Dare I say that those are actually tasteful, at least compared to previous 'cute' wheels:

[www.ronalusa.com]

Seriously?

Tha fact that "hello kitty" is even mentioned on this site is frankly a little disturbing. whats next? tips on hair care?

Well, Farago is the Hello Kitty fan, and everyone was just holding out on us previously.

Laura has the guts to finally post about it.

How long do you think it will be before Mr. Wert starts questioning his own judgement about his new hire....???

when you have so dedicated yourself to the acquisition of hello kitty accouterments that not even the wheels of your car are exempt from HK fever...it speaks pretty loudly that you've given up on a normal life. still, theyre better than the wheels that look like a daisy - recall tire rack ads of old.

@htrodblder: @DM993tt: Seriously? If you can't take a touch of femininity, just don't read the post. Its not like she's some random writing coming over from Jezebel - you've seen the pic with the impact wrench, right?

@i drive a dodge stratus!!!: @Tom Chambers over Mark Jackson: I have to disagree, tasteful would be no cartoon characters. With the bear and the daisy at least you know the owner of the car has a sense of humor, these my make you think they are actually serious.

Oh, and by the way, why the hell are we even talking about Hello Kitty Laura?

@SwatLax: Femininity is just fine, these are rims with cartoon characters on them, and not even a cool aimed at adults cartoon, Hello Kitty's big audience is/was 6 year olds!!!

@Tom Chambers over Mark Jackson: I actually felt physically sick after seeing those wheels. I think I'd rather see my ride on blocks than on them.

well thats true, and frankly I thought one of the guys posted it. sorry for my confusion, fell off a motorcycle the other day and still on drugs

And they still look better than those stupid "donk" cars

You lost me at "I don't like....the Porsche Boxter"

Since when is Hello Kitty a hallowed brand that deserves to be mentioned in the same sentence as BMW? It's a brand that resonates loudly with ten year olds. Was the BMW 2002 a car for the masses or what? Maybe BMW is getting BACK to its roots. Take a look at the fargin Isetta that saved BMW after The War. Me thinks this cute chick who is good with a wrench was born with golden lug nut in her mouth. Some of us on here worship Caroll Shelby...for the work he did with Dodge. Its not all Aston Martins and doing hot laps at Laguna Seca. For some of us, its reving up your K car for that Autocross run in the parking lot of the Target in Paramus that keeps us going.

If Koenigsegg built a car I could afford and it was a good car, then yeah I would hold them in the same, if not higher regard. Same goes for Bugatti. It's not about a brand, or the purity of the brand. I like the Porsche 914 because it's fun to drive, same with the 944. Is it a real Porsche? Who cares? Now, the Cayenne, I'll give you the Cayenne.

BMW's aren't good because they're expensive. They're expensive because they're good.

Now, waitaminute. Gucci branded K-Mart specials I can see being parallel, but knockoff Gucci sunglasses are a totally different animal. One wouldn't like those because they're imposters. Rip-offs.

I think what you're really referring to is the brand selling out. Kinda like how Johnny Cougar went from hurting so good to waxing patriotic about pick'emup trucks.

Let's not forget the matching Hello Kitty Steering Wheel:
[www.wackywillysweb.com]

@SwatLax: Don't you mean the drill? ;-)

@Bluegoose: Woah! Warning! Watch it! Cuidado! Peligroso! Achtung!

@dculberson: As I said before -- the drill thing was my fault, not Laura's.

wait, you don't like boxsters? wha???

The MSRP on the Boxster starts at $45,600.

That's 'entry-level' and thus, crap?

I thought this was a car site?

Seriously, hate a company for using it's name or rep to foist crap on the public. Like the 924. But don't hate them for finally getting a (relatively) inexpensive car right...boxster!

We know Wert has Transformers pegged...

But gurl, 1st post off the intro, and HELLO KITTY?...... Come on I know theres better stuff than that? Don't you like ScoobyDoo, Blue's Clues, maybe a Ninja Turtle fan? Hell, even pokemon* (yeah I know I didn't spell that right, I'm not a fan)

@Bluegoose: I drove a K car for 2.5 years... I hear ya

Yes, the Boxster in her eyes is crap for being under 70K..even though it represents everything a Porshe SHOULD be. If you want to kill Porshe for diluting the brand, then the Cayenne is one target and so is upcoming four door. At 30K, the BMW one series really brings back what BMW ONCE was about. Light, nimble sports sedans. Not hulking sleds run by Hal 9000(I-drive) My sister has a 325 and it's SLOW.

Laura comes off as a snob. I'm not getting on her because she is a girl. I am questioning her assertion that lower priced Porshes and BMWs are inferior because they dont cost 100K. If you want to ban me for saying that, go ahead.

However, as a writer, she IS doing her job. A lot of people have viewed this article and it has triggered a reaction. I think that is why she was hired.

@lemondriver:
@RalphieDC:

Every car I've ever owned has had wheels. I've purchased aftermarket wheels. Junkyard wheels. Once, even, a most-likely-stolen wheel. This post is about a set of wheels and why she doesn't like them. It's not just about Hello Kitty.

I didn't see anyone bitching yesterday over a post about air fresheners, by the way.

Wasn't Hello Kitty ruined to begin with?

HK was tainted (for me) when a friend showed me her Hello Kitty vibrator...

Hello Kitty is beyond repair. There is no way to further denigrate the brand. I went to the Kitty Hell site and one of the first things I saw was Hello Kitty sausages: [www.kittyhell.com]

Asking that a Hello Kitty product be more subtle is like complaining that ice cream is cold. Those who appreciate subtlety tend to avoid obnoxious pink cats.

Unlike the apparel industry, which relies on manufactured exclusivity to create brand value, in the automotive industry names like BMW and Porsche used base their brand value on quality and engineering, not on the inability of "unwashed" (i.e. only upper middle class) people to afford their products. There is nothing wrong with a return to that heritage with brilliant cars like the Boxster/Cayman and 135i.

@Bluegoose: I think everyone who maligns the Cimarron is a snob. So, there.

@beercheck: Air fresheners have a function. Cartoons on wheels don't.

But...I was attempting to be funny. I posted the same comment on the Pivo article a few minutes ago. Sorry you missed it. It was hilarious.

@Bluegoose: I was going to say that if any vehicle diluted the Porsche brand, the Cayenne is it. The Boxster is a great car, if for no other reason than it led to the Cayman. The rest of the article is funny and I agree with it for the most part. $900 for those wheels? Damn. I think my Spongebob air freshner is a much better investment. Stylish and functional. Keep it coming LB.

@lemondriver: Holding tires on, maybe?

W/ camo powder-coating, I think these wheels would look great on the HK APC (nothing to do w/ The Terminator series):

[www.kittyhell.com]

Is it even possible to dilute the Hello Kitty brand? The whole brand exists to be put onto as many and varied products as possible. By definition, it's diluted. Think Krusty the Clown.

Though I admit that these wheels are perhaps the worst of the HK products available.

@beercheck: Oh, it's the cartoons that hold the tires on? I better go slap a ScoobyDoo sticker on my wheels before my tires fall off!

J/K man, I know what you're saying and it's cool. I just wonder how much attention this woulda grabbed if carchick didn't look like she do. ;-)

I gotta admit, I've got a bone to pick with you L-dawg. I adore knock-off sunglasses.
But I'm completely on-board with the Boxster-hatin'. I'd love to see stats on how many are ordered with automatics...

A lot of Porshephiles malign the 924, but it kept the company afloat so they could further turn the 911 into the ultimate sports car that it is today.

As for the Cimarron, I don't like it. Not because it was based on a lesser platform. I dislike it because it was SMALL. A true Caddy to me is the massive land barge Yank Tank variety. I loved those two door Coupe Devilles that were the same length as the Pontiac Parisienne. It still pains me to see those 80s Mini Caddies today...and the Catera.

Getting back to Hello Kitty, its a damn shame how far the brand has been diluted. What's next? A Hello Kitty Nascar Dodge driven by Erin Crocker?

My impression of the Hello Kitty brand is of something that gets put on things, and is as such undilutable. Hello Kitty stairmaster? Desk set? Hairpiece? Lawn fertilizer? Sure, whatever. I wouldn't think they'd sold out anymore then I think McDonald's has, it's just what they do.

@Garebear:

Oh, there's plenty of reasons why one would not be a fan of the Boxster, but it boggles my mind that not being expensive or exclusive enough would be one of them.

@Tom Chambers over Mark Jackson: I had this conversation roughly eleventy-billion times when they launched the Boxster. I thought it was an abomination of the brand at the time, and I still do. Price and exclusivity isn't the only reason to dislike it, but it's definitely one for this guy (pointing at self with both thumbs).
When they launched it, do you think they were planning on selling it to die-hard Porsche-philes that wanted a light, tossable convertible? Maybe. Or did they really want to capture a new (despicable) horde of customers of the "daddy bought me a Porsche" variety?

@Garebear: I always thought that the fact that it's still a good sports car despite dragging in the "filthy" customers is proof that Porsche did no wrong.

Not that I care. If I can help it I'll be driving El Caminos & Ford Mavericks for the rest of my life.

@lemondriver: You know what sucks? I read your post three times and thought it said "cartoon wheels serve no purpose". Now I read it again and see "cartoonS ON wheels...". I'm slowly setting the gun on the floor, kicking it over to you, and stepping away.

@skaz: It is a good sports car, you're absolutely right. I am just of the opinion that only about 10% of its drivers seem to recognize it as such.

Boxster S and Cayman S = whole new ballgame

Four words: Princess Kitty Mitsubishi i. This may be old news but this is the embodiment of Tokyo cute cult kitchiness. [www.nihoncar.com]).html

I wish they made a Badtz-Maru Evo instead, Mr. Mitsu.

My blue Veyron needs some Smurf wheels. Where can I get those?

I can never see anything about Hello Kitty without picturing the Hello Kitty Darth Vader picture. Man is that weird.

Wow, look at all of you with your boxers in bunches! That's the nice thing about a blog, we can all discuss our own opinions.

@PLATFORMHOON, this is not my first post off the intro, I wrote about Ralf Shcumacher being ousted from Toyota first. ;)

And I didn't mean to imply that I don't like the Boxster because it isn't expensive, I used the term "watered down" because that car is clearly not up to the performance standards of the rest of the P-car lineup.

I must have a Hello Kitty Toaster! The Kitty's image burned into your toast!

@Murilee Martin: You're dangerously close to being cute again.

@Murilee Martin: Friend of mine has one. Hours of enjoyment burning hauntingly creepy kitty-cat images into a variety of household items. Household items that happen to be shaped like toast.