I enjoy racing my car in an autocross, and I also enjoy hanging out with buddies just talking and looking. There's a lot of a cars I like, and there's a lot of cars I like to make fun of. Then there's a lot of cars that I secretly do like but make fun of anyway because it's hilarious (DSM, I'm looking at YOU). I like cars that go fast in a straight line, cars that handle well, and even cars that don't do either, shown by my strange desire for a Suzuki SX4. Weird.
And I like a lot of styles, too. I like VIP cars, race cars, JDM cars, tuned dailys, DUB, donks, hot rods, dragsters, collector cars, all sorts of stuff. And of course I love drifting, if only for the shenanigans.
I like people that know a lot about cars because I can learn from them, and I like people that don't know a lot about cars because they might be able to learn from me. Gotta spread the love, know what I mean?
Yes, I'm a hypocrite sometimes, because a lot of the things I don't like are things I've done before. People who insist that one type of racing or tuning or drivetrain is just plain better than another without actually understanding unique characteristics of whatever thing they're arguing about, and refusing to be enlightened. I know, I'm sure I do that too, but I try to concede when I'm wrong and ask questions to know the real answers.
And on parts, I don't like it when people buy knockoff parts and proceed to pass them off as the original, or say that it's better than the original, unless it actually is of course. It drives me nuts when people dismiss the passion and work that has gone into designing high quality performance parts and instead go for the copy because "it's the same thing". Hey, if you're on a budget you're on a budget, and if it looks good it looks good, and if it works it works, but don't try to convince me that there's "no difference" when you don't have the engineering, custom-designed manufacturing processes, wind tunnel tests, or racing heritage to back it up.
And I'm not beyond copied parts. Password's PowerChamber air intakes started as a copy of a J's Racing intake that has been around for quite a long time and is pretty much the epitome of air intake design for cars like mine. But then Password had their own engineers take the principles used by J's and applied them to numerous other applications that have been crying out for top-shelf parts, from the Fit, to the Integra LS, to the S2000. And Passwords wide range of strut tower braces got their inspiration from a Carbing part, which in my opinion is pretty much the most solid stiffening aid ever designed for its particular application. Like the J's Racing intake, Carbing parts have been staples on Japanese race cars for a long time. So Password took this thing, cut it in half, and found a way to make it better. They used a different shape of aluminum extrusion to make the bars stiffer. Whether it works or not is debatable, but Password went out of their way to try and improve an already good design, instead of simply making a mold and selling a carbon copy to make a quick buck. Password has gotten so far with their carbon fiber business that they've made progress on a lineup of GT-R accessories, including a few body panels, intake snorkels, and even big fins for the rear diffuser to help control the air under the car and improve stability. On the other hand, maybe Rota will emerge as one of the innovators in future. After all, Hyundai now makes a luxury car that is good
and cheap.
I don't necessarily like it when people spend all their money on these top of the line performance parts and then sit there and just show them off. It really irks me. But when I get to thinking about it a bit more, I suppose I can respect these parts for not only their performance, but their collectability. The small market for some of these wheels I've never heard of and never even seen can commands some very high prices, and they keep going up the rarer they get. It's always worth protecting an investment like that. At least they're on a car instead of sitting in a museum.
Btw, I probably flip flop on this stuff all the time without realizing it. I don't mind being called out if I do.
EDIT: Here's an example of my usually relaxed taste: I was at our usual Saturday night car meet last night, and I was talking with a guy who rocks an 800+ hp turbo 351-powered Mustang on the daily. My buddy with a slammed, camo-painted Civic joined us. We all get along and respect what each other has, but what we don't do is front our cars and abilities as something they're not. The Mustang runs 10s but only runs half the time, my tires stick like glue but they only last a driving season, and the dude with the camo is more of a man than any of us for rocking orange-painted Slipstreams on top of that.
