Yessssssssir! That car was breathtaking.

I'm really not a big fan of going to any of the import car shows. Every once in a while I'll see something impressive, but usually it's the same thing.. most of the cars are usually worthless and don't belong in a car show. That's not to say I've never seen anything nice at an import car show, but usually nothing that I'm really that interested in.

A lot of the cars that I saw there yesterday probably had upwards of six figures in them; I'm not sure if I'm under or over estimating, but there were a lot of amazing cars there! A few of the people brought their cars in on private car haulers that looked like they were even pretty decked out with paint and customizations! lol... and a few nice tour buses. Where do these people get their money?

 

There's a reason why I knew what you were talking about. I pitched a tent when I saw it.

 

thats probly one of the smartest things i have ever heard a honda owner say.



there have been more things done in the street rod world that half import owners havent even thought of yet.

 

The Chevelle in the above pic was well over 250 large to do. If you were there you probably noticed a guy hanging around the car that was wearing a hawaiin(sp?) shirt? Thats the owner....super nice guy but make no mistake about it a thousand dollars to him is like a nickle to you and I. The motor in that car is an LT-5 (think ZR-1 vette) which costs about 25 large from GM...then throw a couple turbos, SS headers, merge collectors, SS down pipes/exhaust, etc and youve prolly got just an exhaust system thats approaching 10k to have made. Lemme put it this way...his freakin exhaust system costs more than any of my cars.

Make no mistake about it those ppl with the high end rides are loaded. You dont see that stuff around here since most everyone with money is whats called "old money" as in their families started out with land/farms or businesses generations ago so a lot of them were born into it and get to reap the benefits or past generations hard work. Those same ppl around here just arent into cars in great numbers so you dont see many (if any) 6 figure rides around on a regular basis. Go to a large city where more ppl have bank which means more of a chance to see that money being spent on cars. Theres a reason you cant rent a viper, lambo, zo6, etc in Roanoke but go to miami, hollywood or some other city of similar size and if you got the cash theres someone selling/renting whatever you want....automotively as well as non automotively speaking .

To me and you (Im assuming) $1000 is a lot of money....to some ppl spending that grand has as much affect on their daily lives as spending a nickle would on our lives. Thats why they dont even blink when they drop $10k+ on wheels or $50k+ on a paint job where as you and I would still be sporting stock wheels or el cheapo at the most not to mention shopping for who could paint our car the cheapest and still do a presentable job.

Theres something to be said though for the satisfaction of building it yourself. 99.999% of the high end rides you see were never had so much as a bolt turned by the owner. They went to a shop that does complete cars, told them what they wanted, wrote a check when it was done, and only know how to start/steer it. Personally I actually enjoy wrenching and take great pride in knowing every nut and bolt on my cars. Granted those nuts and bolts would be a LOT nicer if I was loaded but Id still spin my own wrenches and make my own parts since I enjoy that part of it. Talk to just about any one of the high end owners and ask them some specific questions about what cam(s) theyre running, what kind of paint was used, etc and you'll get "whatever the engine builder/painter used". Kinda sad in a way but as long as theyre happy then who am I to complain...

Ok, I'll shut up for now

 

I 99% agree with that.. The hot rod/street rod community is very innovative and most of the hardcore enthusiasts seem to prefer to do things the way they want to do it by any means necessary, rather than bolting on something from a catalog most of the time.... which usually means custom parts.

My uncle has several cars he built from the ground up. I got a little hands on time when I was younger, and I think that's why I'm still so interested today. I inherit his collection of cars one day, and yes, my penis will definitely grow when he hands over the keys to me.

I guess it makes sense though.. Most kids with the average Civic buy cheap parts, because honestly.. they're cheap, economical cars--which is fine. That's why they were made to begin with. Same as mine, really, in that sense. So if you can only afford a cheap car, you're most likely going to put cheap parts from a catalog on it, and it's often times going to be half assed.

Many of the cars I saw yesterday had paint jobs more expensive than some of the imports in the parking lot.

 

Is automotively a word?

 

I dunno but it sounded pretty dang sophisticated when I said it to myself so I figured Id use it

 

LOL!

 

Anyone see the V8 RX-7's there?

 

no...don't recall seeing any RX-7s at all.
BUT,i did see the V8 Solstices.wow!anybody get a look into the engine bay of the burnt orange colored one?it came by work a couple times.i think i heard a blown V8,but it was in a froup of other cars,so it could have been something else i heard.never did see it at the Civic Center.did get a close look at the red one-awesome!


me neither.i like going to import races to watch/race,but you can have the shows.
i think it all comes down to age.you have punk ass kids who make no money driving Hondas.they can't afford to do anything serious to them,and are really immature,so they act like retards.
the people you have into the hot rod scene are generally older.they make better money,can buy nicer stuff,and act like they have some sense.i thought it was really cool to see all these very high HP cars going down 419,and hardly any of them acting stupid.just being very respectfull that our city welcomed them.when the Super Street tour stopped here in '98 or '99,it was nothing but a bunch of idiots acting like idiots in their 100HP ricemobiles.two totally different worlds.



i'll take that as a compliment ....although being considered smart compared to most Honda owners wouldn't be too hard.
it was kind of funny-i had my girlfriend with me.all she knows about cars is what she's seen going to import races with me.she was amazed at the work put into some of these cars.i tried to explain to her that people have been doing this to these cars since they were new 40 or 50 years ago.she's used to all the half-ass hack jobs you see with imports.
chris