Which Performance Badges Are a Scam?

(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, you might get ripped off. Today, I'm going to break down

which

badges

are worth the vanity tax and

which

ones aren't. By the time you finish this video, you'll be able to spot fraud and a real

performance

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You know what I'm talking? Before we get into the state of badges today, it is necessary to understand why these badges are so interesting and mean so much in car culture. Certain manufacturers have always been known as high-

performance

brands. You have Aston Martin, Ferrari, McLaren. They all started as racing brands that later became manufacturers of low-volume, bespoke road cars and as such will always be known for producing cars that focus almost entirely on speed and performance. But the largest manufacturers roll millions of cars off their production lines each year, from small hatchbacks to huge SUVs. These cars focus on functionality, fuel economy and safety.

However, these massive manufacturers get a small slice of performance by releasing high-performance versions of everyday cars. Typically, performance badges have one of two origins: the first is as the racing arm of an automaker, such as BMW M, formerly known as BMW Motorsport. They ended up producing the legendary BMW 3.0 CSL or Batmobile. This special homologation, in which a manufacturer is mandated to produce a certain number of road versions of the cars they wish to compete in, is how we get some of our most prized road cars today. After that, BMW Motorsport went to work producing its first car from scratch and the first complete M car, the aptly named BMW M1.

This, again, was a low-volume homologation special. The 456 road cars became incredibly desirable and sold out instantly, giving BMW the idea to start applying its newly formed M badge to consumer cars (cash register rings), the first of which was the 1979 M535i version of the E12 5 Series. It featured a host of components drawn from BMW Motorsport's stock of racing parts, and even shared some parts with the M1. It was very different from the regular 5 Series in almost every way and really highlights the performance badge's idea of ​​developing a fast and attractive version of a standard road car using racing technology.

From then on, practically every car and generation of BMW would have an M version, especially the M3 and M5. I love that E39. With the exception of low-volume, hand-built cars like McLaren and Ferrari, which we mentioned earlier, performance badges were often the most exclusive cars on the road, sometimes even more so. Cars with performance badges were made in limited numbers and were available only to those whose performance was the primary reason for purchasing a car and who had the money to do so. However, towards the turn of the century all this began to change. Other brands had caught up to BMW and started building their own badged cars and, unfortunately, the marketing departments of these big manufacturers began to see the potential of labeling other cars as performance badges, even though they were not the versions. higher performance. of those cars.

So I think it's time to ask, which badges are good and which are bad? Let's start with the biggest offenders and work our way up to the ones that still mean something. We criticized them last week, so I think it's only fair that we start with Nissan's Nismo. (funky music) Formed in 1984 when Nissan merged two of its motorsports departments, Nismo developed legends like the R31 Skyline GTS-R, the 370Z and, of course, the Nissan GTR Nismo. However, today, the Nismo badge is also on the back of the Juke small SUV, the Sentra and the Europe-only Pulsar. Hmm.

The Nismo Sentra doesn't make more power than the Sentra SR Turbo, but it does come with some slightly better all-season tires and larger brake rotors. It also has lowered suspension. Unfortunately, this doesn't make the Nismo Sentra any better than the competition, according to Car and Driver, but I'll give it props for coming with a manual transmission, and honestly, I think the Sentra Nismo looks pretty good. Let's go back to BMW. BMW currently produces eight complete M cars. However, they produce an incredible 20 high-performance M cars, most of which have very little in the way of performance gains, focusing instead on M-type trim levels and design features.

The M Performance line was created to fill gap between entry-level BMWs and increasingly expensive M cars, and you can identify them by the smaller M badge preceding the model number. They have an upgraded lowered suspension, a sport steering wheel and shifter, and usually some sporty-looking trim, but horsepower ratings generally don't get a big boost. I mean, does the X2 really need an M Performance Edition? Who buys a small mini crossover and says, "Man, I wish this had a sportier steering wheel"? In my opinion, it really dilutes the M brand. Audi, who we haven't talked much about, is also guilty of this.

Building on the successes of the Audi Quattro in rallies and on the road, in 1983 they founded Quattro GmbH, a department responsible for all Audi sports car production. They then continued to develop incredible racing and road cars until the turn of the century. However, today Audi applies the Quattro and S names to many of its fairly regular road cars, from crossovers to hatchbacks to SUVs, none of which share Audi's performance heritage, past or present. Audi's S line cars are increasingly borrowing accessories and styling cues from the performance-oriented S, RS and R cars, however, in terms of specifications, they are no different from the entry-level SE cars, so it's a little egregious. me.

Another primary way performance brands tend to materialize is as independent tuning shops that, over time, develop a relationship with a specific manufacturer before being purchased and brought in-house. This is the case of the German brand AMG, which was founded in 1967 as an engine tuning shop by some former Mercedes employees, and worked successfully with Mercedes for years before being bought and incorporated into the Daimler-Mercedes Group in 1999. While the full AMG cars are equipped with hand-built AMG engines and feature redesigned suspension and handling, the Mercedes AMG Lines, of which there are frankly too many to count, offer some AMG styling and some token upgrades to the suspension and axles. brakes, some so minimal. like painted brake calipers.

A lot of effort goes into fitting AMG line mats, bright silver sports pedals, carbon fiber effect trim and our friend, the sports exhaust. For example, the cheapest way to get a true AMG is to buy the A45 AMG S. Thanks to its AMG trim, it's the fastest A-Class by a wide margin, and many have called it a super hatch, thanks to its 415 horsepower. of strength. 415 horsepower in a hatch? That? (The man imitates the explosion) Zero to 60 in 3.9 seconds. It's faster than a new 911 Carrera. However, compare that to the AMG Line A-Class, which, at a cost of $2,000 more than the standard SE A-Class, gives you 18-inch AMG alloys, AMG side panels (with clank), and a diamond grille .

It basically has the same internals as the standard A-Class: same stopping speed, same 0-60, same everything. It has all the looks of high-performance models without any of the extra performance. Do you see what I mean here? I do not like this. (upbeat music) Ford is interesting. Ford Performance puts its ST badge, which is slightly smaller than its RS brand, on the Fiesta and Focus, in addition to producing special performance-badged versions of the Mustang and F-150, i.e. the Shelby and Raptor. I have to say that almost all of these cars are great in my opinion, especially the Fiesta and the Focus ST.

I love those damn things. However, I think Ford compromised on the ST badge as soon as it made an ST spec of its compact SUV, the Edge. I've driven the Edge ST and while it's pretty fast, I mean, I don't know. (laughs) It doesn't look anything like a traditional ST car, which is a shame. Ford has since released the Explorer ST, which I think indicates their intentions for the ST badge in the future. Also, anecdotally, I think I've only seen one Edge ST on the street, so I think it was for naught sales-wise. With ST, the highs are really high (engine roars) and the lows are a little low. (engine roar) (upbeat music) In 2009, after what seemed like an eternity of speculation, Toyota announced the return of the Supra: a three-liter engine, 340 horsepower, and a silhouette that would make a man cry. adult.

It's lovely. This is the resurrection of the Supra brand and also the biggest achievement in the revitalization of the GR, or Gazoo Racing, performance flagship. That's right, it's called Gazoo. (kazoo humming) Toyota has entered 2019 with a new performance-badged car that offers real performance. I rode a Supra GR at an autocross and that thing broke! Also in 2018, they won their first World Rally Championship and their first overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, all of which helped them refine their performance-badged road cars – all good signs for the future of Toyota and GR. . Go to Gazoo, honey. (funky music) (engine roar) Hyundai has also gotten into the performance badge thing, launching its own N performance brand, headed by none other than former BMW M and father of M cars, Albert Biermann .

With its spirit born in Namyang and perfected at the Nurburgring, Hyundai M has produced a series of very good performance cars since its formation in 2015, developing them jointly with its motorsports division, which in 2019 won its first victory. World Rally Championship. Good job guys, which I think proves that the N badge is a good one. This year they will make some N line cars, so we'll see. We'll see, Hyundai. I'm watching you. I'm watching you. The last to appear is the badge that the manufacturer diluted the least: the Honda Type R. It's kind of a cop-out right now because there's only one car with the Type R badge, the Civic Type R, but if you look at the history of the badge, you'll see a lot of fantastic cars that were really meant to work.

The DC2 Integra Type R is my dream car. I must have one. These badges mean a lot to nerds like me. In my opinion, manufacturers should not trade their heritage for an increase in sales, as some of these brands on this list are in the process of doing. If they're not careful, people might forget what these badges meant in the first place. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter at nolanjsykes. Follow Donut on donutmedia. We have great shows coming out this year. We say that every year, but I mean (laughs), be nice. See you next time. The Christmas holidays were great.

Relaxed. (sighs) That thing breaks! That thing breaks! I love it.