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I had a very enjoyable top down weekend in our Jeep. Between cruising L.A.'s beach towns with my kids and canine, I broke out the heat gun and the Goo Gone and rid our Wrangler of its unnecessary decoration.
The photo above illustrates the "before". The "after" is on the next page.
Scott Oldham, Editor in Chief
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the_big_al says:
11:24 AM, 02/ 6/12
I've always preferred a badge-less, sticker-less car. It just has that "clean" look. Plus it removes any evidence of what model you are driving and leaves one to guess what it trim level it might be. Leaving you free from the "model" stigma that some people assign to vehicles. Especially once you start adding upgrades and modifications that clearly take it far and away from what it originally was. (Such as in this case where your "base" model Wrangler is clearly no longer a "base" model.
esoterica says:
11:25 AM, 02/ 6/12
Mmm, yes, much less tacky.
throwback says:
11:31 AM, 02/ 6/12
But, but, you just ruined the resale value! Everyone knows stickers make a car more capable. nice job.
csubowtie says:
11:32 AM, 02/ 6/12
I don't mind a few badges here and there, but do agree many go overboard. For instance I probably would have left the "Wrangler" but taken off the "Sport". I know when we bought our WRX I specifically asked the dealer NOT to stick on the dealer badge. They did anyways. Luckily it only took a few more seconds to remove while I pulled off some other badges.
gregnv says:
11:35 AM, 02/ 6/12
Hmmm... This may be sacrilege, but for a split moment I thought this would be great for the BOSS 302, which is an awesome car that unfortunately sports ridiculously large boy racer decals.
tjpark01 says:
11:43 AM, 02/ 6/12
see if the goo gone will work on that hideous wheel lock.
lmbvette says:
11:59 AM, 02/ 6/12
De-badging really works on some cars. I removed the awful "TransAm" and the door strip guards on my 2000 WS6 Convertible. It really cleaned up the lines of the car.
I would never remove the V badges on my CTS-V as it looks too similar to a standard CTS. However, I did remove the GM chiclets.
stovt001 says:
12:03 PM, 02/ 6/12
There are some badges that go overboard and I think need to be removed, but when I see a fully debadged car I wonder if the owner is either ashamed of what they drive or overestimate the appeal of the mysterious.
throwback says:
12:25 PM, 02/ 6/12
If there is one vehicle on the planet that does not need badges, it's the Wrangler.
candlestickmn says:
12:50 PM, 02/ 6/12
"If there is one vehicle on the planet that does not need badges, it's the Wrangler."
got that right throwback. +1
fordson1 says:
12:59 PM, 02/ 6/12
He does have that right, but...it's not like removing the stickers are going to suddenly render it elegant, tasteful and understated. What a Wrangler does well, it does better than most other vehicles on the planet, but let's face it - it's a 4-wheeled cartoon character anyway.
And I suspect most Wrangler owners would agree with me and say that's one of the reasons they bought it.
agnh says:
03:03 PM, 02/ 6/12
Badges....we don't need no stinking badges!
Actually, being in California, now you can stick on a "Vtec", "M" or "AMG" badge on the back.
canddmeyer says:
03:43 PM, 02/ 6/12
I liked the decals/stickers/badges. Now folks will be badgering y'all asking, "Is it a SPORT model"?
Also, having had multiple vehicles with white letter tires, my preference is still letters in. Looks great at a standstill, but going down the road it looks like whitewalls on a Jeep.
three40duster says:
04:40 PM, 02/ 6/12
I like moderate debadging...but I tend to leave most badges on, only removing the ones that look out of place. Case in point...my Ram Outdoorsman came with an SLT badge on the left side of the tailgate to accompany the Rams head in the middle of the tailgate. Since it looked off balance, the SLT badge went bye bye.
lautomobile says:
05:24 PM, 02/ 6/12
I've never been a fan of badges or stickers. My '12 Focus hatch is badge-less (except of course for the integral Ford badges). I get the occasional person sitting behind me at a traffic light squinting in an attempt figure out what they're looking at. This will probably stop once more Foci are on the road.
explorerx4 says:
06:13 PM, 02/ 6/12
I can't believe some posters were fooled by the top picture.
70ss454_man says:
06:30 PM, 02/ 6/12
Shyiit, I thought you guys adjusted the bump stops or something. Didn't even notice the missing stickers!
firstwagon says:
08:42 PM, 02/ 6/12
People will just think you've been in an accident, had the jeep repainted and didn't bother to get new decals.
Bad for resale.
hybris says:
08:43 PM, 02/ 6/12
Absolutely pointless and you should have left them on.
Now give us a lift kit already!
fundango says:
05:32 AM, 02/ 7/12
There's a guy I see on my morning commute who drives a de-badged e90 328i. I can't tell if he's trying to pass it off as a 335i (although the twin tip, single exhaust is a dead giveaway), or whether he got into an accident and the shop never properly re-badged it, or maybe he de-badged it himself for the look. Whatever the case, I can't help but think it looks pretty lame.