Super & Etc: JDM & Being an asshole

So I seen a couple of these so called "JDM Tuners" a few times today..... Has it ever happenened to you, that you are casually minding your own business just driving all of a sudden you hear a whiney slow (insert base sports compact car model) driving wrecklessly on public roads. Cutting  lanes thinking they are all of a sudden world renound racers to prove their point of superiority.

Well what makes them superior you ask? Thats a good question. The following parts they put on their cars justify that they are true professionals in the street........


The MUST HAVE ITEM:

Just because you and  every other trend hopper, see one monkey do it you follow the next, its amazing how little to no research at all is done about what these badges mean:

 

Last time I checked no one in Japan even bothers rocking these. Thebadge in the left is Soshinoya, MEANING NEW DRIVER and the other badgein the right Koleshia MEANS ELDER DRIVER.Age group I've seen rockingthis in the streets of NYC...16-32 year olds running around rampant with these thinking it hasadded an extra 90hp to their cars. This is just an inidcator to watch out for a serious asshole.

Its not offically till you buy your first set of non factory tested springs.

 Its crazy how much these same group of guys boast about buying entire strut bar kits for their cars front and rear stability.  This whole set cost $40 shipped.

 Here is the infamous Ebay headlights, they come in non halo form as well. The owner below exibits the average Honda owner that thinks his car is a 2010 911 Carrera S4 with mods such as a black painted hood, fake "jdm" grille, fake regamasters, tints, yellow "projector" fogs, and the painted gas tank... Of course the rear has a canister!

  

The infamous "yellow fogs." Another mod taken of the IS300... I'm starting to think IS300s were the platform for all idiotic tuning...

How to spot one of these morons:

This is just a basic standard template.

1. Altezza taillights

2. Tow hook("because its tracked" owner probably never heard of SCCA)

3. Leaf badge or Vinyl graphics for the speed illusion

4. Fake mugen rims

5. Pep boys aftermarket rearwindshield wiper

6. Chopped catalytic converter

7. Tin canned exhaust

8. Pepboys wing

9. Base model

10. Upon an encounter with either of the two be prepared to either be reved, suddenly cut off, fly'd by or heavily grilled in stoplight.

Why do people do this? 

To their justification I can see why its done. Its cheap to buy a sportcompact basemodel for example a 1993 Honda Civic DX. Insurance is cheap, gas is cheap and an abundance of parts are readily available at your disposal AT AN EXTREMLY LOW PRICE. Plus the rest of your peers do it so why should one be left out? Now you can imitiate the guys who ruin such culture without any research or respect whatsoever.

Super & Etc:: The Death Of American Car Magazines

Well I decided to add something new in my blog I'd like to call a Super Rant. It's basically spontaneous ideas that come into my head. I figure I might as well write about it. Well here it goes....

I remember in the late 90s early 2000's I was an avid reader of import car magazines. I would be reading turbo, import tuner, sportscompact car, and superstreet. I notice quality began taking a dip in the mid 2000s around 2004.A lot of factors have to be taken into account for this dip. Possible reasons blogging, mass sharing in the internet, high speed cable being easier to attain for the masses, digital photography being easier to access, automotive forums, more user friendly video and photography editing software and the economy. When Prime Media began buying all the Import branches thats when death happened. Magazines began thinning and more women and advertisements where on pages. It didin't help that the economy was doing poorly as well. Many publications began getting axed such as sportscompactcar(An Actual Quality Magazine! and the only one I can think of getting cancelled at the moment). If I wanted to be teased I would be in the early stages of a relationship. I'm a car enthusiast, just because I am one doesn't always translate to one being a meathead. Many of us are articulate just look at all the blogs as an example. I'm also not in high school anymore. I don't really want almost naked women near car photos. It just looks really tacky. I stopped reading car magazines in the states since 2006 when my super street subscription ended. I had to deal with other priorities in life and put my passion on hold until 2009 it reimmerged.

I realized a lot of car magazines here try to persuade 15-25 year olds. Look at every cover from modified magazine to import tuner etc. etc. How they manage to sway people is their winning forumla as I'd like to call it.
The winning forumla for them : Almost naked woman showing her tummy, chest,back or legs somewhere in the cover or she could be the cover, bright colored vechicle putting out X amount of horsepower, GIANT FONT EMPHASIZING WHAT THE CAR IS ABOUT, and a captivating font to get your attention to buy this crappy $6.00 magazine. The worst part is when they interview the model for a magazine and when your a young pubescent boy or loser reading the model interview.(Yes I admit I fell victim as both)
The following is a mock Q & A they always do such as this:

Q: What do you look for in a guy?
Model: He has to smell nice, a good sense of humor, a head on his shoulders
Q:How could a guy approach you?
Model: He should just be confident and not cocky.
Q:What ethnicity are you
Model: Well, to be "technical about it" I am laotian, thai, filipino,chinese,german,peruvian and rat.

The reason for this generic answer is to give the boy hope and keep reading the magazines. That way it can give hope for him in his dreams that the girl he yanks his hank to could one day like him.

Gee this doesn't have all the things I just talked about...



The worst magazine of all. Import Tuner is pretty JDM look the Tokyo skyline at night and flag is in the back!


Yea I'm curious to see the GT-R as the street king or I can see a whole page of the girl in the bikini.


Are you buying import tuners for colored cars or c-cups?


Why is the woman on the top left cover anyway? Does it have to do with coilovers?


The point of all this? With the horrible quality of magazines what's the point of their publications? Magazines are slowly slowly dying but not.I don't think these magazines will ever die because there are still morons picking up and buying these magazines who think this is the hotness. Until people become selfaware that anytime you buy something its not just buying a product but an idealogy. Colorful cars, almost naked women and articles a seven year old can understand is something you want to buy??
Not to knock on anyone but there are nice quality rides that pop up now and then in the magazines after they been all over the internet..... So I do have to give credit to the owner of the car not the magazine. It's just another exposure for him or her..

I see everyone blogging doing a better job and coverage than the content I see in magazines. None of that watered bs and such. Blogging is already a force. Import Tuner I've seen has recently been asking readers to give photos of their projects and such. They even ask for links of ones website and such. Also look at Super Street asking Risky Devil for a feature. So we do have the power people.