Cars with useless spec info on the back

billybigunz

More a thing from the 90s but it is something that always irritiated me.

Why did so many ****ty hatchbacks feel the need to advertise mundane details about their spec and engine size in silver letters at the back.

'ABS'
'Air Con'
'1.1'

Seems such an odd thing to do. I'm all for debadged cars, what benefit is it to tell people the car is a 523 or a 525? The worst now is the littel smug 'eco' tag some newer cars have added.

colm_mcm

back in the 90's ABS was a rare thing, companies like Renault putted stickers on the back of cars fitted with it. Nissan did it on the Primera Invitation back in the very early 90s. I'm guessing it's a way of getting potential customers to see it on cars on the road and instill in them the idea that they were safe.
Also, if fitted to limited editions, it was a way of showing that the car had something that couldn't be seen or touched.

Also, if older versions didn't have the feature, it's a way of telling drivers of older models that the newer ones have a particular feature.

I've seen things like 5 Speed Gearbox (Suzuki) and Dual airbags (Daewoo)

billybigunz

colm_mcm wrote: »

I've seen things like 5 Speed Gearbox (Suzuki) and Dual airbags (Daewoo)

Ha, such a thing to shout out to the world. I'd like see a car that listed every single piece of spec down the back of it.

MagicMarker

I like knowing what's in front of me.

Guy:Incognito

colm_mcm wrote: »

back in the 90's ABS was a rare thing, companies like Renault putted stickers on the back of cars fitted with it.

Only for the poor Colm. They put it on the Laguna but discerning Safrane drivers ike me had everything without the fancy-dan advertising




(they actualy did put it on some low spec Safranes too, dont tell anyone, but those people were pretending to have money :-) )

colm_mcm

They must have had deep pockets considering the depreciation of the Safrane

TheColl

i was driving behind a Lancer the other day, new model, and the dealer had attached a badge of their logo beside whatever was there already... it looked absolutely hideous and i cant believe that people buy cars there! cant remember the name of the place now.

Captain Slow IRL

I saw a Ssangyong Rexton with a badge on the back declaring "powered by Mercedez":rolleyes:

The air con badge is just plain stupid - I've seen a few newer cars with it, the sad thing is that it's probably just a badge, like a "Type R" badge on a micra:(

Guy:Incognito

colm_mcm wrote: »

They must have had deep pockets considering the depreciation of the Safrane

There was one owner on mine before I got it, a current high court judge. It had every extra available on it. One doesnt worry about such things as depreciation.:)

Jip

billybigunz wrote: »

The worst now is the littel smug 'eco' tag some newer cars have added.

Ahem, I'll get around to removing it when I remove the dealer sticker from the window, I swear

TheColl wrote: »

i was driving behind a Lancer the other day, new model, and the dealer had attached a badge of their logo beside whatever was there already... it looked absolutely hideous and i cant believe that people buy cars there! cant remember the name of the place now.

That would be Westbrook motors, I don't understand why they're still doing it after all these years. First time I saw it I initially thought it was some form of design house trim but it is an awful badge.

bmw535d

Seems such an odd thing to do. I'm all for debadged cars, what benefit is it to tell people the car is a 523 or a 525?

so you know that the person that bought the 523i is mentally retarded.why pay the same road tax and have less power?(dont drive to close to them)

im all for de badgeing 520d's etc,your basically saying you cant afford a 530d,only enthusiast can tell then:)

not so bad if its a factory badge,but ive seen an audi a4 with an ///MPOWER badge:eek:

Voodoomelon

16v is one that you used to see all the time. Something akin to having "4 wheels" written on the back.

x in the city

billybigunz wrote: »

Ha, such a thing to shout out to the world. I'd like see a car that listed every single piece of spec down the back of it.

dual airbags in a daewoo is 8 series stuff for them:pac:

Mycroft H

I once saw a micra with a "sport" badge on it :rolleyes::D

Jip

Er, there are Micra Sports.

-Chris-

For me it really depends on who put the badge there.

I guess some of the cars come from the factory like that, but sometimes it's a local decision. For the distributors I reckon Colm's right, it's really a marketing thing.
I remember Mazda Ireland made the decision on the 626 to put an Air Conditioning badge on the back of the car. MDL bought the badges and stuck them on themselves. It made sense then because the competitor's cars didn't have A/C as standard.

The badge on the back of the car has always had a magical power - especially in the company car carpark. If you're driving an LX and the other guy's in a GLX, he must be better at his job (or more senior) than you. Manufacturers pander to that.

I do think that that's different that people putting badges on their own cars - I definitely find that to be very weird...

Mr. Presentable

5 vitesses on the back of a Renault (18?)

TheColl

Jip wrote: »

Ahem, I'll get around to removing it when I remove the dealer sticker from the window, I swear



That would be Westbrook motors, I don't understand why they're still doing it after all these years. First time I saw it I initially thought it was some form of design house trim but it is an awful badge.

That's the one! Horrible looking thing, and it actually looked to be fading to me, even though the car was less than a year old.

Owen

Esmonde Motors do a horrible stick on badge too, Cogans in Cork used to do them at one stage.

Dealers get cheeky anyway, latest trend is large (3 inch high) letting with their website the entire way across your rear windscreen. One dealer in Cork is notorious for it.

_Kaiser_

I kinda like the "2.0" TDI on the back of my Passat - sets it apart from 99% of the others I see that are the basic 1.9's

All that's missing is a nice "DSG" logo if I were that way inclined!

(EDIT: Oh and the first thing I do when I've gotten a new car is remove any dealer stickers from the windows - they're generally placed right where you need to be looking in the rear-view mirror anyway).

Padraig Mor

Not quite the same thing but I saw a BMW 316 the other day with a 'treasured' reg: 07-X-316. I mean, would you really want to advertise the fact you bought a Paddy special?!

bog master

Very simple if you dont like dealer badges on your new car!

Make it plain when buying it you dont want it or.......

Demand a few hundred euros off for advertising!

fifth

That westbrook motors one isn't very appealing.. it's a bit invasive imo.

Luckily I've nothing on mine except 'Accord'. Plain and simple.. don't like the look of overcroded badges