Which Performance Badges Are a Scam?

**The Truth Behind Performance Badges: Separating the Genuine from the Vanity**

When you saw those badges on a car, you knew it was fast. But if you buy one today, you might be getting ripped off. Today, I'm going to break down which badges are worth it and which ones are worthless vanity tax.

**The History of Performance Badges**

Certain manufacturers have always been known as performance brands. Aston Martin, Ferrari, McLaren - they all began as racing brands that transitioned into makers of bespoke, low-volume road cars, and as such, will always be known for producing cars that focus almost entirely on speed and performance. Larger manufacturers, however, roll millions of cars off their production lines each year, from tiny hatchbacks to huge SUVs. These cars have a focus on functionality, fuel economy, and safety.

However, these mass manufacturers carve out a little slice of performance by pitching performance versions of everyday cars. Typically, performance badges have one of two origins: the racing arm of an automaker or a homologation special where a manufacturer is mandated to produce a certain number of road-going versions of cars they wish to race.

**The Origins of Performance Badges**

BMW Motorsport's M division is a great example of this. The M division was formed in the 1970s as BMW's racing arm, and it produced some of the most iconic cars in history, including the legendary BMW 3.0 CSL, or Batmobile. The M division also produced the BMW M1, which was a low-volume homologation special that sold out instantly.

This success led BMW to apply its M badge to consumer cars, starting with the 1979 M535i version of the E12 5 Series. The M badge has since become synonymous with performance and is applied to almost every BMW car and generation.

**The Rise of Mass Market Performance Badges**

Around the turn of the century, however, this all began to change. Other brands had caught up to BMW and started building badged cars of their own, and unfortunately, the marketing departments of these massive manufacturers began to see the potential in badging other cars as performance badges, even though they weren't the top-performing version of those cars.

**Nissan's Nismo: A Case Study**

Nissan's Nismo is a good example of this. Formed in 1984 when Nissan merged two of its motorsport departments, Nismo has developed legends such as the R31 Skyline GTS-R and the 370Z. However, today, the Nismo badge is also on the back of the Juke small SUV, the Sentra, and the European-only Pulsar.

The Nismo Sentra doesn't make any more power than the Sentra SR Turbo but comes with slightly better all-weather tires and larger brake rotors. It also has lowered suspension, which unfortunately doesn't make it any better than the competition according to Car and Driver. However, I will give it props for coming with a manual transmission, and honestly, I think the Sentra Nismo looks pretty good.

**BMW's M Performance Line**

BMW currently produces eight full M cars but produces an incredible 20 M performance cars, most of which have very little in the way of a performance increase. The M performance line was created to fill the gap between base BMWs and the increasingly expensive M cars.

You can identify them by the smaller M badge preceding the model number. They come with upgraded lower suspension, sports steering wheel and shifter, and usually some sporty-looking trim but don't get huge boosts in horsepower.

**The Verdict**

So, are performance badges worth it? The answer is yes and no. While some badges do signify a genuine increase in performance, others are just marketing gimmicks that come with a hefty price tag.

As a buyer, it's essential to do your research and separate the genuine from the vanity. Don't be fooled by fancy trim levels or sporty-looking design features; look for actual performance improvements under the hood.

**Conclusion**

Performance badges have become an integral part of the automotive landscape, but they're not always what they seem. By understanding the history behind these badges and doing your research, you can make informed decisions when buying a car that's right for you.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en(engine roars)- Nismo.M.ST.When you saw those badges,you knew the car was fast.(upbeat music)(engine roaring)But if you buy one today, youmight be getting ripped off.Today, I'm gonna break downwhich badges are worth it,and which ones are worthless vanity tax.When this video is over,you'll be able to spot a trueperformance badge and frauds.Big thank you to Honey forsponsoring this episode.Honey is the free browser extensionthat automatically finds andapplies online coupons for you.It's great for when you're shoppingon your favorite siteslike Target, Best Buy,or tirerack.com, and you rememberthat you didn't get yourfriend Joe a Christmas present.(groans) Happens all the time.No problem, just hop on Tire Rackand get him a custom Bilsteincoilover setup for his E46and drop it in your cartand click Apply Coupons,and claim those rewardsdiscounts, my king!Joe is gonna be so stoked.Honey works on over 30,000 online stores,and it's free and easy to install,so there's really no reasonyou shouldn't have it.Plus, Honey has alreadysaved Donut Media fanslike yourselves over $170,000 in savings.Head on over, joinhoney.com/wheelhouse,and install it today.I have it on all my browsers,so I'm saving that freakin' money.I need it.2020 goals, trying to save money,trying to make money, tryingto diversify my bonds.You know what I'm saying?Before I get into thestate of badges today,you need to understand whythese badges are so cooland mean so much in car culture.Certain manufacturershave always been knownas performance brands.You got Aston Martin, Ferrari, McLaren.They all began as racing brandswhich then transitionedinto makers of bespoke,low-volume road cars, and as such,will always be known for producing carswhich focus almost entirelyon speed and performance.But larger manufacturers outthere roll millions of carsoff their production lines each year,from tiny hatchbacks to huge SUVs.These cars have a focus on functionality,fuel economy, and safety.However, these mass manufacturerscarve themselves outa little slice of performanceby pitching performanceversions of everyday cars.Typically, performance badgeshave one of two origins:The first is as the racing armof an automotivemanufacturer, such as BMW's M,formerly known as BMW Motorsport.They ended up producingthe legendary BMW 3.0 CSL, or Batmobile.This homologation special whereina manufacturer is mandatedto produce a certain numberof road-going versionsof cars they wish to race ishow we got some of our mostcherished road cars today.Following that, BMW Motorsport got to workproducing their first ground-up carand the first full M car,the aptly named BMW M1.This, again, was a low-volumehomologation special.All 456 road cars becameincredibly desirableand sold out instantly,which gave BMW the idea to start applyingtheir newly formed M badgeto consumer cars,(cash register rings)the first of which wasthe 1979 M535i versionof the E12 5 Series.It featured a wholehost of components takenfrom BMW Motorsport'sstock of racing parts,even sharing a few pieces with the M1.It was so different fromthe regular 5 Seriesin almost every aspect,and really highlights theperformance badge ideaof developing a hot, fast versionof a standard road car usingtechnology from racing.From then on, practically every BMW carand generation would have an M version,most notably the M3 and the M5.Love that E39.With the exception oflow-volume, hand-built carssuch as McLaren and Ferrari,who we mentioned earlier,performance badges used tobe the most exclusive carson the road, sometimes even more so.Performance-badged carswere made in limited numbersand available only to thosewhom performance was themain reason to buy a carand had the money to do so.Around the turn of the century, though,this all began to change.Other brands had caught up to BMWand started buildingbadged cars of their own,and unfortunately, themarketing departmentsof these massive manufacturersbegan to see the potentialin badging other carsas performance badges,even though they weren'tthe top-performing versionsof those cars.So I think it's time to ask,which badges are goodand which ones are bad?Let's start with the biggest offendersand make our way to the onesthat still mean something.We trashed on 'em last week,so I think it's only rightthat we start with Nissan's Nismo.(funky music)Formed in 1984when Nissan merged two oftheir motorsport departments,Nismo went on to develop legendssuch as the R31 Skyline GTS-R, the 370Z,and of course, the Nissan GTR Nismo.Nowadays though, the Nismo badge is alsoon the back of the Juke small SUV,the Sentra, and the European-only Pulsar.Hmm.The Nismo Sentra doesn'tmake any more powerthan the Sentra SR Turbo,but does come with some slightlybetter all-weather tiresand larger brake rotors.It also has lowered suspension.Unfortunately, this doesn'tmake the Nismo Sentraany better than the competition,according to Car and Driver,but I will give it propsfor coming with a manual transmission,and honestly, I think theSentra Nismo looks pretty good.Back to BMW.BMW currently produces eight full M cars.However, they produce anincredible 20 M performance cars,most of which have very littlein the way of a performance increase,focusing instead on trim levelsand M-like design features.The M performance line was createdto fill the gap between base BMWsand the increasingly expensive M cars,and you can identify themby the smaller M badgepreceding the model number.They've got upgraded lower suspension,sports steering wheel and shifter,and usually some sporty-looking trim,but the horsepower ratingstypically don't get a huge boost.I mean, does the X2 reallyneed an M performance edition?Who is buying a littlemini crossover and saying,"Man, I wish this thing hada sportier steering wheel."It just really waters downthe M brand if you ask me.Audi, who we haven't talked about much,is also guilty of this.Building upon the rally and road successesof the Audi Quattro,in 1983 they founded Quattro GmbH,a department responsible forall Audi sports car production.Then they continued todevelop amazing raceand road cars throughthe turn of the century.Today though, Audi applies the Quattroand S names to many of itsfairly regular road cars,from crossovers to hatchbacks and SUVs,none of which share inAudi's performance heritage,past or present.Audi's S line cars are borrowing moreand more accessories and styling cuesfrom the performance-orientedS, RS, and R cars,yet in terms of specifications,they are no different tothe base-level SE cars,so that's a little egregious to me.Another main way performancebrands tend to materialize isas independent tuningshops who, over time,develop a relationship witha specific manufacturerbefore usually being boughtout and brought in-house.This is true of German mark AMG,which was founded in 1967as an engine tuning shopby some former Mercedes employees,and worked successfullywith Mercedes for yearsbefore being bought outand brought into theDaimler-Mercedes Group in 1999.While full AMG cars are fittedwith hand-built AMG enginesand feature ground-up suspensionand handling redesigns,the AMG Line Mercedes,of which there are franklyway too many to count,offer some AMG stylingand a few token suspensionand braking upgrades,some as minimal as painted brake calipers.Huge effort is spentfitting AMG-line floor mats,shiny silver sports pedals,carbon-fiber effect trim,and our friend, the sports-tuned exhaust.For example, the cheapest wayinto true AMG ownership isto buy the A45 AMG S.Thanks to its AMG tuning,it is the fastestA-Class by a huge margin,and has been referred toby many as a super hatch,thanks to its 415 horsepower.415 horsepower in a hatch?What?(man mimics explosion)Zero to 60 in 3.9 seconds.It's faster than a new 911 Carrera.Compare that though tothe AMG Line A-Class,which, at a cost of $2,000over the standard SE A-Class,gets you 18-inch AMG alloys,(metal clanking)AMG side sill panels, a diamond grill.It essentially has the same internalsas the standard A-Class:same stop speed, same zeroto 60, same everything.It has all the looks ofthe performance modelswith none of the additional performance.Do you see what I mean here?I don't like this.(upbeat music)Ford's interesting.Ford Performance puts their ST badge,which is a little bit lesserto their all-out RS brand,on the Fiesta and Focus,as well as producing specialperformance-badge versionsof the Mustang and F-150,namely the Shelby and Raptor.I've gotta say that in my opinion,almost all these cars are great,particularly the Fiesta and Focus ST.Love those freaking things.However, I do think thatFord compromised the ST badgeas soon as they made an ST specof their compact SUV, the Edge.I've driven the Edge ST, andwhile it is pretty quick:I mean, I don't know. (laughs)It feels nothing likea traditional ST car,which is a shame.Ford have since put out the Explorer ST,which I think indicates their intentionsfor the ST badge in the future.Also, anecdotally, I thinkI've only ever seen one Edge STon the street, so I think itwas all for nothing sales-wise.With ST, the highs are really high(engine roars)and the lows are kinda low.(engine roars)(upbeat music)In 2009, after what felt likean eternity of speculation,Toyota announced the return of the Supra:a three-liter engine, 340 horsepower,and a silhouette to make a grown man weep.It's beautiful.This is the resurrectionof the Supra brandand also the crowning achievementin the reinvigoration of the GR,or Gazoo Racing performance badge.That's right, it's called Gazoo.(kazoo humming)Toyota have come in hotfor 2019 with a brand-newperformance-badge cardelivering actual performance.I rode in a Supra GR at an autocrossand that thing freaking ripped!Also in 2018,they won both their firstWorld Rally Championshipand their first outright24 Hour of Le Mans victory,all of which helped themin honing theirperformance-badge road cars,all good signs for thefuture of Toyota and GR.Go Gazoo, baby.(funky music)(engine roars)Hyundai have also got in onthe performance badge thing,launching their own N brand performance,headed up by none otherthan former of BMW Mand the father of M cars, Albert Biermann.With their born-in-Namyang,honed-on-the-Nurburgring ethos,Hyundai M have produced a seriesof seriously good performance carssince the formation in 2015,jointly developing withtheir motorsport arm,who in 2019, won their first-everWorld Rally Championship.Good job, guys,which I think provesthat the N badge is good.They are gonna make someN line cars this year,so we'll see.We'll see, Hyundai.I'm watching you.I'm watching you.Last up is the badgethat was least dilutedby the manufacturer: Honda's Type R.It's kind of a cop-out right nowbecause there's only onecar with the Type R badge,the Civic Type R,but if you look throughthe badge's history,you'll see a ton of great carsthat were truly meant to perform.The DC2 Integra Type Ris a dream car of mine.I must own one.These badges mean a lot to nerds like me.It's my opinionthat manufacturers shouldnot trade their heritagefor a boost in sales,like some of these brandson this list are in the process of doing.If they're not careful,people might forgetwhat these badges stoodfor in the first place.Follow me on Instagram andTwitter at nolanjsykes.Follow Donut at donutmedia.We got cool shows coming out this year.We say that every year,but, I mean (laughs)Be kind.See you next time.Christmas break was great.Relaxed.(sighs)That thing freaking rips!That thing freaking rips!Love it.