Import sales

[75bird]

I'm not really believing this but I read a magazine recently that said "IS THE IMPORT PHASE DEAD" It also states that SEMA's owner Peter MacGillveray Said that there is more money than ever but more players also. I am an f-body man but i also like the imports so i was just wanting to know?

[hazard]

i highly doubt the imports scene will die anytime soon. but the extreme look is starting to fade...

[Triepsyn]

The import scene will not die. Fact being, imports are considered anything not produced in the country in which your perspective is coming from.. Ie. Japanese cars are considered imports to USA citizens. Besides that, people are always going to want something "out of the norm", whether Japanese, European or American manufacturers deem worthy to your pocketbook, is up to you. :)

If you mean the "sport compact" phase.. I doubt that is going any where.

This thread actually reminds me of some thoughts I had this past Saturday..

I was over at a buddy's shop after the cruise, he and another guy were using some carb cleaner to clear off some carbon buildup on an integra motor that they were swapping into a CRX.. Both of them were about 25 years of age.. It made me think. 20 years ago, you would've been in the shop witnessing something more so along the lines of swapping a 351 cleveland into an old muscle car.. Not an LSVtec into a compact.. You know? ...It's a different generation of tuners, period. I'm not saying by any means that all people from our generation are into imports, but the idea is more open now than it ever was before. You hear kids saying, "Man, did you see that K24 in that Civic!" instead of, "Damn that 454 in that Camaro was tizzight!" ...I mean, there is more variety.. More flavor.. Something more exotic and mysterious about something that isn't as readily available in the perspective of where your standing: meaning imports.. in the US..

The import scene might be slowing down, but its not going any where. ;)

[SpecialED]

the import scene is very much alive in kicking in places such as california, where they have the japan GTA circuit and japan drift competitions. However, Arkansas does not show much love for imports even when you hand a mustang owner his/her ass to them and say my 4 cyclinder just kicked the crap outta your v8. That really pisses em off.

But on a good note the import scene is not going anywhere -- and it will be interesting to see if the national prelude meet that is coming to tulsa, oklahoma gets any love.
I suspect but do not know that this will be the first and last national prelude meet they sponsor in the midwest.

[00Exploder]

I think due to sites like this the import scene is staying alive because people (such as myself) who don't know much about cars in general are getting interested because of you guys. And the only reason the extremes AKA ricer has settled down is because it has been a while since F&F was a big deal.

[StreetLethalCamaro]

However, Arkansas does not show much love for imports even when you hand a mustang owner his/her ass to them and say my 4 cyclinder just kicked the crap outta your v8. That really pisses em off.

This happens to me ALL the time, every day. I mean, hell, i'm shaking in my shoes everytime someone in a Honda with a coffee can pulls up at the light next time.....and then i hear his 4-cylinder buzzing past me at high rpms!

OH, wait, that was his ricer fly-by :rice:

Sorry guys and girls, the above quote doesn't happen very often in day to day life. Fast and Furious was just a movie. Sure, if you want to count racing a 5000lb truck with a v-8 and beating them a kill, go for it. I'm not saying that imports don't beat v-8s...just v-8s beat imports more often.


Now, on a more serious note, Fast and Furious did alot for the import movement...it was there before, but FnF glorfied it...for better or worse...and alot more kids have little 4-cylinders than they have v-8s...you modify what you have and run it...that's what they did in the old days, that's what you do now. I don't think it's going anywhere...it will fade in and out, as things of this nature do, but it will always be there. Also, the imports have better quality on the whole. They have better manufacturing processes. so, to answer your question, no, it will always be there, just maybe not in the current form

[SpecialED]

see some f-body fella comes in here to promote the same stuff I was talkin about...
I have raced several mustang gts with the modular v8s and I can tell you I hate racing them try to avoid it cause when I smoke em they almost always get pissted flip me off and general act like assheads. I do not rev at peps and do not want to race anyone.
and yes the disrepect goes on to the 5000 lb. v8 gmc truck owners who try to rev me on a daily basis act like they are going to run my sheat off the road and run my car with me in it over. Well guess what when I shift at 7500 rpm and am in vtec I am most certainly smoking their asses and then they back off and leave my car alone. I have no vtec stickers on my car no stickers what so ever other than a cf hood and the fart can that you mentioned but I hate it in general ... just cause I drive a honda don't stereotype me into some image that you have of the other honda drivers you have seen out there and that image you have in your sig.

[ljasonl]

when you hand a mustang owner his/her ass to them and say my 4 cyclinder just kicked the crap outta your v8. That really pisses em off.

I hate racing them try to avoid it cause when I smoke em they almost always get pissted

when I shift at 7500 rpm and am in vtec I am most certainly smoking their asses

And you wonder why they don't give you any respect :no: I get plenty of respect from almost all the V8 guys I talk too, but then again I give it back to them too...

Sorry guys and girls, the above quote doesn't happen very often in day to day life. Fast and Furious was just a movie. Sure, if you want to count racing a 5000lb truck with a v-8 and beating them a kill, go for it. I'm not saying that imports don't beat v-8s...just v-8s beat imports more often.

Sure, if you're comparing domestic sport cars to import economy cars. I think you'll find the stats getting a little more even if you compare properly matched cars.

[SpecialED]

I do not disrespect any domestic owners especially fbodies... but I am gennerally speakin-- sick and tired of all the fast and furious HATIN that is going on .... period
I drive a honda big deal I owned the car long before the movies came out and enjoy it quite a bit--- it is all in what you like to do --- hondas (besides the prelude/ s2000) are mostly econoboxes and I agree I laugh at peps with large exhaust cans and lookin like their car has just came off the set of the fast and furious 3 ---

[StreetLethalCamaro]

Sure, if you're comparing domestic sport cars to import economy cars. I think you'll find the stats getting a little more even if you compare properly matched cars

What would you consider a properly matched car? I'm not comparing domestic sports cars to import economy car.

The domestics have been made to go fast in a straight line since their beggining. Like i said, i didn't say imports don't beat v-8s. Just that it doesn't happen that often, especially when BOTH are modded.

I'm not knocking import drivers or the power mods they make. You modify what you have...but you can only get so much out of 2 liters.

[asylum24]

trippy... was it a garage like by a white house on garland? I drive by this house all the time and in the garage there is a CRX on stands or ramps and a bunch of hondas with kits are rims are usually parked in the drive... i only ask because there was a probe the other night and its right by my apt.

[StreetLethalCamaro]

Originally posted by specialedition@Jan 10 2005, 11:30 PM
I do not disrespect any domestic owners especially fbodies... but I am gennerally speakin-- sick and tired of all the fast and furious HATIN that is going on .... period
I drive a honda big deal I owned the car long before the movies came out and enjoy it quite a bit--- it is all in what you like to do --- hondas (besides the prelude/ s2000) are mostly econoboxes and I agree I laugh at peps with large exhaust cans and lookin like their car has just came off the set of the fast and furious 3 ---
What mods to you have?


I wasn't hating on the movie, just stating the facts. When someone thinks that a heavily modified domestic and heavily modified import are gonna race and that the import is gonna keep up, it just isn't likely. If they were such good drag racers, we would see more of them at drag races. But that's not what they were made for. They accelerate, handle, and brake. It's not a mash the pedal and see how fast i can go in a straight line. It's more a "how fast can i take this curve".

I'm here, look at this article on 2F2F by sport compact.
Sport Compact - 2F2F- the cars (http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/features/0307scc_2f2fintro/index.html)
It turns out that the Camaro that was based on a car over 30 years old was the fastest car in the 1/4. Yes, you can make the arguements that the skyline's all whell drive was disabled, blah blah. The fact is, on that day, the 'old' car was faster.

And I wasn't hating on you for driving a honda. I was using the typical ricer sterotype. And yes, no matter how slow another car is and how fast your car is, there will always be someone rev'ing up to you...that's just a fact of life.
And hell, when anything beats me, i don't hate on them and flip them off...it's just a race...you win some, you lose some.

[SpecialED]

true there is only so much that you can do with 2 litres and I am the first to admit that there really is not much replacement for displacement-- alot of the honda drag cars go ultra fast in the quarter but eventually run outta engine at top speeds -- then the domestic fly by occurs... but yes you are very limited in imports as far as what works and what does not -- and working on them is a royal pain the a@# general since they have tight spaces --
here is some hondas from florida getting some respect

http://photos.imageevent.com/jasonk/forsal...ckday1-8-05.wmv (http://photos.imageevent.com/jasonk/forsale/trackday1-8-05.wmv)

take a look pretty nice :2thumbsup:

[StreetLethalCamaro]

Ok. Now, don't get me wrong, i respect that those guys, they run fast...they'd kick my ass...but i don't get the point? Why modify little ecno boxes for the drag strip...especially those that are FWD.....RWD is a much better for racing.

I guess i do get it to a point..you modify your daily driver, and then go from there, seeing how fast you can run...but you can run so much faster with a big-inch domestic.

[ljasonl]

Originally posted by StreetLethalCamaro@Jan 11 2005, 12:37 AM

What would you consider a properly matched car?* I'm not comparing domestic sports cars to import economy car.*

The domestics have been made to go fast in a straight line since their beggining.* Like i said, i didn't say imports don't beat v-8s.* Just that it doesn't happen that often, especially when BOTH are modded.*

I'm not knocking import drivers or the power mods they make.* You modify what you have...but you can only get so much out of 2 liters.
STi, EVO, RX7, Supra, 300ZX, etc... These are what should be compared to Camaros, Mustangs, Vettes, and the like. Not Civics, Preludes, and Sentras. The STi and EVO, for example, are quicker through the 1/4 by far than any stock Mustang (excluding Cobra) and a pretty good match for a stock Z28. Even when both are modded, a Mustang GT is gonna have a hard time beating either of those unless it's significantly MORE modded.

but you can only get so much out of 2 liters.

Flip side of the coin... you only NEED so much power when you only weigh 2500 pounds. Or you can only spin so many RPM's with a big engine. Or you can only put so much power down with 2WD. Displacement is a good thing, but it's not the only thing.

[Maliwho97]

I wonder if everyone who says they "Hit VTEC and win" even knows how VTEC works.... Hmmmm.......

[SpecialED]

yes the 4 hamsters in my engine get crack at 5300 rpm...

wootwoot
:lmfao:

[SmokeyTheBear]

i think hondas will/should die out. i see all this highly modded civics, and don't get me wrong, i love them like the rest of ya. BUT id rather see more japanese stuff like silvias, AE86s, etc etc, type stuff than an 900 hp civic, for 1, there is no point, you will not get traction lol. i saw in a sport compact mag that was like sohc turbo breaks into 10s, ummm wow, brock did that like 3 months before (can't remember time) there is just too much w/ hondas esp. that seems to be a flavor of the month type of thing. i think the K20s esp. will go down in history, they are insane and barely tapped. i want an RSX type S soooooo bad, ive been reading on club rsx, and people get into like low 14s w/ very basic mods, however, i have to do a complete motor swap, LSD, traction bars, suspension, etc etc just to hit a 14 lol.

[StreetLethalCamaro]

Originally posted by Pseudo@Feb 5 2005, 07:22 PM
i think hondas will/should die out. i see all this highly modded civics, and don't get me wrong, i love them like the rest of ya. BUT id rather see more japanese stuff like silvias, AE86s, etc etc, type stuff than an 900 hp civic, for 1, there is no point, you will not get traction lol. i saw in a sport compact mag that was like sohc turbo breaks into 10s, ummm wow, brock did that like 3 months before (can't remember time) there is just too much w/ hondas esp. that seems to be a flavor of the month type of thing. i think the K20s esp. will go down in history, they are insane and barely tapped. i want an RSX type S soooooo bad, ive been reading on club rsx, and people get into like low 14s w/ very basic mods, however, i have to do a complete motor swap, LSD, traction bars, suspension, etc etc just to hit a 14 lol.
Or you could buy a mid-90s f-body and hit low 14s stock. (not sure what the mustang does).

:D

[Mr. Merk]

i dunno, i always thought it was more fun (IMO) to make a car something it wasnt designed to be

[StreetLethalCamaro]

Originally posted by Mr. Merk@Feb 6 2005, 01:15 AM
i dunno, i always thought it was more fun (IMO) to make a car something it wasnt designed to be
Yes, as always with a vehicle, it all comes down to personal preference. Obviously some platforms are better to start with than others. You don't want to use a semi to go drifting. ;) It just depends on what you want, such as if you want to do something an alternative way or a more tradtional way.

[OBD1 Kenobi]

Originally posted by hazard@Jan 10 2005, 03:31 PM
i highly doubt the imports scene will die anytime soon. but the extreme look is starting to fade...
True, the F&F look is out (i never liked it anyway) JDM look is the shit!

[SmokeyTheBear]

dave that avatar is bad ass.

[Mr. Merk]

i dont think i'm near as biased as i sound like, i just stick up for the little guys more

[Vette666]

Originally posted by specialedition@Jan 10 2005, 10:36 PM
see some f-body fella comes in here to promote the same stuff I was talkin about...
I have raced several mustang gts with the modular v8s and I can tell you I hate racing them try to avoid it cause when I smoke em they almost always get pissted flip me off and general act like assheads. I do not rev at peps and do not want to race anyone.
and yes the disrepect goes on to the 5000 lb. v8 gmc truck owners who try to rev me on a daily basis act like they are going to run my sheat off the road and run my car with me in it over. Well guess what when I shift at 7500 rpm and am in vtec I am most certainly smoking their asses and then they back off and leave my car alone. I have no vtec stickers on my car no stickers what so ever other than a cf hood and the fart can that you mentioned but I hate it in general ... just cause I drive a honda don't stereotype me into some image that you have of the other honda drivers you have seen out there and that image you have in your sig.
yes and he was right to promote v8's over 4 cyls if u want to go fast.. common sense ;)

now you said not to stereotype you for driving a honda yet u just stereotyped everyone who drives a gmc pickup :headshake: