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7-slot Grill - Property of Jeep???

Posted by mike on 2002/1/27 23:00:00 (298) reads

About a year ago we reported on a potential lawsuit regarding Jeep's legendary 7-slot grill and how Hummer was considering using a 7-slot grill in their new Hummer H2 (if you're a registered user of the site, you can view the story here.) The Toledo Blade recently ran a story with an update of the lawsuit, here's a snippet:

AM General Corp. plans to begin building the $50,000 Hummer H2 in late spring, but whether the massive sport-utility vehicle will arrive on dealership lots with a Jeep-like, seven-slot grille remains in dispute.

A preliminary injunction hearing for an ongoing grille-trademark dispute between DaimlerChrysler AG and AM General, along with Hummer brand-owner General Motors Corp., is to begin Feb. 4. The hearing in U.S. District Court in South Bend, Ind., is scheduled for five days.

The hearing will be held nearly a year after months of talks between DaimlerChrysler’s U.S. unit and GM broke down and competing lawsuits were filed in Toledo and South Bend, where the dispute is to be settled. A trial date has not been set.

The Chrysler unit is seeking a court order to stop production of the H2 with a seven-slot grille only, not that of the entire SUV if another grille design is used, said spokesman Ann Smith.
AM General spokesman Craig MacNab declined to say yesterday whether the South Bend company has another grille design for the H2 if the injunction is granted. There isn’t a specific plan in place, said Alan Adler, a spokesman for GM, which acquired the Hummer brand in 1999 and designed the H2.

"That will all be in the hearing," Mr. MacNab said. "We believe that our position in this matter that is in litigation is very strong."

DaimlerChrysler has three trademarks dating back to 1981 for the seven-slot Jeep grille, which is used on the Toledo-made Liberty and Wrangler and Detroit-made Grand Cherokee. AM General, which like Jeep previously was owned by American Motors Corp., began using its grille design on huge military vehicles called Humvees in 1981 and got a trademark in 1996.

Check out the entire article.

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Anonymous	Posted: 1969/12/31 18:00 Updated: 1969/12/31 18:00
	Originally posted by: AnthonyGunsworth A friend of mine is an engineer at gm and was able to take home the h2 for a few days. I was given the opportunity to drive it, what a piece of shit. Not only should it not have a Jeep grille, it shouldnt have the Hummer name either. hooray for GM!!!

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Anonymous	Posted: 1969/12/31 18:00 Updated: 1969/12/31 18:00
	Originally posted by: Griff There was a study done by one of the two companies in the lawsuit over what people thought the brand was and that told it all. It was something like 70 percent that had never seen the H2 before thought it was a jeep because of the front end. 70 PERCENT!!! Now the Tahoe platform is perfectly find for the Tahoe, and is you want thug it out in a Escalade but really. Now they are going to label the H2 as the demonstration of how rugged teh platform is. Rugged my a**. This H2 is the equivalent of the KJ for the Jeep line. It is nothing but a marketing plan to get new buyers in at the expense of putting bastard child SUV's into a line that is so incredibly different from them. But thats what marketing does, finds more ways to make money. It's sad. SOLID AXLE FOREVER REAL JEEPS HAVE 2 SOLID AXLES Griff

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Anonymous	Posted: 1969/12/31 18:00 Updated: 1969/12/31 18:00
	Originally posted by: D. Wood here is my comment: GM / Hummer blew it. Anyone who has to COPY the leader to try to make himself look tough, obviously doesn't have the guts (or the engineering strength and quality) to cut it on his own. Even if GM wins the litigation battle they'll lose the marketing war, because everytime a guy sees the Hummer grill he'll be reminded of that, and reminded that if you want the real deal, you need to buy a Jeep. Copying the Jeep grill will hurt Hummer more than it helps them. D. Wood, M.B.A., LL.B.

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Anonymous	Posted: 1969/12/31 18:00 Updated: 1969/12/31 18:00
	Originally posted by: XJKEN To guys like myself, this is a no brainer. Jeep had the original trademark dating back to 1981. It did not become a Hummer trademark until 1996 according to the above article. The question that I have is how in the hell did Hummer get their 1996 trademark if Jeep has had theirs since 1981 ? Is it legal for two companies to own the exact same trademark at the same time. It seems to me that using the seven slot grill on the original AM General was OK when AMC owner both divisions but, when they sold AM General, the seven slot grill should have reverted back to Jeep. I remember the first time I seen a photo of the military Humvee I thought it was the new military Jeep. Obviously quite a few other people think the same thing. I am sure that when a decision is made in this case only one vehicle will carry the seven slot grill, and I hope its JEEP. It would be great injustice if a judge awards it to GM. More of an injustice than even the "MERGER OF EQUALS". Rember that one ?

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Anonymous	Posted: 1969/12/31 18:00 Updated: 1969/12/31 18:00
	Originally posted by: Scott The H2 wasn't built to be a "real" off road vehicle because it doesn't need to be . The people who will be purchasing the H2 will probably never go off road with it. If these people were going to use it this way, they would purchase an original H1 (if they own a mint) or a Jeep. At first the lawsuit seems trivial, but millions of dollars and an image could be lost over this. I live in Mishawaka, IN where the H2 plant has just been constructed, and there is a great deal of local news coverage on this topic. Most of it is pro H2, but I say "Go get 'em Jeep".

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Anonymous	Posted: 1969/12/31 18:00 Updated: 1969/12/31 18:00
	Originally posted by: Erik Latranyi DCX should pursue this lawsuit to the ends of the earth. First, the grill is without question an intentional Jeep ripoff. GM wants to use the Jeep image to sell the Hummer H2. Second, the H2, if confused with the Jeep nameplate, would diminish the brand. The H2 is built on the Tahoe platform and is not going to be a real off-road vehicle in the spirit of the original Hummer or any Jeep ever made. Why doesn't GM just sell AM General to DCX so they can make a civilian version of the Hummer that real people can afford with reliability to boot. The current offering is just plain cheap. I do not want to imagine how bad the H2 is going to be. Erik


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