[Arsenic]

I recently came across the trend of ironic badging, a somewhat-approved-by-car-enthusiasts form of fake-badging. One example of this is of people in the USA who have replaced the Chevrolet badges on their SS with Holden badges instead (since the SS is effectively a rebadged Holden)

I own an MG Hector, and have been think for a while now of doing something like that. The Hector is a rebadged version of the Baojun 530, and is also sold as the Wuling Almaz and new Chevrolet Captiva in some markets.

Wuling and Baojun badges and lettering would be difficult to source here, but I could get them 3D-printed through a 3D Printing shop (I found 3D models of these badges online) - while Chevrolet badging should be fairly easy to find in India.

My questions are:

1 - Is this actually a good idea? Is it a genuinely funny little joke, or a stupid thought?
2 - Would this earn me a place on the W&W thread?

All help would be appreciated. Thanks!

[GTO]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing! Going to our homepage over the weekend

Going for a cooler badge is okay (Holden is arguably cooler than Chevrolet), but Baojun? No man. People will think you are an MG India employee.

Baleno owners should totally ironic-badge their cars with the more upmarket "T". Camry owners could get the iconic "L" as the car is the same as the ES under the skin .

[AtheK]

I have put a GT on my Vento, as I have it remapped to stage 2. If it pleases you, I don’t see a reason why you should not go ahead and do it.

[TheHelix0202]

Great thread idea, man. Always love some mild self deprecation.

I’d slap on a GSX-R badge on my Gixxer SF 155. Just for the shits and giggles.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by Arsenic

...
1 - Is this actually a good idea? Is it a genuinely funny little joke, or a stupid thought?
2 - Would this earn me a place on the W&W thread?

Modding a car totally depends on the owners taste. Weird or whacky again depends on the taste. For something as small as rebadging, I think you shouldnt break your head and just go ahead and do it.

If you feel good, keep it, or else, throw it away!

[Arsenic]

Another thing I need to consider here is also the legality of the modjob. Would this be something the cops would stop me for?

Appreciate all the inputs so far. @GTO would you consider the Chevrolet badge any cooler than the MG one?

@AtheK honestly, if I were you I’d probably sarcastically put a GTI badge as well

[DicKy]

One of my friend changed the KIA logo in his Kia Stinger to the 'E' badge from the Korean market. Looked badass, at the same time nothing fake about it. Daydreaming about buying it, thought about the same for the W204 C class. Putting some other badge instead of the Tri star IMHO thought would make it a generic looking car, taking away the Merc image baggage. My buddy said it would be a stupid idea, as any layman can recognise a Merc, even the unMerc looking models.

Originally Posted by Arsenic

1 - Is this actually a good idea? Is it a genuinely funny little joke, or a stupid thought?
2 - Would this earn me a place on the W&W thread?

All help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Wouldn't say it is a joke or W&W thread, but a genuine attempt by car owners to connect with the car's original roots. Though, in the case of MG...

Originally Posted by GTO

Baleno owners should totally ironic-badge their cars with the more upmarket "T". Camry owners could get the iconic "L" as the car is the same as the ES under the skin .

Baleno and Brezza owners could totally do that, especially the Brezza is already a favourite for Landrover/Ford/Jeep/Lexus grill jobs. But is there any legal aspect to it in india? Asking cause in the mid 2000s, Saudi police cracked down on rebadges as some sort of identity theft issue.

The typical Camry owners won't do that, but lots of Innova/ Fortuner owners are doing it.

[shancz]

Baojun isn't very attractive but maybe as a "showing the mirror" to those "Morris Garage" and "Brit Dynamics" ?
Maybe include a QR code with the Wikipedia link ?
If you do make sure not to damage any paint for it

Absolutely no idea on the legality of it but doesn't seem like the police would care unless someone at MG pokes them to, which could be possible given their history.

On the other cars, the current SCross should definitely get a BMW badge. At least the front would pass the believeability test, rear maybe not

[Latheesh]

When VW Vento was launched I had a wild dream of buying a black one, lower it by few mm, and replacing VW logo with Audi four rings (at front and rear).

[Vinod_nair]

Whatever you do, or don't do, first and foremost please get rid of the "Internet Inside" badge on your car.
Reminds me of the times in India, where one had to remove ones shoes to enter the computer room.

[Arsenic]

Originally Posted by Vinod_nair

Whatever you do, or don't do, first and foremost please get rid of the "Internet Inside" badge on your car.
Reminds me of the times in India, where one had to remove ones shoes to enter the computer room.

Thankfully, we bought a Super Hybrid, so instead of the Internet Inside badge, we have the odd Hybrid badge! I’ve been meaning to remove it for a while.

[COMMUTER]

I have a Ford Figo 1.5D BASE. It lacked the left hand side ORVM. I enquired about the availability and when it was available along with the fog lights, went to get them installed at the FASS. When I went there, I casually asked about the TITANIUM badge and was surprised to find out that they cost Rs. 250/- . I asked them to stick one on for causing properly ironic spite to make it appear like a 'phoool' option.

This was the car on the day of PDI.

[Kosfactor]

@Arsenic - You can add badges along with some visual mods to differentiate your vehicle from others of its kind if that is the intent.

There is a MS DZire running around in Bangalore with Pulsar OEM monogram in the rear end and a Pulsar acrilic logo across its front. Not sure what is the story behind it but looked interesting. I can imagine a black Ignis with a Kawasaki Ninja logo and associated livery on it, may look cool.

[charanreddy]

You can, but 99% of the folks on road wouldn’t get it. If this is a subtle punch , like a sort of inside joke , then go ahead, but don’t expect people to recognise the ‘smart’ change !! I doubt if even a few people would recognise the Bajoun badging.

Anyway these days you can spot Autos with badges ranging from Ford blue oval to the four rings of the Audi.

[GForceEnjoyer]

Most people on the road won't get it, but it's a fun idea. Perhaps I could put ST badges on our Fiesta or vRS badges on our Superb... If it gives you joy, go ahead