Street-Racer Style Influencing New Models?

[Ming]

New offerings look Fast & Furious
By Marc Stewart
Spokane Journal



It’s amazing how a cult film about a group of illegal street racers and their custom cars can affect the automotive industry.

Manufacturers are moving away from generic styles that dominated the ’90s and are designing cars with a lot more pizzazz. “It’s almost like the Fast and the Furious,” says Bill Duvall, sales manager at Knudtsen Chevrolet Co., in Post Falls. That popular 2001 movie captured the trend of young people modifying their cars with aftermarket parts, such as body kits and engine and exhaust upgrades, to change the profile and performance of their vehicles.

Manufacturers took notice and are making vehicles with power, panache, and sex appeal, dealers here say. Popular body kits, which include spoilers, wings, rounded hoods and custom fenders, and engine upgrades such as superchargers, now are options for new cars.

“Street racers seem to be carrying over in the styling of the new cars,” says Duvall. “There is a huge market of young people. They want their cars to be sporty.”

Some manufacturers are targeting the younger generation aggressively with new models. Three new sport coupes on the market—Chevrolet’s Cobalt, Pontiac’s G6, and the Scion tC—are prime examples of the trend.

George Gee, owner of George Gee Pontiac/GMC, says, “There is no question in my mind that GM is coming out with the sleekest and sexiest looking cars that they have ever had.”

The Cobalt ($14,000 to $21,000) comes in six trim packages, including one with a 2.0-liter supercharged four-cylinder engine. “The Cobalt is smaller than the Camaro, and hopefully won’t be prohibitive in terms of insurance for young people,” Duvall says.

The new Pontiac G6 gained notoriety after Oprah Winfrey recently gave away 276 G6s on her talk show. The G6 ($20,000 to $23,000) has two trim packages and a 3.5-liter V-6. It features a large sunroof and offers a spoiler package.

The Scion tC, which is manufactured by Toyota, comes in one trim package and starts at about $16,000. It looks like a street racer with its low-to-the-ground profile and has a 2.4-liter 160-horsepower engine.

In addition to new models, muscle cars like the Ford Mustang and the Chevrolet Corvette have been updated.

The redesigned 2005 Mustang seems like a blast from the past. It already has created a buzz with customers, says Steve Styren, a sales manager with Empire Ford.

“It has a 1969 fastback look,” says Styren. “It has the interest of all the Mustang people, and it should hit the ground running.”

The Mustang comes in eight trim lines and with two different engines, a 4.0-liter V-6 and a 300-horsepower V-8. The car, which starts at about $18,000, has more back-seat room than its predecessor. In addition, it has 125 different combinations of dash lights, ranging from white to yellow to purple.

Chevrolet redesigned the Corvette with a new body style, a new chassis, and a bigger engine. The Corvette ($50,000 to $60,000) has a 6-liter V-8 that produces 400 horsepower, and features sweeping lines that blend styles from the ’70s and ’80s. It is available in coupe and convertible models.

“It’s the most horsepower ever in the Corvette,” says Duvall. “The pop-up headlights that have been on the car for more than 20 years are gone. They’re now built into the frame, and the aerodynamics have been improved.”

Dodge’s new Magnum brings back memories of the giant family station wagons from the late ’60s and early ’70s, but adds a contemporary, bad boy personality.

It has a maximum storage capacity of 71 cubic feet (with the rear seats folded down) and has several engine options, including the 5.7-liter Hemi, which pushes the vehicle’s starting price up to about $30,000.

“People want the Hemi in it,” says Gary Blosser, a sales supervisor for Dishman Dodge. “They are looking for a big engine.”

Article Source: http://www.spokanejournal.com/spokan...ticle&sub=2163

[New_Mexico_Sunset_on_Rt66]

I agree with Buick61 - I think the tuner crowd are all 'punks'. Sure these little 'rice burners' are quick. But I would rather hear a nice roar from a nicely tuned V-8, than the 'kazoo' sound from the 4-cylinder rice burners.

[c400mark]

when did these become quick?
im sorry but 14 second 1/4s arent that fast and most of them cant run that either
just my .02

[MTRANS]

When I got my 2000 Ram-Air TA it was one of the fastest car around at a relatively good price. My idea was to get a good starting point for a sports car. 300+ hp, and a sleek body style was this good start. I can spend a minimal amount on the LS-1 and get huge hp gains. I just don't know why people think if you buy a cheap car a modify the crap out out of it you can compete with the real cars. 95% of these cars are all flash and no gas, its just too expensive to get your hp gains in these small cars.

- The flip side though is if the Auto companies have added style and hp to their cars this tuner craze isn't all that bad.

-you just won't ever find me behind the wheel of a big-winged Civic or Celica.

[goblue]

Don't worry about the ricers driving, worry about them reproducing. Never met one who wasn't a complete idiot just looking to get himself or someone else killed. And theres a bunch of them in Ann Arbor, fortunately very few of them are actually students.

[espo19047]

Laser wizard=angry dude.
Tuners=not all punks.
Cobalt=quality chevy!

[dreadnaught1181]

From my experience, being 22 and having grown up around "ricers", the main reason they choose slow cars to tune is because they are single males under 25 and can't or won't pay the insurance for a V8. While I do agree with what you all are saying, tonight I saw a Camaro with a Powerstroke Diesel badge on the rear end, car companys have done "tuner" stuff for years simply because it sells cars.

[StevenJ]

Originally Posted by laserwizard

Tuners attempt to do with thousands of dollars and technology what good old American V-8's could do with a tuneup, a new set of tires, and a skilled driver. Go fast. Go furious. And stay in one piece for hundreds of thousands of miles.

I think tuners are punks. They take worthless 4 cylinder rice patty harvesters and attempt to make them something they aren't - performance cars. Unfortunately today's tuners are also some of Darwin's favorites. The crowd of tuners is constantly being reduced as these punks kill themselves and their friends in street racing. These punks also kill innocent people who are unfortunate enough to occupy the correct lane that is being soiled by a wrong way tuner driver.

The problem with Detroit's sudden interest in tuner cars is that the cars that are being offered aren't original and aren't all that good. A Chevrolet Cobore is a recycled 1990 Honda Civic without the quality and without the originality. A G6 is not even a tuner car because it has been co-opted by Oprah. Young men don't want cars that are driven by young women unless the back seat is big enough for other activities. And then the only tuning being done won't be the car....

What Detroit needs are original cars that are hot and which aren't carbon copies of two generation's old Hondas.

The Mustang isn't a tuner car. It is the last of the real cars with v-8 engines which kick butt on a budget. Throw in another real great car, the Corvette, and that is the totality of the great American road cars. The pretender GTO and the metrosexual monte carlo don't qualify. Even the V-8 Cadillacs are merely John Kerry with bad haircuts. These aren't real cars.

This has to be the most intelligent post I've seen here. Just when I thought you couldn't get any more insultive. I don't know, I think we should be appluding you. I mean, we know you are a closet Ford fan, as am I but I still have great respect for GM. Oh yeah, Kerry does suck but that's not to be discussed here. Oh and most tuners are a bunch of useless punks. I mean, I like a lot of Japanese cars, the Mazda RX series, the Miata, Imprezas, Nissan Zs (minus the 350s), and so on. I think you are just calling back for the good ol' days. With today's efi emissions technology, it may just happen. Ah, it doesn't hurt to dream.

[goblue]

Originally Posted by dreadnaught1181

From my experience, being 22 and having grown up around "ricers", the main reason they choose slow cars to tune is because they are single males under 25 and can't or won't pay the insurance for a V8. While I do agree with what you all are saying, tonight I saw a Camaro with a Powerstroke Diesel badge on the rear end, car companys have done "tuner" stuff for years simply because it sells cars.

Here's a question then, I pay a little more coin for having the optional engine in my car, Should modifying the engine to make considerably more horsepower (more than say, 50) require you to notify insurance? I never thought of that, but the ricers are paying Civic insurance rates, when they probably should be paying corvette insurance+ considering how much more of a risk they are to the public. Theres an incredibly easy way to enforce this, if you do major mods to the engine and get in an accident, your coverage is void. You and I pay a little more becuase of them, thats just how insurance works.

[ViperDVMan]

Originally Posted by MTRANS

I just don't know why people think if you buy a cheap car a modify the crap out out of it you can compete with the real cars. 95% of these cars are all flash and no gas, its just too expensive to get your hp gains in these small cars.

-you just won't ever find me behind the wheel of a big-winged Civic or Celica.

I hear 'ya, man. Most tuners I have seen around here in Florida are just that. They're simply body mods with a coffee can muffler, and some of them sound like they really need a tune up. It just makes their cars look like they're fast, that's all.

Me, if I were to tune a Civic, Cavalier, or other car that's popular with tuners, I'd ditch the body mods, give it a tasteful paint job, and tune it where it counts, under the hood. Seriously, the less body mods, the more shocking your car is when you beat the idiot who thinks his tricked out car can beat anybody.

Then again, I don't condone street-racing. I leave it on the track.

[dreadnaught1181]

Originally Posted by goblue

Here's a question then, I pay a little more coin for having the optional engine in my car, Should modifying the engine to make considerably more horsepower (more than say, 50) require you to notify insurance? I never thought of that, but the ricers are paying Civic insurance rates, when they probably should be paying corvette insurance+ considering how much more of a risk they are to the public. Theres an incredibly easy way to enforce this, if you do major mods to the engine and get in an accident, your coverage is void. You and I pay a little more becuase of them, thats just how insurance works.

True, but most of the people who dump tons of money into their cars are rare simply because the rest of us have other needs. I live in the 4th largest city in the U.S. and the number of imports doing 12's isn't as long as the domestics. The insurance companies also cover themselves by increasing rates on cars that ricers tend to want. I don't know specifics but I do know that thanks to a rash of accidents the SRT-4 went from having the same rates as other neons to being just as expensive to own as a Firebird or Camaro. Yet my PT GT has been relatively inexpensive in comparison because no races them, THANK GOD. As for kids being asses with their cars, thats nothing new, a kid in my high school class died from car surfing.

[patscircus]

Why does Gm focus on the ricer customer? How about the good old days ? When you could go into a showroom and get into a v8 muscle car and drive it on the race track or every day? First of all, all those ricer people i see on the road think they are all that. Quess a big block SS would shut them up.Gm needs to get back into the rwd v8 days and stop screwing around with these v6 cars.

[paul3230]

Originally Posted by patscircus

Why does Gm focus on the ricer customer? How about the good old days ? When you could go into a showroom and get into a v8 muscle car and drive it on the race track or every day? First of all, all those ricer people i see on the road think they are all that. Quess a big block SS would shut them up.Gm needs to get back into the rwd v8 days and stop screwing around with these v6 cars.

I agree, but GM is listening. THe new Grand Prix GXP, the Next Gen Monte's and Impala SS will have a 5.3 V8. It's getting better, that's for sure.

[quinnp12]

speaking as one of those people who is surrounded by ricers and ricer wannabes, i have to say that they are freaking idiots. The drift craze (which will undoubtedly catch on in america) caused several accidents and fatalities in Japan, resulting in most of their mountain roads having speed bumps everywhere.
I fully support the tuner craze though. It has become more of a culture than anything else. My problem is that most of the people who are ricers focus almost entirely on looking fast (often breaking laws by lowering their car below the legal limit and so on) rather than actually being fast.
The other problem is, speaking as someone who has done it, there is a certain thrill when street racing that cant be had on the track. The illegality of it actually does make it more thrilling. Add some of the betting (although there really isnt much), and a lot of people make it into a living, or at least attempt to.

Either way, I'll take a V8 or even a six over any ricer. Theres no replacement for displacement. And there is one of two things that all ricers have: No torque at any rpm, or no power below 3000 rpm (turbo). And you simply cannot channel as much power through the front wheels as the rears.

[Boi350Sierra]

The Tuner market has grown huge over the past 10 years and if you walk in to a magazine store there's usually a section for the turner market. Although i agree that the V8's are better (more my taste, love that rumble). Even after all the Turbos, Wheels, Body Kits, Intakes, all the Decales it does nothing for the resale value. Might as well strip it before trade in. While on the other hand if you Supercharge lets say a Camaro Z28 it jumps the value at a fraction of the cost it would take to tune a Import. But i would agree that it's a great market to get into for sales because the Ecotec is already known in the import scene. It was a good market for the Ford and Dodge so why not GM.