1991vert
10 Year Member
why the hatred for imports? discuss...
- Thread starter jmd2914
- Start date
87foxstang
Member
ahh yes the love hate relationship, as someone here once said, i forget who but it was damn true, "you love the car, it hates you"
being a guy on both sides of the line i can appreicate imports and domestics. i started out life as a die hard mustang fan. my dad owns 6 65' (2 coupe,2 verts,2 fastbacks) my first car was a z28 (still have it) my next car was a nissan sentra. i dumped alot of money into it and love it. i currently hold the stateside record for highest WHP with the 2.5 ltr at 500.6 on 19#. its currently being tweaked to make 700whp.
just last week i picked up my fox and i love having it.
just last week i picked up my fox and i love having it.
I have had 2 Mustangs (Fox I have now and a 1969) 2 DSM'S AWD Talons and an RX-7 if the car is fast then Thats what matters. When I had my Talons I also had a few friends that had DSM's as well and we all hated Most all other Imports the Moron Factor seems to be about Ten Fold when you talk to them(Import Owners) A first Gen DSM might be the best Bang for your Buck couple Hundred dollars worth of bolt ons and your deep in the 13's 
but the Tranny's suck and Working on them is a Bitch
.Mustangs you can work on and parts are easy to come by. I most likely will get another first Gen DSM just very fun cars and can find them cheap. Why Cant we all Just Get along? 
but the Tranny's suck and Working on them is a Bitch .Mustangs you can work on and parts are easy to come by. I most likely will get another first Gen DSM just very fun cars and can find them cheap. Why Cant we all Just Get along? 
Kumm3
Founding Member
DSM = the mustangs of the import market
glass jawed trannys, couple tweaks gets you in the 13s, few bucks gets you 12s.
oh, and they are DIRT cheap, just like 5.0s
glass jawed trannys, couple tweaks gets you in the 13s, few bucks gets you 12s.
oh, and they are DIRT cheap, just like 5.0s
'66 coupe
Founding Member
I think most of the hatred comes from the fact that Mustangs seem to be the performance bar that everyone else strives for.
Because of this fact, people that are into other cars talk crap about Mustangs to make their cars seem better. As Mustang owners we naturally take offense to most of the comments.
That's my theory.
That said, I like Nissans because they build good looking cars with great engines, yet are somewhat in the minority when it comes to import popularity. Mitsu owners also view themselves as the bastards since they aren't 100% import or 100% domestic.
Every other brand I hate because the owners are usually a mixture of ignorant and arrogant. Toyota/Lexus, Honda/Acura, Subaru, etc... Everytime I've met the owner of one of these, they were total pricks about how cool their cars are. One exception was my old roommate that had a decent turbo Civic, but even he was a Nissan guy at heart that sold his turbo'd-KA 240 and got the Civic to save money.
Because of this fact, people that are into other cars talk crap about Mustangs to make their cars seem better. As Mustang owners we naturally take offense to most of the comments.
That's my theory.
That said, I like Nissans because they build good looking cars with great engines, yet are somewhat in the minority when it comes to import popularity. Mitsu owners also view themselves as the bastards since they aren't 100% import or 100% domestic.
Every other brand I hate because the owners are usually a mixture of ignorant and arrogant. Toyota/Lexus, Honda/Acura, Subaru, etc... Everytime I've met the owner of one of these, they were total pricks about how cool their cars are. One exception was my old roommate that had a decent turbo Civic, but even he was a Nissan guy at heart that sold his turbo'd-KA 240 and got the Civic to save money.
Turkey Sammich
I can't fap normal. I cracked a rib, then my ankle
- Jul 12, 2006
- 0
- 59
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I happen to agree with that A LOT. There are several import people in my area that always pull up to me at a light and rev at me. We have a lot of those roads where after the light the road merges. They pull into the lane that ends and try to race. Which annoys the hell outta me. By my old house two racers raced on a road like that, one of them ended up dead.
It's a whole different mind set and most of the time a younger following. However, Im impressed when I see an import that's tastefully done and with support mods. But that's rare.
Most are punk kits with a stick upgrade kit, all supporting auto zone mods, and coffee can exhaust.
'66 coupe
Founding Member
So what do you call somebody with a decent import that still acts like a prick?
I think everyone can agree, it's not the cars they hate, but most of the owners.
One of my old managers had a WRX wagon, and was talking crap about Mustangs. With his NYC accent he says, "Everyone down here drives Mustangs. I hate Mustangs. Mustangs suck in the snow." Another kid in my dept. that didn't give a crap about cars said, "Well, it doesn't snow down here."
I also knew a guy with a turbo MR2 that HATED domestics and would talk crap about the build quality, etc... Well he blew his motor last month, and my roommate let him drive his '99 GT for the week my roommate was out of town. Well when my roommate got back he said that the guy with the MR2 said he now wants a Mustang. WTF?!!
strtrcr50
New Member
I have had 2 Mustangs (Fox I have now and a 1969) 2 DSM'S AWD Talons and an RX-7 if the car is fast then Thats what matters. When I had my Talons I also had a few friends that had DSM's as well and we all hated Most all other Imports the Moron Factor seems to be about Ten Fold when you talk to them(Import Owners) A first Gen DSM might be the best Bang for your Buck couple Hundred dollars worth of bolt ons and your deep in the 13's
I was a mitsu tech. It doesn't get easier than working on a eclipse..
I do hate imports on some degree, its the idiot in me i can't help it, like not to long ago i seen a ford and gmc truck stopped at a local wawa with bridgewater lexus and toyota written on it. Asked the driver if the tundra (or tacoma i dont know which one) , is so damn great since all i see is its crap commercials then why don't they use those as there company trucks? and he didnt have an answer.....i also get a kick when i see a titan with a ladder rack on it, anyways i just like american cars family thing i guess, imo alot of people just dont like american cars just because they think there crap because some uncle of theirs had a 80 something crap wagon that always broke down (probably a chevy). But reports like jd annual report said ford bested toyota in quality, but that will make no damn difference because these people are set in there ways which make me in turn dislike imports(can't help it). But alot of my non import likings come from where i lived where ******* kids 17 got a new evo or sti their parents brought them, and they drive like asses get into accidents and call my car crap cuz while i have to nickel and dime for a mod theyre parents buy them a brand new exhuast or whatever those crap bags want. Gf mom asked me a few weeks ago wat car i was thinking about next or eventually, i showed her pics of future ideas to which she replied "but they look so american..." wtf??
oh and superspec always thought 2000ish sentras where crap friend had an s-er wasnt impressed, but yours looks sharp. Suprising and nice to see one done up nice performance wise and have a aftermarket bumper that doesnt look like someone put on while playing pin the tail on car
i totally agree that most of the time its the *******s driving the cars that make me hate them. but i do like some of the cars. this thought just popped into my head. when some kits take the older civics ( 90-96) or so and stuff the newer motors ( gsr b18's or k20's) in them, thats almost the esence of hotrodding in a nutshell, taking a car that wasnt really all that fast and shoving a larger motor in it that really didnt belong there and goin faster (responsibly) as a result. or am i way off base here?
jtfairlane
New Member
- Mar 5, 2006
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A lot of people are answering this question in a lot of different ways. I've done a lot of thinking on this subject, and while I usually don't like to get involved in these sorts of conversations, I might bring something up others may not have thought of.
For me, it boils down to the inherent difference in car cultures, if you want to call them that. My philosophy when it comes to cars is more on the go side, and less on the show side. I appreciate tastefully done paint jobs, wheels, interior modifications, or anything else that has no performance effect (by performance effect I mean mods for power, braking, suspension, etc)...again, so long as they are tasteful.
The bottom line is the the import car culture is guilty of an overwhelmingly higher percentage of car atrocities than the domestic car culture, and that the import car culture on average is way more about show than about go. I was just at my local race track's grudge drags a couple weeks ago. My mustang was one of maybe only 6 domestic cars at the track, everything else was imports. All had expensive wheels, most had aftermarket spoilers, some had neon ground effects....none went faster than 15.00 in the 1/4. The 2 fastest cars that whole day at the track? A turbo powered 5.0 mustang with AFR 225s and a Trick Flow R. The other a 4.6 car with a 5.0 motor and nitrous. They had very little done to them externally, they were not dressed up like a peacock like most on the import scene love to do, but nothing else at the track could touch them.
Which leads me to the next generalization. 9 times out of ten, when I see an import car....the driver who steps out of it is a reflection of the car. Ever heard stand up comics make jokes about owners that look like their dogs, and vice versa? Same thing. I see a Nissan Sentra with a big bolt on wing, a huge muffler, and whatever "import performance" wheels/tires Les Schwab had on sale that week...and guess who steps out of the car? A skinny 17 year old in extremely baggy clothes, wearing tons of gold painted chains, with one of those tiny beards that looks like it was drawn on with a pencil, yakking on a cell phone with the same bright neon color as his ground effects. Hey buddy, I got a tip for you...you want to save some weight down the quarter mile? Then DITCH all that crap around your neck! I know you might say "well not all import drivers are like that, nor are all imports slow" and I would agree, anyone can make anything go fast with the right amount of money, but you would have to admit that there are way more ridiculous cars/drivers in the import culture than the domestic.
Look at the cover of car craft or any of our magazines. The magazines may just be tools of the aftermarket parts companies, granted, but at least they have the common decency to pretend to be more about function and information than appearance. I mean....have you EVER seen the cover of an import car magazine that DIDN'T have a fine chick on it? I love fine chicks too, but when you're hobby is so lacking that you have to use beautiful women as a bandaid to cover your lack of content, that is just sad. The hot women in our magazines are at least just side-note eye candy, not the freaking feature.
To sum up, I get annoyed by ricers and the import car culture because...again, for the most part....it is more about looks than speed. Image replaces ingenuity, talk replaces action, and spineless bravado becomes the norm instead of the put-up or shut-up attitude that the muscle car era created.
I've been gettin a good laugh lately over something my girlfriend keeps saying. She is not a car person, but she is supportive of my hobby. She hears me throw around terms like "rice rocket" and "fart can".....and because she isn't used to those terms, she does her best to remember them and when she sees ricers running around show boating on the street, she often goofs up and combines them, proclaiming that it is an ugly:
"Fart Rocket"
I like that even better.
For me, it boils down to the inherent difference in car cultures, if you want to call them that. My philosophy when it comes to cars is more on the go side, and less on the show side. I appreciate tastefully done paint jobs, wheels, interior modifications, or anything else that has no performance effect (by performance effect I mean mods for power, braking, suspension, etc)...again, so long as they are tasteful.
The bottom line is the the import car culture is guilty of an overwhelmingly higher percentage of car atrocities than the domestic car culture, and that the import car culture on average is way more about show than about go. I was just at my local race track's grudge drags a couple weeks ago. My mustang was one of maybe only 6 domestic cars at the track, everything else was imports. All had expensive wheels, most had aftermarket spoilers, some had neon ground effects....none went faster than 15.00 in the 1/4. The 2 fastest cars that whole day at the track? A turbo powered 5.0 mustang with AFR 225s and a Trick Flow R. The other a 4.6 car with a 5.0 motor and nitrous. They had very little done to them externally, they were not dressed up like a peacock like most on the import scene love to do, but nothing else at the track could touch them.
Which leads me to the next generalization. 9 times out of ten, when I see an import car....the driver who steps out of it is a reflection of the car. Ever heard stand up comics make jokes about owners that look like their dogs, and vice versa? Same thing. I see a Nissan Sentra with a big bolt on wing, a huge muffler, and whatever "import performance" wheels/tires Les Schwab had on sale that week...and guess who steps out of the car? A skinny 17 year old in extremely baggy clothes, wearing tons of gold painted chains, with one of those tiny beards that looks like it was drawn on with a pencil, yakking on a cell phone with the same bright neon color as his ground effects. Hey buddy, I got a tip for you...you want to save some weight down the quarter mile? Then DITCH all that crap around your neck! I know you might say "well not all import drivers are like that, nor are all imports slow" and I would agree, anyone can make anything go fast with the right amount of money, but you would have to admit that there are way more ridiculous cars/drivers in the import culture than the domestic.
Look at the cover of car craft or any of our magazines. The magazines may just be tools of the aftermarket parts companies, granted, but at least they have the common decency to pretend to be more about function and information than appearance. I mean....have you EVER seen the cover of an import car magazine that DIDN'T have a fine chick on it? I love fine chicks too, but when you're hobby is so lacking that you have to use beautiful women as a bandaid to cover your lack of content, that is just sad. The hot women in our magazines are at least just side-note eye candy, not the freaking feature.
To sum up, I get annoyed by ricers and the import car culture because...again, for the most part....it is more about looks than speed. Image replaces ingenuity, talk replaces action, and spineless bravado becomes the norm instead of the put-up or shut-up attitude that the muscle car era created.
I've been gettin a good laugh lately over something my girlfriend keeps saying. She is not a car person, but she is supportive of my hobby. She hears me throw around terms like "rice rocket" and "fart can".....and because she isn't used to those terms, she does her best to remember them and when she sees ricers running around show boating on the street, she often goofs up and combines them, proclaiming that it is an ugly:
"Fart Rocket"
I like that even better.
'66 coupe
Founding Member
What's funny to me is that the import world is ass backwards about this. The swaps are so popular, that it's HARDER to build the stock engine than to swap another engine in.
Most import owners will pay for a used up turbo motor shipped from Japan and throw it in their car. It always seemed ass backwards to me that most 240sx owners will swap a used SR20DET into their cars without just turboing the larger ka24de and having the advantage of more displacement. Seems to me that they would save by not having to ship and engine from Japan, and just building the engine they have.
Hondas are the same with people swapping B engines into their Civics instead of just building up the D engine.
My roommate built up and turbo'd the KA in his old 240sx, and turbo'd the stock D16 in his Civic and when I asked him about the popularity of the swaps, he said it didn't make sense to him either.
It just seems like ignorance dominates the import world.
in most cases ignorance does envelop the import world, but there are alot more people swapping in the usdm b and k series motors than buying them from japan. i dunno why people buy a motor from over there instead of using the same motor out of a gsr or rsx that is already stateside. but to answer the question about why people dont just build and turbo the d series motors, alot of it has to do with the cam set ups, most of the d series motors that ive seen are sohc. most b series motors ive seen are dohc which is just a better platform as far as power potential goes. n/a or turbo.
90blacknight
Member
- Apr 11, 2006
- 136
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I know quite a few import owners and don't know of anyone putting in a smaller motor than what he had before, not with all those H22, B20, and K20 domestic motors lying around. I've looked into the cost of rebuilding my b16 bottom end and it's simply more expensive than getting a low mileage, automatic equipped, b20. Larger displacement and more horsepower right there. Nobody I know is looking to get parts from Japan now, that was back in the day. My mechanic just put a k20 in his civic and all his bolt on parts are built and bought in the US. He's looking for 11's N/A!!
Kumm3
Founding Member
the SR20DET is bulletproof compared to the KA24DE. they can handle 500+ horse on the stock engine, without so mush as cracking the valve cover.
you cant do that with the KA24DE, just not possible.
you cant do that with the KA24DE, just not possible.
25thmustang
Mustang Master
I will add my .02 here.
I have respect for all kinds of cars and like lots of different ones. The right stance, right wheels, right mods and I dont care what it is, it will looks good.
Just this past Wednesday I was up in NY at the Drag Strip. There were some Mustangs, Vettes, Fbodies, and a good amount of imports. I will say, some of the most impressive cars there were the imports. A girl driving a white SRT-4 (not an import, but another stereotypical "rice" car that Mustang owners rag on) into the higher 12s. A Volvo coupe which looked near stock that went 13.7-13.8. A Prelude I saw coming in with just a black hood and a tach that went 13.7 @ 103. A DSM that never got a great pass in (wouldnt go into gear) but this car had to be going 1.5 or better 60's and Im sure was am 11s or better car.
Like Im sure most agree, a well done import can look good, run fast, and is probably more comfortable, quiter, and getting better mileage than the average American V8!
I have respect for all kinds of cars and like lots of different ones. The right stance, right wheels, right mods and I dont care what it is, it will looks good.
Just this past Wednesday I was up in NY at the Drag Strip. There were some Mustangs, Vettes, Fbodies, and a good amount of imports. I will say, some of the most impressive cars there were the imports. A girl driving a white SRT-4 (not an import, but another stereotypical "rice" car that Mustang owners rag on) into the higher 12s. A Volvo coupe which looked near stock that went 13.7-13.8. A Prelude I saw coming in with just a black hood and a tach that went 13.7 @ 103. A DSM that never got a great pass in (wouldnt go into gear) but this car had to be going 1.5 or better 60's and Im sure was am 11s or better car.
Like Im sure most agree, a well done import can look good, run fast, and is probably more comfortable, quiter, and getting better mileage than the average American V8!
