Weekend Photo Fun: Adventures in re-branding
Click image to enlarge and see the front view, too
Identity crisis? Repressed brand allegiance? People who intentionally rebrand their rides have reasons all their own. Take this pickup I encounted on my drive home yesterday. Maybe the giant bowtie on the tailgate is trying to compensate for something, but size doesn't matter here; there's no hiding the fact that this thing's still a Ford Ranger. Bowtie stickers also get applied to the front fenders, but the proverbial cherry on top revealed itself when I pulled ahead. Yep, that's a genuine gold bowtie badge where the blue oval ought to be. If you want to make your car or truck a member of the transbranded community, all you need is a few badges, some adhesive, a sense of humor, and maybe an ASE certified technician. Hey, everybody's doing it.
Gallery: Ford Ranger Identity Crisis
Photos Copyright ©2008 Alex Núñez / Weblogs, Inc.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
MastrCake 5:11PM (8/02/2008)
Alex,
Never mind the truck. I love your mustang!
Red with red interior, and it's a convertible!!!
Is it a GT?
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Alex Nunez 5:20PM (8/02/2008)
Thanks, MastrCake, and yes, it is a GT.
Dylan 5:36PM (8/02/2008)
The funniest thing I've seen lately is a guy with a silver 02ish civic who had replaced all his badges with Mercedes ones including the vertical Mercedes symbol on the nose.
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Torrent 6:15PM (8/03/2008)
What's even worse is I've seen a Hyundai with Infiniti Badging. The worst part is that it actually didn't look too bad.
MemphisNET 5:56PM (8/02/2008)
I love the guys who turn their last-gen Sierra's/Silverado's into Caddy's. So ghetto.
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Ford Wannup 10:15AM (8/03/2008)
I actually think the tackiest rebrandings are those involving the German brands, e.g 318, 525, and all "entry" Bimmers with M badges, or higher level badges (ie. 318 became 328, 528 became 540, etc), or AMGs being sprinkled all over Merc.
So yeah....kids will always VTEC-ized their Hondas, but what do we say about adults that trans-branded their lux rides? Penis envy all around I'd say.
blotto 6:18PM (8/02/2008)
Maybe the bowtie emblem makes the Ranger go faster or something, just like those VTEC stickers ricers put on their vanilla appliance-like Hondas.
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cain 11:05AM (8/03/2008)
Worst I ever saw was a 1996 Toyota Trecel with large print that said "HONDA POWER" in letters so large it went from front to back. They also replaced all the badges. I do not get it.
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BlackEmblem 6:24PM (8/02/2008)
At least it's better than slapping a "Type R" badge on some random Honda.
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SPG 6:37PM (8/02/2008)
That's awesome, rebranding is hilarious.
Makes me wonder if that base model Ranger has a Chevy engine in it, somehow I don't think so.
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iQuack 6:42PM (8/02/2008)
Funniest re-branding I remember from decades ago when many cars had their names spelled out in chromed, block letters on the hood and/or trunk was a HUDSON on which the letters were switched to "HOUNDS."
Hudson was a pretty good car in those days, but maybe that one was a dog.
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JimG 7:17PM (8/02/2008)
Hey, I sent you guys pics of a Kia re-branded to a Mercedes and you didn't even use them!
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tankd0g 8:21PM (8/02/2008)
It is entirely possible that thing has a chevy 4.3L or a small block in it. This would be the one circumstance where rebranding might be admissible.
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Esprit bird 8:47PM (8/02/2008)
I have seen a Buick Riviera last gen with a Jaguar thing on the hood.
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Chris 9:40PM (8/02/2008)
That road looks very familiar...perhaps merritt/exit 44?
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Bill 10:18PM (8/02/2008)
Back in the 90's I saw a Dodge Dynasty with a chrome strip (door edge guard?) applied horizontally to the grille, thus magically transforming it into a Volvo 7-series.
I remember seeing a pic in a car mag a decade or so of a Buick Century that had twin kidneys applied to the grille (BMW).
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Benfolio 2:23AM (8/03/2008)
HA!!!
I should send you guys the pic of the lifted Ford Ranger "ZR-2" I took last week.
Must be something in the water this week.....
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Benfolio 2:30AM (8/03/2008)
Ah, here ya go.
http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/659539/original/0726080742.jpg
and
http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/659541/original/0726080744.jpg
I thought I was the only one that took pictures of crap like this while, erm, driving.
Heh.
Now I don't feel AS bad.
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Kitko 2:53AM (8/03/2008)
Well, what about nicking plastic wheel covers from your neighbourgh's Ford Escort and snapping them onto your Skoda 130 wheels? That would be in 1987 in Britain's council estate housing establishments or further east past the Iron Curtain. But the spirit lives on :-). Apparently
Benfolio 3:43AM (8/03/2008)
But taking pics to post on the internet? That's a whole 'nother level