rb4580

the only ones to REbadge. They put Honda badges on their Acuras and Acura Badges on their Hondas. This is just my opinion but it's the most rice/gay thing I see on the road these days, and everybody I know agrees. you DO NOT see people with a toyota put a Lexus badge on or somebody with a Nissan put an Infiniti badge on. I mean, I just need some understanding. What is going on in the brains of these people in the Honda/Acura world that make them do this, everybody makes fun of them behind their back but the fast and the furious street crowd which is .00001% of the people and and just plain dumb... just getting out some anger about this... An Acura is an Acura, I don't care if Honda makes it, it's still an Acura. Can't we all just stop rebadging and get along!

Saintor_RENAMED

Not the only ones. I have seen plenty of JETTA rebadged BORA (true name in Europe). There are Toyota Cavalier that were sold in Asian markets. Alero is sold as a Chevrolet in Europe. The list is endless. But an Acura will always be an Honda.

Santacruz

I agree that it's a bit goofy. But IMO Acura branding is probably one of the companies biggest flaws. With the release of the TSX, Acura has a powerful offering in the highly competitive entry-level luxury market, yet if you look at every window in the Acura TSX you'll find the Honda logo. I like Honda but I think having Honda's logo mixed with the Acura's is just as goofy as kids placing Acura stickers on Hondas and Honda stickers on Acuras.

Brad

And nearly all of the Acura models here in the US and Canada are Hondas everywhere else. The Honda NSX. The Honda Legend (We now call it the RL, but it's always been Honda Legend elsewhere.) The Honda MDX. The Honda Integra (Now the RSX, but it's still Honda Integra elsewhere.) Yup, Acura IS Honda, a heritage not to hide and neither ricey nor gay.

Owners of other makes do remove badges and re-do. I've seen IS300's with the Lexus and IS300 removed; in some cases I've seen a name I'm not familiar with, maybe Altira or Altezza?).

I've seen countless debadged Maximas. Why don't Infiniti owners place Nissan or Datsun badges on their cars? Why don't Lexus owners put Toyota badges on their cars? Maybe (or obviously) those parent companies don't quite enjoy a certain esteem or reputation that Honda/Acura owners have for the parent company Honda--reknown for engine engineering excellence!

And Down Under I've seen GM Holdens rebadged with the Chevy bowtie and/or Chevrolet name or model plates. And GM Holdens are largely based on Opel designs and platforms--and NOT on Chevys for several decades.

And I've seen VW's with Mercedes emblems.

Let's see, now that Daimler Chryzler owns the historical components of Chrysler, which includes AMC Jeep, it's a matter of time before we see the three-point Mercedes star appearing on vintage AMC Gremlins and Pacers, oh boy!

fdl

All kinds of differnet cars get riced out...but I agree hondas get riced out the most. Hopefully the TSX will be safe from this.

ssm_tsx

There are tons of Jetta owners who put the German "Bora" badges on their cars.

jcg878

No offense, but I really don't understand this attitude. The other big Japanese makers each have separate luxury brands, why can't Honda have Acura?? And is Acura not a profitable entity?? And if it is (which I admit I'm assuming), how is the establishment of Acura 'one of [Honda's] biggest flaws?'

I understand that there's a lot of Honda pride out there, but why this dislike of Acura? If people want to debadge and rebadge that's up to them, but I don't quite get it.

fdl

I think he makes this point because the other manufactorers who do this actually have separate cars for their upscale lineup, and that upscale brand exists in other parts of the world. With Acura ... its just a north american thing and the cars are pretty much rebadged hondas.

jcg878

Is the lexus ES300 not a toyota camry?? How about the 4runner and the GX470, or the Land Cruiser and LX470, or the Highlander and RX330?

Or the Infinite I35 and Nissan Maxima, or the QX4 and Pathfinder, or G35 coupe and 350Z?

I'm not listing all these to be an ass, but it seems that other companies do the same thing. Lexus and Infiniti do seem to have some models without Toyota or Nissan clones though.

Yui

Well, by rebadged I think they mean taking the exact same car and just changing its specs a lil and giving it a new mark/model name.... in which case, the G35 Coupe is not a rebadged 350Z, since they are totally different cars... all they share is the engine pretty much... the Z is a 2-seater coupe, the G35C is a 2+2 with a longer wheelbase and different body panels...

Not sure about the IS300/Camry thing, though they do look a lot alike, as do Audi/VWs... they'd have to be the same car but given a different name for marketing reasons to qualify as rebadged I think...

Crazytree

Rice. It's what's for dinner.

Santacruz

This is exactly right. IMO Honda/Acura shouldn't just make one car and place two different brand names on it and then claim to have two different divisions. Personally I wouldn't care if the Acura TSX was called a Honda TSX...the car would still be just as great.

phile

There are only three Japanese luxury brands: Acura, Lexus and Infiniti. Of those three, only one is available outside of North America, and that is Lexus. It is available in Europe, and soon Toyota will bring it to Japan. So this leaves us with not only Acura, but also Infiniti that are purely a North American "thing."

As for rebadging, a Lexus ES300 is a Toyota Windom in Japan, a Lexus LS430 is a Celsior, Lexus IS300 is an Altezza, etc. So what's wrong with Acura's rebadging policy again? As of right now, the 04 TL doesn't have an equivalent in Japan, and the late Acura CL was actually a North America-only vehicle.

Santacruz

It's not so much that it's wrong than it is pointless.

jcg878

Well, if Acura is strongly 'in the black' then I don't think it's pointless. I'm willing to bet they'd sell less considerably Honda TSXs here.


I wouldn't say the 350Z and g35 coupe are totally different cars.
http://www.azcentral.com/class/marke...initilede.html

And the ES300 and Camry, that's too strong a resemblence. I actually think that the Camry looks better from the front.
http://edmunds.com/new/2003/lexus/es...nav..15.Lexus*

tony4311

who gives a shit at least its a legit badge and not like a Type R badge.
:points to sig:

Brad

Those are excellent points that escaped me.

Sheet metal and badge re-engineering are nothing new. When I was a kid, it was truly baffling for me to discern all of the permutations of the now extinct British makes of cars--most of which were not seen here in the USA.

GM's been doing it too with their Vauxhall/Opel/Holden lines for decades.

And let's not forget the early-mid-Eighties Chevrolet Cavalier that become a Cadillac Cimarron. The Cimaron was intended to be a BMW fighter.

To me, Acura is merely a marketing label. At its heart and soul is simply Honda.

larchmont

It IS goofy -- and it must be because there are more goofy Honda/Acura people.

At the risk of offending several billion people, I think it's kind of like the Smiths and the Joneses. I don't know about you young people, but for us old guys, we thought of "Smith" and "Jones" kind of the same as each other -- a couple of real common, down-home, old-time, great-pedigreed names. But after a while, I noticed that they seemed to be very different. Not always, of course -- you can't generalize. But the Smiths tended to be more straight-laced, while the Joneses were more likely to be a little goofy. I thought the clearest illustration was the kinds of nicknames you found (or didn't find) among famous people with those names. Just to take baseball players, look at some of the nicknames you found among the Joneses:

Puddin' Head Jones
Available Jones
Roadblock Jones
Nippy Jones
Toothpick Sam Jones

Even when it was just a normal name, they might spell it funny, like Andruw Jones.


With the Smiths, the best one I ever came across was just "Ozzie."


I've known a few Smiths and Joneses personally, but I never got up the nerve to ask them what they thought of this.


What this has to do with Honda/Acura, I don't know. Except that maybe some groups of people really are more blessed with goofy members.

LeeLee

I think rebadging started with the NSX and Integra, and more so the NSX than the Integra in terms of origin. Outside of the US, everywhere you went you saw "Honda NSX". Those decked-out JTCC NSXs have "HONDA" plastered all over them. There is also the rich racing heritage associated with Honda F1 and CART series. In the NSX's case, Honda is the badge that engineers want to put on, even though it makes more sense to market it as an Acura in the US. It was a right decision to put the NSX under the Acura flag in the US, but those of us who are not affected by the economical stigma associated with Honda automobiles have no problem seeing the NSX as a Honda in the US. So those fortunate enough to own one want to establish that kinship so missed by the driving masses by putting an "H" badge on their NSX. There is no mistake which manufacturer is the baddest MoFo coming out of Japan.

If you play Gran Turismo 3, ask yourself if you've ever even considered buying an Acura NSX rather than a Honda NSX.

With people rebadging the NSX, Integra owners thought it was such a cool idea that they followed suit. It didn't matter that the NA Integra looked different from JDM Integras. Full conversion kits took care of that.

And it kind of just took off from there. "Like a runaway loaded beer truck, it cannot be stopped, it will not be stopped!"

Ya, putting an "A" on a Honda-badged car is ghetto.

Which reminds me. I saw an older white 3-series coupe on the road today coming to work, with an ///Mi5 badge on the back. It had the M side skirts and one of those dual tail pipes that point upwards. What the heck is an Mi5 supposed to be? Oh well, it's not nearly as tacky as the Prelude with jumbo "V-TECH Sport" stickers across the hood and rear quarter panels.

And can we please, for the love of carbon based lifeforms, let the Z-fenders pass as a fad?!?!?!

vwong

Are you sure about that??? Before the first ever Acura NSX came out back in the late 80s, I had already seen people with the "H" on their first gen. Integras.

Brad

And RIP those big banner labels that some people put over their front or rear car windows. They have the black backgrounds and huge bold white letters. You know, "PRELUDE", "ACCORD", "CIVIC", "INTEGRA".

Now that's ghetto big time!

vwong

Why get anger about this? You'll put stress back into yourself for nothing. It's their cars, let them do what they want. Relax, be happy, enjoy your TSX.

The only thing I would stress over someone else's (especially riceboys) car is the all clear tail lights with the freaking light pink brake light bulbs. I can't see shit if the guy steps on the brake.

bowersan

My view on this is- With lexus and infiniti, you are buying the car because you are trying to escape the lowish level of their parent company... 'who would want to drive a Toyota, for god's sake, when you can drive a Lexus.'

When it comes to Acura owners, I think they dont mind going to the honda logos because they are proud of thier heritage. Im damn proud to say that I drive a Honda. I have nothing to hide from. Whenever I an Accord, as common as they are, I have more respect for the driver for choosing my car's blood-relative.

J.

rb4580

I really just want to know if these people really think it's cool or something, I just don't think they know that everybody thinks their an idiot

Crazytree

here here.

AKay

I think its corny to rebadge it something its not.
Like putting an SI badge on a CIVIC DX hatchback.
Or a TYPE R badge on a barestock integra ls.
The badge and stickers do not add HP.
someone needs to make a public service announcement about that .
AKay

iNteGraz92

there are plenty out there. you only notice it on hondas more.
oh yeah, just the other day i saw a 318i with an m3 badge on it

Lung Fu Mo Shi

I personally like the idea. You wouldn't dare get a Hummer H2 owner to rebadge their car/truck a Silverado...that would be "downgrading".

Yet both Acura and Honda have such high reputations that people want to be both.

I think of the two (and maybe soon to be three) brands of Honda to not be just price oriented, but more like they both share the same theme while Acura tends to be more luxury oriented than Honda.

Brad

Actually, I saw a Range Rover yesterday at the new Ikea store whose personalized plates said, "Humm1".

gunz

EXACTLY - there are more annoying/ricer things out there.. i once saw a 1.6 EL rebadged with an Eagle emblem - wtf is up w/ that?

BuddySol

Yes. And some Element owners have decided to badge their cars H3...go figure...

Anyhow, I think this topic has strayed off onto many tangents about re-badging.

1. Re-badging Acuras to Honda: Don't really see anything wrong with saying what the car originally is. Very nice where you see an RSX with H and Integra badging. (Nothing else...no big fat body kits or huge aluminum wings) As I said some other cars are tastefully done: G35 to the Nissan Skyline or the IS300 to the Altezza. Not bad if done cleanly...

2. Re-badging Hondas to Acura: I don't understand the concept behind this one. But I suppose it is much more accepted in the JDM market anyway...

3. Re-badging cars to higher models: Just as stupid, why you got to fake the funk? Especially when that higher-end model isn't even available in the US.

4. Mixing badging: I've seen an Mustang with a GT-R badge, Cavaliers with Type R everywhere, Nissans with Mugen stickers, and other such non sense. Please, this is riciest of all.

Crazytree

if you live in an area where people drive "Type R" Chevy Cavaliers... then you need to move.

jcg878

At the risk of offending the Honda loyalists here...

I bought it because I thought it was a fanatastic car - sporty, luxurious, FWD, probably reliable, good-looking, and a bargain for the segment. I'm not particularly proud of the 'honda heritage' though I'm happy it's there for a reliability screwed-together-tightly standpoint. Would I buy the same car if it had an H on the front instead? I don't know, probably. But I'm willing to bet that a lot of people wouldn't, hence the intelligence of the Acura brand.

Are Acura owners trying to eschew the 'lowish level of their parent company?' Maybe not the Honda traditionalists here or the rebadgers of the world (make that 'continent'), but I'll be a lot of 'average' Acura buyers are, just as with many of the Lexus and Infiniti purchasers of the world. I think we're kidding ourselves if we think otherwise.

Whenever I see an Accord (2003), I think 'damn that has a big ass.'

Just my 2 cents.


Oh and larch, I didn't understand a word of that

jcg878

THIS would cause me to LOL - anyone got a picture?? Those people have a sense of humor!


and PS for the above rant - I don't really care if people rebadge their cars, I just don't get it myself.

BuddySol

Yah...same area your from...sunny Southern California.

Oh and here's an Element with an H3 on it...

jcg878

awesome - like nothing else, right?

thanks for the pic

Ever see the Sierra Club's anti-Hummer page? I can't say I blame them - I probably see a H2-a-day around here, and TELL me why you need a Hummer to navigate the Wilderness of NEW JERSEY?? Not to knock on my own state, but get real.

http://sierraclubmedia.net/

larchmont

Just as well -- You're not missing a heck of a lot!

captainjack

A few points:

1) There seems to be TWO re-badging camps: a) goofballs who want to "upgrade" their cars and fool people, and b) the car geeks striving for authenticity by using their cars' "real" names.

2) As my friend says, the Acura "A" is just the Honda "H" pinched at the top.

dabuda

dont know why ppl rebadge but IMO :whocares:

it's their money and their car...they should be able to do whatever they want to it...but if someone touches my car

Kidd

this is a good topic and i gotta agree with some of you, and not some. But the point is there is a major difference between "RICERS" you know the 2Rice2Curious that went to see the movie and then try to make their cars look like of the movies, oversized body kits, ugly colors, and what the F*cK? underglow lights? NOW those are ricers, but ricers also debadge their cars too, which some other people do too, but it does not mean that they are a ricer.

To me when I rebadge a car, im giving it back its real name, its a honda car, its a honda car, the engine is honda, the body is honda, only thing that is not is the damn tag.

Im sorry to say, if it was not for the mind games that Honda has made to fool us all to buy another line up of cars which are more "luxurious", their would be no Acura, acura is only to fool us American folks, if people saw a RL or a TL badge by Honda, im sure they would turn the other cheek, and plus Acura gives honda a reason to raise prices for car that can be easily comparable to its counter parts at honda ie TSX/Accord (USDM)
LUXURY is more of an American thing, and Acura has done well to gimmick that in us, when at the end it is only a Honda.

That is why people who keep their cars clean and not rice, debadge, to give the car back its real identity, its sorta soul lifting and some emotional stuff goes to it, its not just a car you know.

the TSX is a euro accord no joke there, REST of the world gets Honda while we get fooled and perked to pay for for what? A damn name change?

I think the best way to debadge this car is by changing the emblems that count, like TSX to Accord, Acura to Honda, other than that don't add anything else, it ain't a type r so don't even try to pull that shit.

My two cents,

LAter ya'll