Honest opinion of the import industry.

[h22sparkle]

Okay I spoke to my boy today who delivers pizza his names scott. I knew my boy scott eversince I was in the streetracing scene when I had my turbo h22. Its been awhile since I seen him. I came outside to get my pizza and I noticed he didnt have his civic 4door with a b20vtec swap anymore>? I asked him what happened he told me he sold it. I asked him why? he said that as far as the streetracing scene its dead. I myself couldnt accept it but now the racing scene the import scene is dying out hard.

I mean even though theres really nothing much I can do but stand back and let it happen. Has anyone here ever felt this way before. I mean I know theres a time and place for everything especially growing up but I still have this honda hope still thriving but its dying very quick. What is to become of the import world of hondas and cars alike? your opinions related to the topic please? and how do you cope with it?

[d112crzy]

the "scene" was exploded by FF, and now that its old, people are forgetting about it cus they never really cared or liked it. They did it b/c it was the "cool" thing to do.

People that truly love the sport/challenge continue to build and race legally.

[92DX]

Umm... I really don't see it dying, but like d112crzy said, there lies the difference between posers/ricers and enthusiasts.

[elositocandela]

there is more ricers then enthusiast, and i think ricers are just killing it. IMO

[deevergote]

The "import" scene is dying, and the "tuner" scene is growing. The American companies are starting to offer cars that can compete with the Asian tuner cars (Cobalt SS, SRT-4, Focus, Solstice, etc...) Conversely, the Asian companies are beginning to offer larger cars. Sure, we still have the turbocharged 4 cylinder monsters like the EVO, but the new NSX is supposed to have a V10.

American and Asian cars are pretty much on par with each other now. European cars are still a little removed, mostly because of the costs associated with them (real or imagined, people believe that European cars cost more to own, fix, and modify).

5 years ago, any self-respecting Honda guy would'nt speak to someone who drove a Cavalier, or even worse, a Mustang. Now, we have the traditional import magazines (like Super Street) featuring domestics like the SRT-4.

The scene isn't dying. The lines are just getting a little blurred

[nghtrydr23]

^^ agree, but definately the whol street racing scene died out.... track days are the thing to these days

[HondaFan81]

I personally don't care about what's going on around me but that I enjoy it. If I find some local friends that do, that's even better, but I wouldn't be where I am now if I depended on others. I do it for me, it's fun for me.

[mozzandherb]

I've never "street raced" so I was never in the scene, however, there is a dragway about 20 min away that I never went to until about 2 years ago. And that's when I started modifying the Accord. I really enjoy the 1/4, it's fun to hang out with your friends and legally race and from what I can see around here is that it's becoming more popular year after year. Like I said I know nothing about "street racing" except what I've seen on t.v and read about in car forums, but as far as the scene in general dying down, it's not around here.

[wed3k]

i like racing against myself on sharp turns in the mountains

[steelbluesleepR]

at least around me, street racing is alive and well, just not with imports. there is a street that pretty much no matter what time it is, on friday/saturday night all the LS1's/mustangs are out running each other.

[LordXaero]

Personally I believe more people are going for the JDM look now, than the whole "Rice" look.

At least that's what it looks like over here.

:::Jeremy

[Dom]

The "import" scene is dying, and the "tuner" scene is growing. The American companies are starting to offer cars that can compete with the Asian tuner cars (Cobalt SS, SRT-4, Focus, Solstice, etc...) Conversely, the Asian companies are beginning to offer larger cars. Sure, we still have the turbocharged 4 cylinder monsters like the EVO, but the new NSX is supposed to have a V10.

American and Asian cars are pretty much on par with each other now. European cars are still a little removed, mostly because of the costs associated with them (real or imagined, people believe that European cars cost more to own, fix, and modify).

5 years ago, any self-respecting Honda guy would'nt speak to someone who drove a Cavalier, or even worse, a Mustang. Now, we have the traditional import magazines (like Super Street) featuring domestics like the SRT-4.

The scene isn't dying. The lines are just getting a little blurred

well thats because this whole industrys a BIG money pit and everyone wants in on it!!!

[Dom]

Okay I spoke to my boy today who delivers pizza his names scott. I knew my boy scott eversince I was in the streetracing scene when I had my turbo h22. Its been awhile since I seen him. I came outside to get my pizza and I noticed he didnt have his civic 4door with a b20vtec swap anymore>? I asked him what happened he told me he sold it. I asked him why? he said that as far as the streetracing scene its dead. I myself couldnt accept it but now the racing scene the import scene is dying out hard.

I mean even though theres really nothing much I can do but stand back and let it happen. Has anyone here ever felt this way before. I mean I know theres a time and place for everything especially growing up but I still have this honda hope still thriving but its dying very quick. What is to become of the import world of hondas and cars alike? your opinions related to the topic please? and how do you cope with it?

whoa is this h22sparkle???
that cant be you typing!!
if so man wow theres been a drastic change in your vocabulary!!
Good Job

[jay78]

i hope the "scene" dies soon, so these fucking 10-13yr old cars will start going down in resale price.

[deevergote]

well thats because this whole industrys a BIG money pit and everyone wants in on it!!!

Exactly. It takes a while for the big companies to shift their focus, and the whole tuner scene managed to stay around in time for it. If you notice, there were a few companies (Ford in particular) that kinda missed the boat on the "ricey" stage... like the Focus SVT. Not much in the way of balls, but it had those neat tail-lights!

What I find funny is that Toyota was one of the frontrunners in the import tuning scene. Supra, MR2, Celica... all worthwhile sporty cars. Even TRD was probably the most well-known and easily accessible OEM tuner. Now, Toyota has pulled every car that isn't... well... boring. Nobody wants a drive-by-wire Corolla S! Their new supercar will be cool, but no "tuner" is going to be able to afford that!

The sport compact scene is really stepping up from the factory, though. The Evo/STi battle is intense. Who would've thought we'd have 300hp 4 cylinders from the factory? And they're far from done. I bet half of the people who have put turbo kits on their Hondas aren't even making 300hp.
The Cobalt SS and Ion Redline show that GM gives a damn about FWD sport compacts, and they had enough guts to go with a supercharger instead of a turbo. The Solstice/Sky makes a nice entry in the roadster category... hot looking cars that are cheaper than a Z4 or S2000, and fill the gap between the S2000 and Miata in terms of performance (a little bigger than the Mazda, a little weaker than the S2k). The SRT-4 proved to be a strong contender, and the new Caliber-based version should be making 300hp... possibly AWD (and with roughly the same engine as the EvoX...)
The Civic comes with a 200hp motor for the first time ever. The Mazdaspeed 3 is a rocket, and the Mazdaspeed 6 is a luxurious powerhouse... kept from being an Evo-killer only by it's weight. The rotary has returned (ok, it sucks... but we have rotary again! Now they just need to boost it...)


Toyota, Hyundai, and Ford need to step it up. The rest of the OEMs have some very fine offerings! Remember back in the late 90s when a 150hp car was actually bragged about on the commercials?