I feel like the car community doesn’t discuss brand name wheels vs. replicas enough, especially on the internet. If this post goes over well, perhaps in the future we can talk about other issues that don’t get a lot of attention like V8 drift cars or flush fitment. All kidding aside, this isn’t about me and my (sometimes) useless opinions.
This is about the industry’s opinion, and more specifically, Mackin Industries. In September of 2010, they issued this letter to all of their dealers. Chances are if you have ever spent anytime discussing brand name vs. replica wheels you have seen this letter. Or, if you’re like me and somehow missed this letter, or you just forgot what it said, here it is.
To paraphrase, Mackin Industries pretty much drew a line in sand between them and Varrstoen, and retailers had to choose a side. For those of you not familiar with Varrstoen, they are a wheel company who were not only clever enough to replicate some nice wheels but make them in decent sizes.
Now before all of you brand enthusiasts take any sort of vindication from this letter, I think it’s important to see where Varrstoen is now; they’re still around and perhaps more popular than ever.
The real question is: Where does Mackin Industries go from here? I don’t have an answer, but what I do have are some pictures of Mackin’s fine products.
This picture seems like a shame. How many perfectly good wheels are going to be sacrificed just to prove build quality? It’s like cutting Michelangelo’s David in two to prove that is made of marble.
In closing, I would like to state that I am not hating on people who rock replica wheels. In fact, some of my best friends use replica wheels and I get the appeal of saving buckets of money. However, for all of those who use replica wheels and get mad at the brand name companies, ask yourself this: ‘If someone offered me a name brand wheel for the same price as replica, would I take it?’ If your answer is ‘No,’ then please give your head a shake.
Without name brand wheels, things couldn’t become legendary.