Originally Posted by Street Guy

Yeah,

You know how Americans use to be racist & all...well this is us going bad to those old days, but they show their hatred through the car community scene.

P.S. Same reason why road rage exist even more now.

Originally Posted by Dr. Disque

i just hate anyone with an attitude or that thinks they're a pimp/thug

Originally Posted by ASRGuy

can't we all just get along? probably not. we all drive in the same streets and race at the same tracks. it's the ego thing.

Originally Posted by 240shogunSX

ego IS the only thing. most of the argument comes from people that have imports and have never driven any good domestics and from domestic ppl that have never driven any quality imports.

Originally Posted by The Rob

See, it's like this...

Back in the day, it was GM vs. FoMoCo. And a Mopar every now and then that usually got hated on by both Chevy and Ford folks. What did all these cars have in common? They were rear wheel drive, had a big V8, and a shitload of tire smoking power. And that was the basic blueprint of an "enthusiast's" car for decades. And I've ranted this whole line before under my former "Import Hater" name but many who saw all those words have come and gone, and there's a fresh new crop of peope to try and convince that I am right and everyone else is wrong. So...here's my theory on where all those glory days went and why there even is such a thing as imiport vs. domestic even exists...

For the decade of the mid 70's to the mid 80's, cars pretty much just sucked. Rising fuel costs, plus eco nazis who demanded cleaner air made having an "enthusiast" car almost a fucking taboo. Also in this decade, Japanese cars gained a shitload of popularity due to their smaller size and better efficiency which is what the majority of the public wanted. And it didn't hurt the Japanese companies images one bit that these cars were, on average more reliable and cheaper than the American counterparts. It's what's called, building a customer base.

So then the digital revolution hits. Powerful computers aid engineers improve vehicle and powertrain designs. Computers now control cars. They can manage fuel economy and emissions much better than the silly ass mess of vaccuum hoses, solenoids, and valves tried to accomplish with the "sucky" decade of cars. American manufacturers can start getting back some of the huge power in their engines that they had in the height of the horsepower wars of the 60's and still be somewhat efficient. But... And this is a big but... Car design may have gotten better, but gas sure as hell didn't get any cheaper, and the price diference between run of the mill cars and the ones with performance got a whole lot bigger. This means that, and pay attention here...the paths you could take in picking what kind of car you wanted lessened quite a bit. Which in a nutshell means that back in the 60's a kids out of high school and going to college could have easily afforded a Mustang with a healthy V8 just working a part time job waiting tables. Or a Chevelle, or something more mundane like an Impala. Brand new. Now, a kid going to college can't afford a brand new Mustang, even a slow ass V6, or even a decent car at all for that matter...unless they get help from their parents. So the option is to buy used or inherit what their parents give them. A: Many parents in this day and age are still burning from the gas crunch days and have economy cars...so they hand down a somewhat used up Civic for junior to go to school with. B: Junior wants a fast car, but his parents won't help him buy a car unless he buys something practical and sensible...like a Civic. C: Statistically, economy cars like...the Civic, tend to have less problems than a used Mustang GT. (A clean used Civic, has probably been beat on less than a used 'Stang...even if it's clean. Simple logic) So...Junior winds up with a Civic. Or there's a "D" also where all of Junior's friends brainwash him into thinking that a Civic is the awesomest car in the universe and he goes out in search of the Civic from the get go. But anyways...Junior has a Civic. Tiny ass 4 banger and front wheel drive because that's the formula for economy cars...Japanese or American. So now Junior's got his Civic. Might not have been what he wanted in the first place...but it's the hand he's been dealt.

So what does he do with this Civic? Does he just use it as the manufacturer intended as basic, economnical, reliable, transportation? Or does he satisfy his lust for a fast car by try to make one out of the car he has? Pssssh. Of course he can't leave it alone! Car enthusiasts love to fuck with their cars. You could toss this kid the keys to a new Enzo and he'd still want to mod it in some way. So Junior starts checking out the scene. Hmmm...everyone seems to put a muffler on, so I'll do that. Intake too. Some guy said it'll hug turns better if I lower it, so down it goes. Hey! I saw that guy check my car out when I buzzed by him on the freeway. I bet I could turn some more heads if I made it look like a race car. Let's get some stickers on here, a body kit, and this big ol' wing. Yeah...that's badass. Just like an Indy car.

...

I'll leave that picture at that. I could go into all the reliability that gets compromised by such major modifications, or how much less comfortable the car is when you actually still use it as basic transportation...which just happens to be damn near all the time still, but I'll just explain one part of it. How stupid that all looks to everyone else who didn't follow the path of winding up with the Civic.

The people who followed a different path. Whether they drove a piece of shit and didn't spend a dime on it towards mods till they could afford a proper performance car, or they just went with a fixer upper performance car in the first place and found a way to get it working, or had a silver spoon, or whatever other scenario...they found a way to get a car that was actually meant for performance and not economy. And let's face it. Unless you've got real money, a Porsche, Corvette, or even the Supra if you must go import...is out of reach. So what's left for performance cars? Well, there's the good ol' domestics. Quite a short list nowadays. But Mustangs and F-Bodys might not be the elite of the supercar world...but they were meant for performance. The rear wheel drive they continue to use, despite the fact that if they went front drive they'd be lighter and more economical...imply that performance was a major design parameter. So...we have the domestic owners. They feel they bought the proper car to get into the "hobby." Then they see the "import scene" and all the flash associated with it...with the stickers, wing, and has to put the hazards on and go sideways to roll over any obstacle higher that a credit card, and wonder what the hell are these people trying to be. The word that describes it best is "poser." All show and no go. If they were really a "racer" they would have a proper car and not have to try so hard to look the part. The import folks resent being hated on...so they hate them back for being some kind of elitists. And then come up with the usual cop outs of "American cars break down all the time" or "Imports get better gas mileage" and a handful of others. You import defenders can spare yourself the typing. I've seen all the excuses all and can debate them all to the ground.

So there we have it. Imports vs. Domestics is born. The "haves" who think their car is the way a car should be, and the "have nots" who only want to just be accepted for the path they chose.

Discuss amongst yourselves now.

Rob

Originally Posted by bluetwo

so do domestic muscle car drivers hate on the focus/cavalier/sunfire/etc guys too? "hooking up" any one of those cars is equivalent to "hooking up" a civic/protege/corolla/etc.

Originally Posted by Dr. Disque

i just hate anyone with an attitude or that thinks they're a pimp/thug