IMO it is a sign of the times, I am into the look, will it last, who knows. What i can say is this, smaller displacement motors are putting out higher AND HIGHER horspower and torque ratings which are definitly competing with those of the old big block motors. Movies such as F&F are identifying a trend that has grown to be a force to be recognized by the automotive industry, this is shown by such vehicles as say mazdaspeed vehicles, ford svt, suburu with the STI and mitsu with the EVO series and of course the skyline GTR's. New racing circuicts are developed such as D1 ( drifting ) and JGTC, and BGTC to show what these cars are capable of so in the aftermarket world the trends will reflect those from the racing circuits. Big wings, carbon hoods, body kits, etc are all by-products of this phenomina and from what i can see will be around for along time to come. does everyone like them, no- of course not, but a mass majority of the buyers and future buyers in this technologically advanced society do, we are programmed to the trend by video games ( need for speed underground ) tv shows, movies and of course the most influential persons, our generation X big brothers and sisters who are the new money in the business world buying the products. after awhile this typing looks alot like a bunch of bla bla bla huh?

Originally posted by another8owner
bla bla bla huh?

:confused: you read my mind...??

Yes, aftermarket developments have entered the mainstream, but don't ever get this confused with idiotic over the top rice. There is a difference between 2f2f rice-a-roni and good taste; unfortunately many people don't know the difference.

The aftermarket for the "import" market as gone from minimal annual profit to a 52 billion dollar indrusty in 6 years. You think it will stop??????? I don't.......

Also for the racing scene...... Why spend 50k on a (stock) vette or 80k on a (stock) porsche, when you can buy a honda for 10k and drop 40k into the motor. And keep up with the HIGH END cars like vette's and porsche's.

Another8 - Did my comments from your 'hotwheels' thread spark an additional thread idea for you? :D

I agree with you that it is the sign of the times. Each auto era has culminated there own identity and this era happens to be the Tuner Era. The 50's had their hot rods, the 60's and 70's had their muscle cars and the late 90's and 00's have had their tuner cars. What's next? Who knows. I will continue to watch with anxious and curious eyes what people decide to do with their rides and will enjoy every minute of it. I am of the "different strokes for different folks" mindset; though I do believe there is a fine line between whats tastful and whats not tasteful. A line that is often crossed, IMO.

MikeA - If I had the $$$ and had the ability to choose b/w a moded ride and an exotic, I still think I'd take the Porsche. :D :D

Originally posted by success07
Another8 - Did my comments from your 'hotwheels' thread spark an additional thread idea for you? :D



you read my mind!:D by the way i am a tuner fan, love the look, wish the car really was a d1 grand champion car and if i could spend big dollars on an exotic to leave stock, it would for sure be a Saleen S7R in silver !

so whats the deal with the "fast and furious " look ?


I hate it.

Originally posted by MikeA
Also for the racing scene...... Why spend 50k on a (stock) vette or 80k on a (stock) porsche, when you can buy a honda for 10k and drop 40k into the motor. And keep up with the HIGH END cars like vette's and porsche's.

because in the end, it's still a Honda, even after you peel off the multiple layers of stickers

Originally posted by MikeA
The aftermarket for the "import" market as gone from minimal annual profit to a 52 billion dollar indrusty in 6 years. You think it will stop??????? I don't.......

Also for the racing scene...... Why spend 50k on a (stock) vette or 80k on a (stock) porsche, when you can buy a honda for 10k and drop 40k into the motor. And keep up with the HIGH END cars like vette's and porsche's.

Ok that made me go "HUH?" Why would anyone want to spend $50k on a modified Honda, over a $50k new Vette? Even though I'd hate driving a long Vette, for the pure power of it, and for the same price, I'd take the vette.

I would hope most people wont plop down 40k+ on a 15k Honda, that's just sad. If you had that kind of money, might as well get a real sports car like Skyline, and plop another 20k on it and compete against Ferraris and Porsches in the 100k-300k range. :)

Personally I've been interested in modifying cars since the Hachi-Roku era, and personally I don't like the "F&F" look. The stickers and neon glow on the bottom of those cars look tacky. Everytime I watch the movie, I wonder to myself, why did they abuse this car? Show more Rotary, Show more Skyline, Show less gimmicky racers.

I have not replied much on this board, well at all really, though I have been reading for months and have owned my RX8 since November, but I find this to be one of the funniest threads I have seen to date.

I find it funny as one of the reasons I bought this car is because it speaks of a bit more maturity and not the exact look you describe. Even with the bodykits I have seen it still looks like quality car and not a hobbled together parts bin effort. From looking at the pictures of the owners and from reading the forum, I can pretty much surmise that is the general attitude here and the desire for a $50k honda is rare.

For reference on me, you can see my other car here www.murix.com and a list of the type of work we do here - www.armond30.com. You will see lots of fast but no furious. Sticker power is kept to a minimum.

I also moderate 2gnt.com which is the 420a eclipse message board.

Cheers

CM

Originally posted by another8owner
IMO it is a sign of the times, I am into the look, will it last, who knows. What i can say is this, smaller displacement motors are putting out higher AND HIGHER horspower and torque ratings which are definitly competing with those of the old big block motors. Movies such as F&F are identifying a trend that has grown to be a force to be recognized by the automotive industry, this is shown by such vehicles as say mazdaspeed vehicles, ford svt, suburu with the STI and mitsu with the EVO series and of course the skyline GTR's. New racing circuicts are developed such as D1 ( drifting ) and JGTC, and BGTC to show what these cars are capable of so in the aftermarket world the trends will reflect those from the racing circuits. Big wings, carbon hoods, body kits, etc are all by-products of this phenomina and from what i can see will be around for along time to come. does everyone like them, no- of course not, but a mass majority of the buyers and future buyers in this technologically advanced society do, we are programmed to the trend by video games ( need for speed underground ) tv shows, movies and of course the most influential persons, our generation X big brothers and sisters who are the new money in the business world buying the products. after awhile this typing looks alot like a bunch of bla bla bla huh?

I will agree with you that obvious, riced out (i.e. non performance enhancing) portions of the car are unneccessary. However, in some cases, hood scoops and wings are functional. To be fair, some can argue, some of the aggressive lines on the RX8 are also, unneccessary and tacky. In fact, I have seen comments in some magazines saying the RX8's styling will not stand the test of time.

I can't comment intelligently for other sport compact cars, but I can say that the majority of mods done by the EVO community are performance based. In fact, the whole point of that car is to put as much $ into performance (i.e. function) as possible at the cost of styling. comfort, etc. (i.e. rice).

i dont like all the big flashy stickers either but i do think i know why you see alot of it.

1. A person of unknown age buys this.

2. watches movies, buys the magazines , surfs the net and see's this...

3. low and behold the car in step 1 now becomes this.........

( no offense if this is someones car on this thread )

Originally posted by MikeA
The aftermarket for the "import" market as gone from minimal annual profit to a 52 billion dollar indrusty in 6 years. You think it will stop??????? I don't.......


I agree that it's just going to grow. But it took way longer than 6 years my friend. My dad and uncles were using TRD and HKS products in the late 70's and early 80's. And in the late 80's early 90's this is when I started using HKS, Mugen etc.....