Out of Tuners?

[Variance]

Out of Tuners?

An Autoweek writer comments on the sport compact tuner scene and opines on what he thinks seems to be a trend on the decline. He cites the declination of quality and quantity of attendance as possible evidence that the tuning scene may be making its way out. Does he have a point?

Read "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow?" @ Autoweek

[Snate]

Don't worry...yet another mindless F&F movie is on its way out to rejuvenate the scene.

[Intrepidation]

Don't worry...yet another mindless F&F movie is on its way out to rejuvenate the scene.

Those are pretty stupid movies.

[ToniCipriani]

Even Need For Speed is starting to go back to its roots of police pursuits and exotics. Most Wanted has significantly less ricing than NFSU or NFSU2.

I just hope this tuning thing which in turn spawned ricing would die down. I hate it when I'm enjoying the nice tune of my V6 then a fart can pulls up next to me.

Keep the idiotic modding in Japan.

[Bimmer325]

Has the sport compact tuning market bubble burst?

We can only hope.

[grandmarquis]

yea!!!! 'bout time that stupidity ended. now, if we can just stop the production of fartpipes........

[Sixty8panther]

Those are pretty stupid movies.

They are not to be taken seriously. I enjoyed both movies thus far.

I'm not a ufcking retard who says "ten second car" every 45 sec.

though. The Charger in the 1st movie was pretty cool and the SYC

& Challenger stole the show in the second movie. Even Paul Walker

pretty much says that the 35 year old Camaro can blow the doors

off of almost any Tuner ever made.

That being said I don;t think the tuner trend will ever slow down

very much, but now that we'll have three Pony cars & a GTO in

showrooms again we'll give those POS ricers a run for their money.

Once some of the kids realize that they can have a superior RWD

product with DOD and a dead-reliable pushrod V8 design some of

them might smarten up. Esp. when the GTO & Camaro kick their

ass at Drifting Competitions.

[zhawk]

Those are pretty stupid movies.

I couldn't even make it halfway through the first movie.

[Mr.Krinkle]

gotta get nos.

yeah.

nos.

you cant kill them all. too bad i guess. some of them sure are purrdy though. no not really.

[Flybrian]

No, FnF were simply stupid movies. This thing? Puleeze...

If Tyrese is really using that, what's Ciara supposed to drive?

[Intrepidation]

They sound like weedwackers...

[Mr.Krinkle]

yeah, or someones mixing up pina coladas in there.

or a two thousand pound bumble bee just flew by you on the highway.

[DetroitNut90]

They sound like weedwackers...

My weedwacker sounds better than they do.

[76ChevyTrucker]

As does my weedwacker. Now I have to admit that I have heard some fairly nice sounding true exhausts on four-hampster units, but there are FAR more fart-can, coffee-can models in the world.

[Chicagoland]

I think most 'tuners' have learned that a FWD Civic is not a substitute for a RWD or AWD sporty/sports car. Example, the EVO and WRX are more popular, and the Civic is fading.

What is "out" is the whole "rice" scene. Thinking any import compact can be made into a 'sports car' and added the tacky add-ons.

Also, the cars in the 3rd F&F movie seem to be RWD cars, Nissan Z, Supra, and some US cars.

Edited June 2, 2006 by Chicagoland

[Newbiewar]

yea!!!! 'bout time that stupidity ended. now, if we can just stop the production of fartpipes........

just as GM gets into it and gets awarded the 'Best tuner' the market goes sour?

[torobud]

'Tuning' won't be going away any time soon - I would just look for 'Tuners' to move towards cars that actually GO...

[FAPTurbo]

Yeah, the rice boy is on his way out. I think they finally figured out that instead of spending all that cash on a cheap Civic, that if they bought a more expensive car to begin with, they'd have a little more speed.

Still, now that it's summer out and the night market is back on in my city, there is no shortage of lit up Honda's with fart pipes...

[siegen]

Yeah, the rice boy is on his way out. I think they finally figured out that instead of spending all that cash on a cheap Civic, that if they bought a more expensive car to begin with, they'd have a little more speed.

It's not that it's isn't cost effective, it's that the stupid kids don't know how to spend the money the right way.

[PurdueGuy]

Also, the cars in the 3rd F&F movie seem to be RWD cars, Nissan Z, Supra, and some US cars.

That's also because the new one is supposed to be all about drifting, apparently.

[OLDSrocket]

What really is funny is that the tuner market isn't dying, those who came to the scene for the women/strippers, the F&F movie(s) (the first one did it, yeah I drank the Kool-Aid, and the 2nd one was aweful!!!!) the questionable car mods, free swag, video game promos other icky things and plus moving from its underground roots to pop culture as one REAL mover in the industry once quoted as saying that to paraphrase. A lot of people came to the scene for the glitz and glam but not the bare bones of it, tuning, the blood ,sweat, and tears . From the popularity of it all came the real "decline" of the scene when OEMs got involved and tried to sell slightly hopped up cars with mild horsepower and strange body kits to a generation who wants to look F&F showroom stock trailer queens with all show and no go who are just in there to look cool and play PS3s GTA or Grand Turismo. But with all of this bastardization of the scene, he said there are a few hardcore gearheads that were there from the start or just true to the culture that when this all dies away OEMs go the the next big thing and when it returns to its underground state like hotrodding is now and was decades ago it'll still thrive as long as they want to make more power, go faster and look cool driving it then , boff to the OEMs which always are the last to get on the bandwagon for ANYTHING, like the drunk dude at the party, when he shows up the party is over. So there isn't a shortage of tuners, just that many still want to make their own power and spend $30,000 and eat nothing but McDonalds for a couple of months than buy a SS CAVELIER! BUT THE NEON SRT-4 WAS THE SMARTEST THING TO COME OUT OF DETROIT FOR THE SPO-COM MARKET!!! but on the other hand the SPO_COM market has made a lot of $$$$ off of it to the private tuners who the OEMs come to spice up their small and mid-sizes, but as far as that this scene isn't going to die or retreat back to Asia, its going to go back underground or garage.

If you really want to see real tuners go to a NHRA Import Drag and you'll find them the atmosphere is great and inviting like the drags of the early years up 'til the '90s. there are a lot of cars that bring back the old memories of when you went for the tire smoke and raw horsepower or too see cars that can run with the door slammers in the BIg Show with more power and faster with smaller engines. Where else can you find someone reacing a Ford Ranger with a Turbo six, squeezing that can run a 10?

final note: WJ (Warren Johnson) the Godfather of Pro Stock, was in a booth with a well known import dragger, in the Hot Rod class, and the announcer with both of them commented on the similar speeds ran by the import, and told WJ what the driver's car turned and then asked WJ if he would race him heads up; WJ's response.....GOT UP AND LEFT THE ROOM!!! says a lot about NHRA and the future of drag racing in America..

note this the range of emotions I felt while writting this

[DetroitNut90]

Still, now that it's summer out and the night market is back on in my city, there is no shortage of lit up Honda's with fart pipes... 

Summer or not, Balto-DC is always crawling with them. I can't stand it when I'm sleeping and one zooms up the street. Sounds like a giant fart passing outside of my window. I honestly can't see how anyone can like that sound. It's awful!