In the news; BBS goes bankrupt [again]

[J.Wolfe]

only thing you can do at the end of the day... so people stop trying to preach your way into convincing people. nothing will work at the end of the day unless the brand takes it into their own hands and figures it out like big boys

[Rally]

but a discretion to your opinion is that whats considered real and not real. its all opinions whether you say so or not. i had rpf1's are they real? sure i guess so as in they have had replicas made. but what about wheels that havnt had replicas made and are just not popular and expensive wheels...

I think "real" and "original" are synonymous. If the design of the wheel is an original design (i.e. not a direct copy of a pre-existing wheel), that's what people are referring to as "real". There's no requirement for replicas, popularity, price point, or aesthetics to be considered "real".

With that said, I'm not one to look down on someone with replica wheels nor am I trying to change anyone's opinion on the matter. I'm completely fine with other people running them and I have seen plenty of cars that I like on replica wheels. It's just something I don't personally condone or practice. Nothing wrong with a mature discussion

[Han]

Like so:

[kartikeya]

The whole knockoff argument isn't even relevant to BBS's financial troubles. Or in any case, I really really doubt it is.

And wheel companies can't really do much about manufacturers in mainland China beacause copyright law is too slack there. I'm assuming the same goes for the Philippines, otherwise Rota would get the shaft pretty quick.

[runningpanda]

Real BBS RD's that I bought for $200 off Craigslist. You just gotta keep your eyes peeled.

That's nice, but buying them off craigslist doesn't give money to BBS. Unless you bought them through some supplier of cheap BBS wheels?

[Kielan]

This thread is so OT.

[Rally]

So why aren't the real companies suing the fake wheel companies for these "immoral copyright issues" and "stolen designs"?

Quite a few do. A year or two back BBS approached a replica company for producing one of the first few replica LM's on the scene (before the Rota reps). They quickly disappeared off the market.

Copyright infringement lawsuits can take quite a bit of time and money, so we may not notice it going on behind the scenes. And in many cases, replica wheel companies are foreign to the original manufacturers which makes legal actions much much harder to pursue due to the different copyright laws between countries.

[Han]

Quite a few do. A year or two back BBS approached a replica company for producing one of the first few replica LM's on the scene (before the Rota reps). They quickly disappeared off the market.

Copyright infringement lawsuits can take quite a bit of time and money, so we may not notice it going on behind the scenes. And in many cases, replica wheel companies are foreign to the original manufacturers which makes legal actions much much harder to pursue due to the different copyright laws between countries.

Although they came back as Miro and now makes a ton of different reps that sell like hotcakes.

[runningpanda]

I gotcha. Well for their sake, I hope they begin to take legal action. Or do what AC Schnitzer is doing. I like that plan.

[NegativeCamber]

exactly what Andrew said. i was ready for these ridiculous posts on how reps are causing this, and found it in the very first post. if you actually think that because a bunch of shitty reps are putting a company this large in this situation, you are sadly mistaken.

Realistically speaking this probably has very very little to do with replica wheels and it'd be great if this didn't become another one of those threads. BBS probably makes 95% of their money manufacturing OEM wheels for various car companies. Their aftermarket, while respected, probably isn't their main money maker. The fact that LM sales might be down a few percentage points due to reps (generous figure) would probably have very little effect on a company that large declaring bankruptcy.

Blaming this on replica wheels is silly IMO. I still don't agree with replica wheels and there is proof that it damages brand identity....but it's nowhere near strong enough to bring down a company of this size. If you want to lay blame on something, point fingers at the economic issues we've been having. It's hurting car companies which in turn hurts the company that manufactures many of the OEM wheel options.

/END REPLICA DISCUSSION

[J.Wolfe]

^truth, people dont see that very well lol. ROTA-the death to us alllllllll

side note. first brand to make a legit rep of ccw's will be mans next best friend hahah

[Oxer]

CCW's are already cheap.

[01lexpl]

exactly. i was ready for these ridiculous posts on how reps are causing this, and found it in the very first post. if you actually think that because a bunch of shitty reps are putting a company this large in this situation, you are sadly mistaken.

I was trying to get the thread going... My view is if you have the means buy the BBS' then do so.

The way i see it is that originality is finite and has reached its climax. All companies are copying others. [ie. apple iPod vs. all those CHIpods that are out] I mean, how unique can designs get?

You can't manufacture a flat faced 7-spoke rim without stepping on someone else's toes since at least one other firm made an exact/close looking set.

Mesh wheels
3-4-5-6-7-8...130 spoke wheels
split wheels
...

In retrospect,should EVERY after market wheel company that has emerged after 1970 be paying BBS reparations?
What about Mackin industries? Should they be getting money as well since Rota copies 98% of their shit?

Each company puts a spin on it. If they use lower grade materials, sure = cheaper *similar* looking wheels with different and not ideal specs for many wheel whores.

I'd love a set of super RS, but they be pricey.

[Rally]

side note. first brand to make a legit rep of ccw's will be mans next best friend hahah

Want to really mess with your concept of what is "real"?

Check out these old BBS motorsport wheels....Familiar?

(I'm entirely poking fun at this point. CCW's are sick, high quality wheels and I'd run them any day of the year.)

[Oxer]

omg....

I own reps!?


* buys plane ticket to the US to acquire gun to shoot myself *