Why no more Import Wars and the like?

In reply to Flyin Mikey J:

You've given me a new idea. In addition to the "stupid fast truck" thread.

Around here all the younger guys drive Miatas, Subarus, or turbo VAG. Throw in an occasional 240 and S2000 and that about sums it up. Also early G35 and 350Z with E36 M3ty driving that rivals Honda ricers of yore. I have no idea why that is.

I see Hondas quite a bit in the south bay but it's limited to that area really, go north on the peninsula or east bay and the further north you go the less FWD you will see. This is a cultural and ethnic related thing though.

I think focus has really shifted into other trends. The guys who were building EG civics, GSRs, etc. have moved on to STIs, Evos, and BMWs as they grew up. Honda hasn't made anything mildly exciting outside of an S2000 (which is definitely not a budget car) in about a decade.

If I go to a show with a mix of euro and import cars I see mostly STIs and clapped out 240s that look like turds but "I drift bro so I don't need to make it look good". The whole stance thing has really taken hold too and you'll see much more of that in the euro crowd and miatas.

The Euro scene is still alive and well because you can pick up a MKIV or MKV GTI on the cheap now but it's all stanced cars. A friend of mine that runs a very prominent euro performance shop put it best a few years ago when I was talking to him at a show and he said "I remember when VWs owners actually cared about performance." He built a MKII jetta GLI with an R32 AWD Halidex system and a big turbo 1.8T that probably puts down 400hp now and he road races it.

Now you can walk around a show and 2 out of 5 cars are on airbags the flavor of the minute wheel like Rotiforms, Watercooled Industries, or 3SDMs and absolutely butchered fenders that are all mangled up because the cool stance thing to do is run 195 tires on a 9" wheel and have so much exposed lip and offset that you can lay out the car on air and have the fender lip rest on the exposed wheel lip. rolls eyes

I personally chose to buy a new Mazda6 this summer instead of a VW because Volkswagen is trying to make cheap bland cars to compete with Toyota instead of the performance and quality they were known for. I still have the 84 GTI in my avatar though and that will be used the right way and get out on the track. If my car wasn't so clean and original I would love to add some Berg Cup style fender flares and get a set of 13" x 10" wheels on slicks and put a big obnoxious "bro font" lower windshield banner that says "Motorsport Stanced".

I'm 50 and still a "Honda guy". I have an 02 Civic, slightly and tastefully modded. Still turns heads. Also have a 13 Civic Si. Love 'em both. Never was a "ricer" however.....

I see more stancebros more than anything these days. I saw a Mini Cooper S yesterday coming home from work that had the bad stanced wheels/tires and intentionally missing the front bumper.

Contradiction wrote: The Euro scene is still alive and well because you can pick up a MKIV or MKV GTI on the cheap now but it's all stanced cars. A friend of mine that runs a very prominent euro performance shop put it best a few years ago when I was talking to him at a show and he said "I remember when VWs owners actually cared about performance." He built a MKII jetta GLI with an R32 AWD Halidex system and a big turbo 1.8T that probably puts down 400hp now and he road races it.

The rest of it doesn't matter any more. I WANT THAT.

Flyin Mikey J wrote: If I had a few extra dollars, I'd start an all new trend. Mini trucks (Ranger/S10/Nissan/Hilux) slammed in the weeds, with too-wide tires and offroad fenders/bedsides to accomodate the fat tires/wheels. IMSA widebody meets NASCAR Trucks.

I believe this is what mndsm and i are going to do with the motor out of his MX6 when the MX6 crumples around it.

Install in B2200. Add huge pre-runner cuts and flares. Install 17x12s wrapped in ALL THE RUBBER on all 4 corners.

Slam. Enjoy the hilarity.

In reply to TAParker:

I think that's the key; it seems that younger enthusiasts like to follow trends more, instead of modding something that stands the test of time. My '97 Miata has looked the same for nearly 15 years (slightly lowered, black 15" rims, and a Racing Beat type II bumper), and it also turns heads, even by the younger crowd. The "Illest" stickers or "Shoshinsha" marks on the scene-ster cars is really funny to me, and I find it puzzling as to why people want to fit in that badly. I am guilty of following trends too in my earlier years though, so I get it. Rolling the fenders would freak me out! Especially if it was only for looks like the hella-flush crowd. I don't view my cars as disposable, but I know that some people are cool with that. I just dig the less is more approach.

-Hamid

Ditchdigger wrote:

mad_machine wrote: and they have gone all drifting.. Civics aren't so good for that

Yep. Around these parts they either went drift crazy or STi mad and a large percentage went into full on jacked up diesel, coal rolling brodouche mode. What is the ricer flyby called when it is in a coal rolling cummins?

This. At least in my neck of the woods. Brodozers & jeeps are the current fad.

Oh. And +1 for the ricers buying BMW's. Didn't occur to me until I read this thread, but I've had multiple kids in BMW's trying to race the V lately.

Around here it seems like the honda ricers are gone and they've pretty much all been replaced by the big diesels. Jeeps were the fad for a little bit, but thats dying off, which I'm glad to see because I like jeeps and I want their prices to go back down. A friend and I were talking about what the next fad was going to be and we think its going to be rat rods, because the price on these has really went up. I think that will be short lived. It won't take long for these dingleberrys to realize how terrible those things are to drive. I may try to cash in though if I'm right. The prices these things sell for compared to what it would take to build one looks like pretty big profit margins to me.

I've noticed specifically this summer that a lot of ricey cars from years past have been reworked into hellaflush cars.

Swank Force One wrote:

Contradiction wrote: The Euro scene is still alive and well because you can pick up a MKIV or MKV GTI on the cheap now but it's all stanced cars. A friend of mine that runs a very prominent euro performance shop put it best a few years ago when I was talking to him at a show and he said "I remember when VWs owners actually cared about performance." He built a MKII jetta GLI with an R32 AWD Halidex system and a big turbo 1.8T that probably puts down 400hp now and he road races it.

The rest of it doesn't matter any more. I WANT THAT.

It's an amazing car. I got a ride in it before the most recent turbo upgrade and he was neck and neck with an F-body he was messing around with on the freeway. The guy in the F-body even gave him a thumbs up. The best part is it has a mid size touring wing on it that he actually NEEDS for down force and some hood vents for cooling so anyone that sees it on the street thinks "ricer" and get's a big surprise!

Like everyone else said, the older crowd has moved onto STI's & evo's. Most of the riced out civics look like they got locked in an early 2000's hot import nights show and just got out last week. Most do seem to have been reworked into the stance scene. Everyone else seems to be into trucks, and the genuine enthusiasts always seem to know where to find each other but mostly keep to themselves.

Funny thing is, apparently the Fast 'n' Furious stylings are still very popular in Japan.

I want to know when the FD RX7 is going to reach VR-4 prices so I can buy one for something less than stupid money. The whole F&F thing drove the price of FDs and MKIV Supras through the roof.

Probably the 10th of never.

The0retical wrote: I want to know when the FD RX7 is going to reach VR-4 prices so I can buy one for something less than stupid money. The whole F&F thing drove the price of FDs and MKIV Supras through the roof. Probably the 10th of never.

Never, because the FD isn't anywhere near the pain in the ass that a VR4 is.

I guess here in SW Ohio, the kids are driving trucks mostly. When I was in San Diego last month I was surprised at how few trucks I saw. I guess there's more farms here than there and maybe that's the reason. Might be easier to talk Mom and Dad into buying something that is a bit more relevant and "practical". Seemed like there were a lot more VW "real" Beetles in and around San Diego though.

It's interesting, and sometimes sad, to see most of the cars at the shows I go to are owned by old guys. While I do see the occasional younger (say 20s-mid 30s) guy with a car though, I wonder what the hobby will be like in another 10-20 years. Or maybe I just go to "old-guys" car shows.

Now, you would think with the hive-(car)mind we have here we could almost predict the next, great car fad. (And profit from it...!)

Old guys are building some insane street rods around here. There's a blown 530CI 63 Continental on 24s and air bags that drop to the floor being built at one of my clients' shop... the owner is well above 60.

I don't quite understand, but it is kinda cool.

In reply to Flyin Mikey J:

That just sounds like a waste of a Conti.....

I almost never see a younger guy with an old car at a show. If you do it's a really off the wall classic like a 72 T-Bird.

Mainly because the cost of most classics are insane for what they are. Example of that is the lady around the corner from me has a 69 Charger in her drive way. I'm assuming it's been there for at least 20-25 years (last tagged in 1992) It's nothing special. 318 engine, Auto, Base trim. It's in decent shape but would require a complete 25-30K restoration. She wants 5K for it and will not budge. 911's insane too. 79-81 SC's are not 25K cars....Sorry.

Of course living where I do, I can see the love for cars dying because the places to really enjoy them are dying or way over populated now. So why have something special. Just get an appliance and a house closer to stuff.

On th topic of car shows around here it falls in two categories: older guys who have muscle cars and younger guys who have everything else, especially VWs

In reply to JacktheRiffer:

That makes me wonder what will happen to the value of said muscle cars when the older generation passes on. I have a neighbor in his late 50's with one of those Saleen "American Flag" versions of the Mustang. It's one of 8 apparently that is dark blue with the white and read stripes. He must drive it 10 miles every 6 months, and lets it sit in the garage the rest of the time. While it is super rare, is there enough interest with the younger crowd to pay a premium for it 20-30 years down the line? I wouldn't, but I don't count as Mustangs were never my thing, but I'm also guilty of not knowing the fan-base.

What about the older muscle cars? There are some crazy prices out there right now, but there is a younger crowd growing up that won't have a clue who Carrol Shelby was.

-Hamid

We all adapt to the new. It is now, LS vs the world.

icaneat50eggs wrote: Hipsters happened. Lots of kids don't think cars are cool

It's funny, all the guys around here with hardcore e30 builds (5.0 swaps, LS swaps, big turbos) all seem to be 20-something hipsters. A few of them are into drift, a few of them rallycross, but most of them just build a car until they're bored, and then build a different car.

Funny thing is that most of the hipster car guys I know think it's funny being hipster and like the irony of a hipster gearhead that drinks cheap beer instead of $12 microbrews at trendy hipster bars.

And for the record, nothing about me is hipster

In reply to AverageH:

I think muscle cars are in a bubble right now and as soon as the older generation is gone they will probably drop in value. It seems like older japanese cars are going up in value as the people that grew up around them now have the money to buy and restore them.

And also the hipsters here are all into european car flipping. Buy build then sell seems to be all they do. None of thm drive anything they build.