Your right. It was actually the point I was trying to make to the OP step by step. You did so much more succinctly.

Bottom line, If the car is not an AMG it should never have the AMG badge on it, period. Regardless of an AMG package etc. Badging non-AMG's with the badge water downs the brand and aids in AMG loosing its true identity. Its false over saturation. I honestly can't fathom why someone would want to put an AMG badge on a regular mercedes in the first place

I have the AMG Appearance package on my W212 and I have no AMG Badge on it.

AMG=2 Numbers
Non AMG= 3 Numbers

There are many narrow minded people in this world. How one country or some countries do certain thing doesn't mean the rest of the world does the same way.
I believe the guy is simply pointing out that some countries, the local Mercedes Benz (or BMW, Audi) corporation sell cars with the optional AMG or M appareance package with the badge on the car. This is actually a known fact in Asia.
What if a 65 year old lady, who knows nothing about car, bought a car like that. She probably doesn't even know what AMG is. Does it make her a poser? Do we make fun of her for something she did not do or did not know anything about?

+100

People who don't get this are clueless and the people who actually install AMG badges on non-AMG cars are total wanna-be posers.

It makes the local MB dealers/corporations in those countries posers. And they are actually misleading their customers by adding more prestige to a car that doesn't deserve it and sell it for more.

funny that the line is drawn at the trunk badge. any race-inspired-cosmetic-enhancement (rice) is technically posing, but for the most part it is perfectly acceptable for someone to enhance the appearance of their car with a lip or a spoiler.

also posing: buying an AMG car, enhancing performance, and then never taking it to the track. that shyt is straight poseur! and many dudes do that. we know this. it's lame because there's no autobahn here. when would that guy ever legally (safely) unleash that power? it doesn't matter as long as other people *think* his car is awesome.

this is the crap part of the argument: buying an AMG for a lot of dudes is about showing it off, and if the asian market waters down the badge, what is left to show off?

WOW! What a thread......... Seriously if someone wants to put AMG on the back of their car, who are we to judge? the real AMG enthusiast will know if its a AMG or not, a non AMG enthusiast will not know/care. BTW OP, you got some sexy cars!

Politicians don't really control the opening of that disastrous Pandora's Box...they just do as they are told.

Can there be enough crooked public sector officials and sweatshop pseudo-capitalists to drive a highline market that large? Is it really sustainable? And just because something becomes powerful and supposedly trendsetting via environmental, social, IP, and other trade crimes doesn't give those trends embraceable aesthetics.

If it was another market with the sketchy badging, would some people here be so defensive? I am waiting for the OP to create another "racist" cry, he likes to distract.

Most AMG cars aren't really fit for track duty anyway, too heavy. More for burnouts and drags - handling some of these beasts on a legitimate curvy track would be like herding a couple dozen cats, a bit of a handful.

Exactly, that is completely believable. The local agency can badge the cars or have them badged as they please.

I have a friend in HK who's senior citizen mother recently bought an E300 from the ZungFu monopoly. I should have him snoop around the place the next time he is there. Maybe get a badge for her "Elegance" line car

Many comments on this thread from patrons that have not seen the whole story. Mr. Leapingfrog claims MB in Germany makes non-AMG engine equipped cars and sends them out with the AMG badge glued on the trunk lid. Me and some other MB ENTHUSIASTS disagree with this.


"No engine, no badge. Period."


I go with the above sentence.

they used to put them on in munich, too. from the bimmer factory. lol.

Agreed! My SL is a case in point. It takes a soft touch on launch to avoid a smoky burnout and does a respectable job on the drag strip given what it is. Its piggish weight makes it a handful on the track and frankly not a ton of fun or should I say 2 tons

pffft! not a track car? my ***.

you guys need better excuses. you can get a mustang to do burnouts, save some cash in the process.

http://www.amgacademy.com/program/track

And somehow two people who disagree are convinced if they argue long enough that the other person will come around to their point of view?

I have been. Ran all of the AMGs at road America. The SLS is a nice handling track car and the CLK63 BS is a bona fide track beast. The C63 is a straight line beast. The SL is a pig just like I mentioned before. I found the W212s to be not much better. Will they hold their own against a Mustang or a Camero? probably so. Even my old SL55 sticker price was over 100k so I was thinking Porsche, BMW Ms, etc in comparison.

I didn't buy my SL to do burnouts. I bought it for the styling, the fit and finish, all the fancy comfort gizmos, the drop top, and the fact that it puts a smile on my face every time I mash on the throttle.

By the way, the AMG academy teaches you what your car is and isn't and how to get the most out of it.

Great. Then let's stop all the personal attacks.
Apparently,. Mercedes Benz's marketing strategy is different for different parts of the world. Let's blame MB for this. Case closed.

no cultural sensitivities here. MB could care less if narrow-minded americans think the new designs are tacky or not aesthetic. bottom-dollar logic is king. they are secretly laughing at you, when you think that their cars are all hand built by blond-haired blue-eyed aryans in lederhosen in some old-timey workshop. your imaginations and how they influence the opening of your wallets are comical to me, as well.

thanks for the input, makes sense to me

Agree that MB could care less about what you think. I'm surprised how some people here are working so hard - for free - on preserving MB's name brand. They could care less if someone slaps an AMG logo on their a$$ - AMG will still continue to retain its value for what it is.

The AMG Academy makes for a great weekend. I recommend it to anyone who gets the chance.

Who cares!!!!!

I'd be interested to know how many of you that "don't care" or don't think the OP is a poser or did anything wrong by adding his own AMG badge to his non-AMG car, also have installed your own AMG badge? Anyone have the ***** to admit it?

If you really didn't add your own badge, why not? Really, why not?