Johnnb said:
I actually thought that meeting in the said location was a clever idea- hence the post. I wouldn't mind BSing with them sometime. As far as Speed Concepts is concerned, I have heard some stories of real bone-headed maneuvers occuring in their shop. They told my friend that they would not guarantee their work on his integra because their technicians are not ASE certified. The ex-Tune-A-Car guy was hired because they, "needed a mechanic who knew what he was doing." That is enough to scare me away. I happen to like EVO VIII's and STI's. I don't own one because they are the new "bandwagon" cars that every mop-headed, bud smoking college and high school boy wants to own (no offense Dave). I too have friends who build and race import cars for a living. I see nothing wrong with that. However, if the technicians have no formal training, they don't touch any of my vehicles. End of story.
One thing I liked about the old Portland street-race gatherings was that there were both import and domestic cars present. It was far easier to mingle with people and there were less import/domestic stereotypes being perpetuated. It was not like starbucks is now, where there are the adults, with primarily stangs, and the high school kids on the other end of the parking lot with their imports.