Maybe I'm way off base. You guys can yell at me (I know you don't need permission) but I hate when I see this stuff. I was at a custom car show over Easter. There in a long row of street rods was a late model Bonneville. It is tricked out with lots of visual modifications. What caught my eye was the GXP emblem on the side. I looked in the interior and it had custom seats with GXP embroidered in the headrest area. Cool. Lots of dash modifications also including stereo and DVD, along with accent panels, etc. So I go look under the hood and there are lots of custom panels and chrome and stuff. I say to myself "that ain't no V8". Then I look closer and I say "that ain't even a supercharged 3800". The car was a regular bonne with no factory performance options at all. Why all the phony logos? Why spend so much money modifying an ordinary car and trying to make people think it'* extraordinary? I don't get it.
There'* nothing wrong with customizing an ordinary car, but you can't change a car from one model to another, period.
It reminds me of high school when guys would buy GTO stickers and put them on their mom'* LeMans'. I hated that too.
I don't know if the guy who owns this car belongs to BC, and I don't want to bad-mouth an otherwise cool car, but fake logos just bug me. If he would have modified a real GXP I would have taken photos to show you guys. (It was a pretty nice car after all).

ohhh that would **** me off I would have said something to him.

No, not really. It wasn't the specific car he was actually talking about, but the trend in general. Basically, these people are exapndig the "Type R" trend. And it is stupid...

To go back to the car specifically mentioned, though, he'll probably get away with it. Outside of this club, how many people do you think would know the difference? And, if/when he tries to sell it, he'll probably rip off the buyer by claiming it really is a GXP. Without a VI check, who'd know?? I don't think my title specifies SE, just Bonneville.

my comment in general was that we need pics of the pimped out bonneville!!! We dont see much custom work on them around here

If it wasn't a phony, I would have taken some pics. I actually had my camera. I spent so much time bad mouthing the car OUT LOUD to my brother, that I forgot to snap some photos. Then I felt kind of bad since the guy actually did do a lot of neat stuff and was proud of the car, I'm sure. I don't know if the owner was standing around because the area was crowded with people. I was a nice ride, but I can't overlook the re-badge model change. I should have gotten some pics because I think the front grill had been customized also.

It'* his car, he can do what he wants with it. It happens all the time, people can't afford the high performance variant of a certain car, so they make it into one. My Cutlass is one of these evil "Clones" of a 442. Now I would rather have a real one, but it'* just more than I care to spend, and I don't really want to spend the money to put the original Cutlass items back on (I bought it this way), so it will stay like it is. But I don't pass it off as a 442 either.

I could give the same disgust at those here that change the appearance of their cars by clearing the headlights, adding tint, or changing the rims because they never came from the factory that way. But just like I said above, they are your cars so you are free to make them look however you please.

I don't see anything wrong with it, so long as they don't try to pass them off as the real deal to swindle someone. We just had that with our local car show. A guy did an entire restoration on a Chevelle, and he won best of show last summer thanks in part to my vote as a judge. Just about a month ago I found his car for sale on Ebay, listed and claimed as an SS, even though he told me two years ago that it was a clone.

But I can't get on you too much for not liking it. It really irks me when I see all kinds of cars with Chevy 350'* under the hood. That just gets me because there is no originality there.

no one hopefully would be stupid enough to just "Buy" a car without the least examination? anyway It really doesn't bother me at all, it isn't my car or one I'm planning to buy, I wouldn't care if he badged it a Rolls Royce.

Like Grimm said, folks will do anything they please to there car, after all.... it IS there property I never understood why other care what people do to modify there car (Unless they try to pass it of on someone who knows better/or who doesn't)

bottom line it'* just personal customization for the personal user to share and dispaly, a car modified in anyway is a car that reflects you and your personality.

I had a '71 442 for a few years, and every time I look at your sig pics I get depressed :( because I can't believe I ever sold it. I never did find out it'* top speed. I just know there was lots of space left between the accelerator pedal and the floorboard when I'd lose my nerve.

Anyway back on topic, when I had it I came very close to making it a fake W-30, but not just adding the badges, I wanted to add all the W-30 components (It did have ram air) .... but this was before the internet and parts weren't as easy to come by, but mostly I never did it because it just 'felt' wrong, like I would be driving a lie.

I feel the badge insignia is EARNED by the car. It shows that a car has certain characteristics, although variations and options do exist. If a car is modified to contain all those features (that would designate that model) then I wouldn't mind so much, but they rarely are. Just don't put the badge on without the equipment underneath. It'* fake. I'm sorry but fake is fake, whether it'* jeans, watches, are cars. Ask Barrett-Jackson how they would feel about it.