skunk2em2

do you people think the media has affected on how people operate their cars, tune them, and what they do with them?

example:
when fast and furious came out, many young, unexpierenced drivers rolled up with a daddys camry, a bucket or a scraper at the races. people kept talking about nitrous (nos). neons were popular by demand? and many others i cant think of right now

initial D - some people didnt know wtf a ae86 was or a trueno until initial D came out. after that, my buddies kept dreaming over about a 1986 toyota corolla gts it is a great car but not worth dreaming over for.

drifting - when magazines interviewed professional racers (drifters) on magazines such as superstreet, modified mag, etc etc, all the kids looked into 240's/rx7's. <--- same goes for initial D. i had a friend who spent most of his time on hondas like me back in the days where we got our permits. but after him watching episodes of initial D, he kept talking about wanting an "FC" or "sr20" and all those code names. me... im a 99% honda fan. my civic may be slow **** but when people see my car driving around, i just add up 1 point to the civic game.

so all in all, how bad do you think the media is affecting peoples cars lifestyles? it seems like MONEY is the key in this dam country. they'll do whatever it takes to earn as much money as they can. no one thinks about the negatives or the consequences

wwjkc

in a strong way, yes.

like what they say, money is the root of all evil!

diskreet

iTrader: (1)

im sick of every stupid white-trash-wigger thinking civic hatchbacks are fast and furious. i think like 10 of the 30 FAST hatches are street legal and any civic without HUGE engine upgrades is slow.
at least you can tell ricers from racers pretty easily...
the only problem is people who want show cars but end up with huge rice. that pisses me off.

CivicHX01

iTrader: (14)

i think the media has a lot to do with the scene... the media is what introduced me to drifting... it seriously looks fun... but i know it takes a lot of practice...

my 1st car was an 83 corolla, i blew the motor so now its jus sitting in my backyard... i'm planning on swappin an engine in there, dunno which yet... but its going to be a fun project when i have the time and money...

Cocky

iTrader: (6)

i think you all take this car stuff too seriously. you get all offended by a 'ricey car' who cares?

diskreet

iTrader: (1)

well so far it seems 49% of the media is APC and other CRAPPY companies feeding ricerers imagniations. another 50% is negative media from more professional and politically correct sources, and 1% of true, worthwile, not ricer information.

rEkKaShInObI

exactly what you said.

exclusive_vtec

yep yep

Zzyzx

Of course the media influences people... and of course companys capitlize on that and sell you crap you dont need. if you want the actual racing side of cars, I suggest picking up a copy of Grassroots motors sports, and looking to join either NASA or the SCCA...

http://www.grmotorsports.com/
http://www.scca.org/
http://www.nasaproracing.com/

vtecd17

Media most definitely influences people in how they tune their cars. Like you said earlier, Fast and Furious came out, and a bunch of kids rolled into a shop they've never been to and ordered themselves a exhaust and intake. Its those kinds of movies that show kids what cars can do, and what you can do to them. But I don't think they stress the hard work, effort, and stuff associated with a true show car, or a street racing monster. Hell I know around here people listen to other people more than themselves. Lets say someone likes a body kit, but their friend doesn't. They won't get that body kit just cause their friend doesn't like it. Why you ask? Cause people seem to build cars to fit the expectations of others, so that in a sense. The built car will be recognized, and seem worthwhile to build. Now, I'm most definitely not saying everyone is like this. But I do know some people that are. Those people are the ones that have lost the true "tuner" in them. Hell I'm building my civic to race. People say, "no man, civics are slow" or "Dude another civic? wow". But I don't let it get me down ya know? (cause i'll be whompin on them when im boosted hehe )

But anywaysz, ya. Media most definitely influences people in what they do, and so do the people you surround yourself with.

To rant a little more:

Just think. A person that hangs out with a bunch of "ricer" civics or something. Will most likely build a similar ricy car.
Just as someone who hangs out with a bunch of 240 drifting monkeys, will most likely get into the drifting scene.

:/end rant:

LogicWavelength

iTrader: (2)

The media will affect anything it covers... in a "get all you can" type of capitalistic world (aka the USA) the media will portray tuner cars as bright, flashy "you aren't cool unless it looks like this" machines. In promoting this image, they stress individuality... whereas what ended up happening is just more mass marketing. However, there are trend setters and trend followers in any major movement (urban import tuner bad-*** being the current one) who will always exist. The few will pave the way, the many will copy and follow. right now the masses are just getting past the cool image and flashiness... the trend is peaking. you are blind if you cant see that. What will occur over the next few years is the import scene will simmer down - less APC, but less followers. Then after the glitz and glamour wear off, only the true and pure will be left.

however, motorsports will help transform the primarily "show" scene into a true sport. To call out a particular person, our member Hawk follows this philosophy. The future of import tuning is at the track. less will go to flashy upgrades, and more to performance. drifting, auto X and full-on track racing will take over. people will buy things that actually do something.

but, this isn't as shiny, new and trendy as our current scene and will lose coverage. as teenagers move on to the next big thing.... import tuning will side-step the limelight. it will seemingly die because of its loss of popularity. however, it will prevail in the hearts and wills of those left. and in 20 years, as we all buy our midlife crisis cars... im guessing we'll see alot more "oldskool" import cars pop back up from the past to rejoin those who kept it alive at the track.

im done my speech - hopefully my rant was insightful.

devilvtec

well said, i agree totally

wwjkc

well it's sad but true, that's why it's better to be unique then follow the crowd.

BlackFire

You are right in many things!! I like your words. Now, Import-tuning came to the scene because import cars were selling more than domestic cars when their quality droped dramatically on the late 70's and early 80's as well as economy, so imported cars was a great alternative because they were really cheap. But before that, car-tuning was as popular as now, but with those Malibu SS, Corvettes, Camaros, Thunderbirds and GTOs street racing as well as you now see Civics, EVOs, WRXs, SE-R, TypeRs, etc. Brands as MSD, Hooker Headers, Edelbrock, etc. was as popular as AEM, Injen, Neuspeed, etc are now. Now we see that domestic (US) cars have waken up on small car industry with Focus SVT, Neon SRT-4, Cobalt Supercharged, etc. but import cars like Honda and Nissan have standed over those cars because of their prooven quality.
Car-tunning will always exist, and yes, the media does have something to do with it and will continue to have something to do.

However, there are ricers and there are racers, and as you said, on the long run only real performance-oriented people will stay, but this car feber will always exist.

ThaitaniumGK

Logicwavelength and Blackfire are right.... car modding is here to stay.... hope it doesn't become just a fad as it's turning into...

PistolPete

iTrader: (6)

thats exactly what happened around here.
when i was in high school everyone wanted a honda or an acura.
soon they come to find hey "hondas are slow"
then everyone wanted to drift, "like omg its so big in japan. jdm man jdm!"

jeffsta17

iTrader: (9)

Really if u think about it if u get an exhaust or a body kit ur a "rice" rocket...so its really lame when some of u guys think that saying something is "rice" means its dumb...y not just call it dumb since basically all u can do to a civic is make it "Rice" just my 2 cents

jttegx

iTrader: (3)

how sure are you on that?