Can anyone tell me why German BMWs do not have any badging on them? Been in Stuttgart for a month and noticed that 99% of all BMWs do not have any identifying badges on them. No 335, 535 or 530 or 528.....nothing. You may see the odd X-Drive logo on the back but that's all.
Mercedes cars seem to have badges on them (but not all of them).
Is there a reason for this?
God I want a F11 5 series wagon. They are even better looking in person. But they are expensive as hell here.
Right, but the discussion is about why some owners choose to debadge cars that would otherwise be badged from the factory. Design concepts aren't really any more relevant to that discussion than the designer's original drawings and models as they're not what the factory supplies to customers. My point was just that this particular argument is something of a non-sequitur for those reasons.
You must have missed some of my prior posts in this thread, but to sum up:
Culture (at both manufacturer and owner levels) accounts for whether or not designations are present, but design accounts for whether or not designations should be present. Again, I'm not judging, just saying. And don't forget BMWNA requires badging (US being heavy on marketing and advertising), while BMWAG does not; it's like, do you really need someone driving next to you to know whether or not you have four wheel drive!? The badge is there so people look at it and say to themselves, "hey, I should look into this xDrive thing!".
While tenuated and far more egregious, I also relate this, design-wise, to appliances and electronics that have stickers and decals on them out of the box stating specifications (and to my dismay, I've crossed paths with some who don't remove same)... now that's shameful!
"badging is absolutely not part of car design and it's not the way cars were intended to look by their creators"
Nonsense. All designers know that the cars will have badges and if you think the badges are just ordered by the admins and aimlessly slapped on the cars you are wrong. They are designed for each car just like any other trim.
Before debadging become popular you saw debadged cars only when they had been re-painted after an accident and the badges were on back order. Maybe that's why I think of a debadged car as looking unfinished or something suspect from a car con shop.
All designers know that the cars will have badges and if you think the badges are just ordered by the admins and aimlessly slapped on the cars you are wrong. They are designed for each car just like any other trim.
It's not whether or not designers 'know' their cars will have badging, it's that they don't design cars with badging in mind; being bound by such constraint would be inane! I'm also sure those who design cars are not the same as those who determine final badge placement; you realize how many hands are involved, right?
Badge font, size and spacing is also not as specific to each model as you suggest; it's more or less uniform throughout the entire model lineup over the course of generations, with only minute, incremental changes over long periods of time; 70's badging looking slightly different from 80's and 90's badging and 90's badging looking slightly different from what we've had since the early 00's.
It's amazing how far people will argue in order to rationalize their debadging. Again, no matter the reason, you either will look trendy to some or a poser to others. But you shouldn't have to rationalize this because it doesn't matter just remove your badges and call it a day. I just hope they continue putting them on my car.
It's amazing how far people will argue in order to rationalize their debadging. Again, no matter the reason, you either will look trendy to some or a poser to others. But you shouldn't have to rationalize this because it doesn't matter just remove your badges and call it a day. I just hope they continue putting them on my car.
I'll call it a day on debadging, but unfortunately, you sparked a thought: What if BMW stopped putting badges on their cars? Would people buy aftermarket badges to show off that they have a bigger engine or xDrive? If that's the case maybe they could then get badges for major options like some people do with their signatures here at the Fest. Anyone with Photoshop & an hour to spare want to create that trunk lip? :rofl:
This seemingly trivial thread is touching a great lot of aspects - and aesthetics is by far the least important of them. The most important - though few people admit it openly - is about psychology, vanity etc.
Some people prefer debadging because - especially with the xDrive logo now at the back - it all can look cluttered. I'm one of them.
Some people would debadge their low-end models (like 528i) in order to pretend they have a better car (550i, for instance). Yet others - for the exactly opposite reason; having spent premium on a 550i, they prefer to stay low-profile... If any, I'm in the latter category.
But there also are people who put the M badge on their very low-end, worn and old vehicles; I can see plenty of them here in Poland. Speaking of which - you can spot quite a number of seemingly debadged BMWs here whose badges just got stolen by vandals, or "art collectors"!
Psychology aside, I AM going to my 528ix simply because I like the clean look; the BMW roundel is proud and nice enough to indicate what I'm driving
Piotr
PS. Plus, I'm used to driving a debadged BMW - I've done so for 10 years with my old good 330i...
I agree with Stealth. The majority of debadged BMWs you see in Europe are of the low displacement variety. I go there a lot and travel with local car guys; their typical reaction to seeing a debadged car is to look at the exhaust. 99% of the time it's a dinky single pipe, indicating there's not much displacement under the hood. They (at least the guys I've worked with) chuckle at that, the assumption being the owner is 'posing'. Now and then you'll see a more expensive model debadged, but it's rare.
1. Germans are snobs and love cars. They debadge their cars because they figure if you are a car enthusiast you know what is under the skin, and it does not need to be advertised. They also don't compare or display their wealth like Americans.
2. Germans are very private people. Do not get too close to them when you are being introduced. Shake their hands, in order from dad, mom, and even the children. Look at their eyes when you shake their hands. Never, never hug them. That's reserved for the family only. When you are accepted as their friends and go to their homes, the host will serve fine liquor or wine (if they drink) after a meal or their afternoon sweet with coffee or tea.
How do I know? I have more German than American friends.
In many EU countries, BMW are expensive compared to US, The lowest price for a 5-series (520d) without options is about 100.000 USD. A 550 will cost about 200.000 USD. So a badge will only say "Rich", "Richer", or "Richest". Therefore, most EU cars are without badges. What you pay for a BMW 550 in US is what we in EU pay for a Volvo V60 (and even a Volvo V60 can be ordered unbadged....)
I lived almost 30 years in Europe, 4 years in Africa and 10+ years in my new home the US of effing A and I'm as proud of my Viking heritage as I am of this amazing place and awesome people that has adopted me and my family as friends, neighbours, colleagues and fellow citizens with no prejudice or hostility whatsoever. Go U.S.A! That said, Germans are cool and make amazing cars. Debadge all you want!
Let us consider this post dead and the horse flogged.
I had no idea this would hit 5 pages. Zoiks.
I guess there a number of reasons why de-badged cars are so common here. If I did order a BMW (regardless of engine and associated badge) I guess I am too lazy to bother taking the badges off and am not trying to make a statement. 528, 535 or 550.......that's the way the car was delivered and I'll just keep it like that. YMMV
Very nice thread. As a European, I have no clue why they debadge cars. However, the "friendliness" thing is 100% correct. Some people (countries) in Europe take friendship more seriously than others, but ALL take it more seriously than U.S.
This said, I'm off to REbadge my car, I just need to find a good Peugeot donor for a nice 301 badge
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