this car? (Other than the fact it's not supposed to be parked there.)

Only Star Trek fans would notice this. But the logo on the back of the car is strikingly similar to the one seen in the famous sci-fi franchise.

As any fan would know, all Starfleet officers wear an insignia badge that usually looks like the one pictured on the left. Save for a few small differences, Changan Auto's logo is basically the same.

I looked on company''s website and found an explanation for their logo. No mention of Star Trek, but it does use the word "celestial" at one point:

"The logo comes from the oval track of celestial body’s revolution, and the two letters “C” and “A” from “CHANA”. Through abstract combination and deformation, the logo becomes a mobile celestial body. The rising arrow head and the refined steering wheel shape indicate that Changan is a swift and smart vehicle, riding steadily on the road of auto industry to development."

To boldly go in your sedan. I was also surprised when I saw one of the car company's buildings. It looks like a Chinese-version of Starfleet headquarters.

Changan Auto isn't the only group in China to use the Starfleet insignia. Below is the logo for the China National Space Administration.

It's interesting to see how even Star Trek has influenced China in its own tiny little way, assuming it isn't just coincidence. But I don't know if you call this inspiration. Or just a form of stealing. Using the logo for your country's space administration is one thing. But putting it on the back of a cheap car?

The sight of logo lookalikes is a very common one in China. BYD, another car company in China, has clearly modeled one of their logos off of the BMW brand. Li Ning, a Chinese sports clothing company, uses a logo similar to Nike's.

Google also recently warned Chinese search engine Goojje to stop using its logo. At present, Goojje has yet to abide.