Fake badges have been discussed for years with no clear answer as to the ethics of it. Some say it's misrepresentation, others say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery ... so I decided I could only get a clear answer if I asked the definitive source of ethics,
Aristotle. Here's what he had to say about the matter:
GG: What's up A-bomb? Hey, I have a question for you: is it wrong to put an ///M badge on a car that is not an ///M, when said badge is similar size, style, and placement as a real ///M badge??
Aristotle: Ahhh, yes, yes, this is an interesting question double-g ... so tell me, what does it
mean for a car to be an ///M?
G: uh, well, I, uh ...
A: Ah HA! You see double-g? In order to easily answer this question we must ask it teleologically: what is
the purpose of an ///M?
G: Oh, ok, well that's easy, an ///M is a sports and track oriented car that's also capable of being a daily driver. It can run on the track all day, but also take the kids to school or do a milk run.
A: And so an ///M is not just a collection of parts but a
specific assembly of parts capable of a specific purpose!
G: Well yes, I suppose that's true: an ///M has a specific purpose that it's capable of ...
A: Exactly! But it's not just the assembly either, is it? It's the specific assembly for a specific purpose done by a specific manufacturer, BMW M GmbH!
G: So an ///M is a specific assembly for a specific purpose by a specific manufacturer, M GmbH.
A: Precisely.
G: So putting an ///M badge on a car is wrong if you are either not BMW M GmbH, or your car is not capable of an ///M's purpose, or both!
Aristotle: Correct: applying an ///M badge to a car that is not an ///M is, therefore, ethically wrong.
So there you have the final answer from the man himself!
