The Whole Knock-Off Debate

The plauge of knock off parts has loomed around not just in the automotive world but entire business markets. From shoes,t-shirts,blenders, cameras and even condoms. I'm going to focus my thoughts on the great debate about replica parts in the automotive world instead. It has come to my attention that people are taking sides as to what pratices are moral or immoral. In the world of business the word "ethics" doesn't exist. What matters are gains and minimizing cost as much as possible.

Consumers have the power to end replicas from being sold. If Rota's are making a profit from the wheel industries what does that tell all the other JDM companies? They have options to combat the competition. Take for instance Nike's signature shoe Air Force One. It is an original design shoe that is flawless and can be worn for almost all occasions. A majority of competitors tried coming out with answers for this shoe. They either made their own interpretation of the shoe or copied the mold. Is Nike complaning about this? Are any of Nike's consumers complaining about this? No, it just means stop being a bitch then. A lot of childish behavior occurs in car forums. It's only natural that people want attention, and want more than the next man in life. This transcends into cyberspace.A majority of the time you tend to see people in forums buy these expensive JDM parts for hype and credit. An example of this can be found in any car forum. Just log on and you will see a thread with someone saying "look at my new......" Is this really necessary? I do understand forums are subcultures for people with the same passion to expand and share their hobbies with one another but it just becomes obvious when people want their eprops. There are times when the replica does the same as the original or exceeds it in quality and there are also times that it's much worst than the original product itself. Shouldn't the part the consumer buys be form over function? Who's to negate someones build because of brand names?

Does it really matter if someone is going to buy Rota wheels instead of buying Volks?  Does it matter what aero kit is a copy of the original? My conclusion is you must be a total capitalistic asshole if this is what your going to be upset about. So much more injustice is occuring with how all goods are made. Instead think about how lucky you are to be sitting in a computer complaining about something as stupid as authentic car parts. Think about the person that sewn your t-shirt on your back or the African that was exploited for the silicone parts on your computer.