Chinese Automaker Tries To Copy Viral Land Rover Stunt, Fails Spectacularly

I always laugh when I see a car commercial and they throw one of those "Do Not Attempt" disclaimers in the corner during glamor shots of a Buick Envista carving up a windy mountain road.

Hell, I think I remember seeing one of those in an old Kia commercial where break-dancing, human-sized hamsters drove Kia Souls.

I'm not even sure how I would begin to attempt that if I wanted to.

Well, it turns out that automakers should take this same advice about not replicating ads.

Back in 2018, Land Rover went viral for an ad in which they sent a Range Rover Sport PHEV up the 999 steps of the "Stairway to Heaven" on Tianmen Mountain as part of a marketing stunt.

It was really impressive.

Well, seven years later, Chery Automobile, a large Chinese automaker, decided that it would like to take a crack at the same thing.

I mean, how hard could it be? It's just a straight shot up nearly 1,000 stairs, and Land Rover did it with a car that was over half a decade older.

Well, it turns out it's not easy, and Chery's attempt was less than stellar.

Especially if "stellar" means not damaging the guard rail on the sides of the staircase.

Whoops.

That clip is making the rounds online, and I can't imagine the Chery Automobile folks are super jazzed about it.

I mean, it's not like anyone buys a car based on how quickly it can climb a bunch of staircases in a row, but the optics can't be good for business.

That said, I guess if you had a choice between the SUV that made it up a bunch of steps and one that fell down those steps and crashed through a guardrail, most people would probably opt for the former.