GrussGott

DAMMIT! I've made the mistake of thinking this whole thing through now. I've decided the core question can only be answered by our Greek philosophical forefathers.

What follows is an imaginary conversation I had with Aristotle just minutes ago.

GG: What's up A-dawg? Hey, I have a question for you: is it wrong to put an AMG badge on a car that is not an AMG, when said badge is similar size, style, and placement of a real AMG badge??

Aristotle: Yes, yes, this is an interesting question double-g ... tell me, what does it mean for a car to be an AMG?

G: uh, well, I, uh ...

A: Ah HA! You see double-g? To answer this question we must ask it teleologically: what is the purpose of an AMG?

G: Oh, ok, that's easy: an AMG is a sports and track oriented car that's also capable of being a daily driver. It can run on the track all day, but also take the kids to school or do a milk run.

A: And so an AMG is not just a collection of parts but a specific assembly of parts capable of a specific purpose!

G: Well yes, I suppose that's true: an AMG has a specific purpose that it's capable of ...

A: Exactly! But it's not just the assembly either, is it? It's the specific assembly for a specific purpose done by a specific manufacturer, AMG!

G: So an AMG is a specific assembly for a specific purpose by a specific manufacturer, AMG.

A: Precisely.

G: So putting an AMG badge on a car is wrong if you are either not AMG or your car is not capable of an AMG's purpose or both!

Aristotle: Correct: applying an AMG badge to a car that is not an AMG is, therefore, ethically wrong.

QED.

AMG_Eric

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars...formance-fads/

Great article.

"Just about every luxury automaker has a high-performance line. Mercedes-Benz has its AMG badge. BMW has its M division. These top models cost a lot more than the basic cars, and sometimes, instead of paying a $25,000 premium for the real thing, people buy the "AMG" or "M" badge and slap it on the backs of their cars. While these guys deserve bonus points for initiative, I'm not sure who this is supposed to impress. The only people paying attention to badges are hardcore car enthusiasts—the people who are going to know right away that you have a Mercedes-Benz C350 with an AMG badge and not a real C63 AMG. To end this weird dance, I propose we adopt the European version of this fad. Instead of adding badges to premium cars, Europeans remove them altogether. It's a good look."

Ejbrock

+1 on going Euro without badges.

GrussGott

Yeah, they do that as a tax dodge though so it's basically saying, "HI - I'm evading taxes!"

We don't have that problem in the US (de-badging to hide cost) and the US is the top market for Ms and AMGs and both companies want to advertise their product or they wouldn't be slapping those names on everything in the first place.

that said, it is an ethical solution: either people should maintain their factory badging or remove it, but don't fake it.

LateC300

how do they evade taxes by removing badges?...

cenzo86

I'd also like to hear more about this tax evasion... For my friend.
FWIW I'm debadging by c450 right now. I ordered vanity plates with C450-AMG so the model designation is a bit redundant.
So back to the way to avoid taxes?

LateC300

unless the rest of the world doesnt use VIN for vehicle registration, sounds like crap to me

GrussGott

Well that's hyperbolic of me - but there's kind of 3 factors:

(1.) Cars taxed by displacement / horsepower; while this is mostly computerized across Europe (via VIN) it can be gamed ... and some do

(2.) Until a few years ago it was quite common for, say, a German restaurant owner raking in cash to take a big pile of it to a Austria during a "spa weekend" and deposit it thus avoiding German taxes. In those cases you didn't want to advertise your more expensive car and general lifestyle.

(3.) Cultural - this has nothing to do with taxes. People either want to be modest about what they're spending on their car and/or they don't want their neighbors to know they bought the big engine (less green).

Mr. J

(4.) It looks cooler

jahquan3

Very entertaining thread. I stumbled upon this and was captivated from the start lol.
I don't believe in fake badging and I'd never de-badge my vehicle personally. Something about it seems odd to me as well even though I have friends who just like the look of no badges.
Although I have a few neighbors with E350s and surprisingly both are de-badge but their other vehicles have all the badges on them. So I call BS on that sometimes as well.

However if OP likes his car as he's modded it more power to him. It has no effect on me or anyone else really. Enjoy

Biggreenogg

Yep. Ordered my C43 debadged because I like the cleaner look.

Biggreenogg

So Aristotle ... Since Mercedes owns AMG, is any car badged by Mercedes as AMG an AMG?

Just a question because I agree with your ethical conclusion

Jdem22

I love that this thread got woken up again. Very entertaining to hear how "passionate" people are on both sides of this issue.

Makes for some good reading!

LateC300

if i put an AMG badge on both sides of my trunk, will it be more convincing?

Yeezus

Lol this thread has me laughing so hard. I completely get both sides, sometimes I see some guys put m badges on a 7 series.

I think a debadged look is much better, it doesn't make me think you're trying to hard.

but every car maker does this s line, m on the bmw, f sport for Lexus.

The c450 has them right on the sides which I think makes it look cheaper. But I know that the c450 is a car that can beat most of the cars on the road so I don't mind the amg "inspired" look.

As long as you don't put c63 I think your car looks great, tasteful mods and not going overboard.

Jdem22

The only badges I like on a car are the manufacturers logo. Although gun to my head, I kinda dig the Audi RS badge. M and AMG badges say "beast" to me which can be cool, but the RS badge is kinda "classy but ominous".

Something about the red hash mark in the badge and the big oval tailpipes.

Mikey53

[QUOTE=LateC300;6892488]if i put an AMG badge on both sides of my trunk, will it be more convincing?[/QUOT





Only if you put little German flag decals next to them! : )

LateC300

and remember, OP wants to put on AMG GT-S replica wheels as well. all sorts of blurred lines. can't wait to see the finished product if he ever decides to come back to this forum...

foxberry

I will admit, I had the AMG badge put on my C450. For me, it was really more about how "non-symmetrical" it looked stock, with the 'C450' badge on the left & nothing on the right. Had it came with a "4MATIC" badge on the right, that would have been fine and I would have let it be. I'm not a "de-badger", so I wasn't going that route.

Madman7

:: Furiously searching eBay for Maybach badging for my GLC300 ::

Thanks, loved reading this thread. OP can do whatever he wants. In public, I'd sneer a little but just because I think it's silly - no judgement on the person who did it, just not at all my style. My GLC came with the illuminated star (I bought it while it was already on the Atlantic, had everything else I wanted) and I'm seriously considering unplugging it.

Biggreenogg

Might want to wait until after Christmas

95Sinned420

At the end of the day, it's just a wannabe AMG. Just like the earlier comment about Type-R badges being put on the regular Civics and Integras. It's a phony.
It is no different than buying a fake branded product and sporting it as if it were genuine. Think of fake knock-off shoes and purses. Sure, the way it looks that appeals to you, no doubt the AMG styling is nice. But to put on a badge that says you have a hand crafted engine under the hood, when in fact you don't, is just shady. Who are you trying to fool, the public? You might as well put on the C63 badges as well and make it look like the real thing.

Vipershade

Mercedes made it clear with the x43 lines, that "AMG" doesn't stand for "hand crafted" engine.

Biggreenogg

+1

But then again, what do they know?

JBMCL

This is so freaking true!

When I had a E46 M3, no girls knew what it was, all they saw was the BMW badge! It only attracted guys to it