BobG

After reading this article below I have started to wonder if the scene is dying out. I think bad world economy = lower disposable income = less tuners.



Mix in high fuel prices, and well, you guys get the idea. Seems like I see less and less well done up cars on the streets now a days too.



http://www.autoblog.com/2011/05/01/b...ficially-dead/





What do you all think?

holeshot69

Nope I don't think so. Turning into a new scene potentially, wait and see the numbers for fastfive and the amount of hype it will generate. This seemed to be the end of what really started it all in my mind. Now who will continue is the question?



The industry is shifting their is no doubt about it, more external contributors ( Monster, Rockstar), new fan bases brought it from the internet and not the street. I think this new coming generation of tuners will be dramatically different then the last. Companies will be sorted within the next couple of years for sure, people not following the new trends will fail. I think business will have to really integrate and imerse themselves into the industry to get noticed. The days of the desiganted performance shop or audio shop just won't have the fan base to be profitable and really great a brand.



HKS did not fold, the simply regrouped and I think it will make them stronger. As far as media, magazine sales will never expire, Top Gear is definetly alive and well as they are simply a better business then the smaller pure tuning shows.



This industry was built on the street scene through and through but the modern age is the exact opposite in comparision. How many people still get out to the spot on friday nights? Can people afford to cruise on weekends? These are the biggest factors of the newest school that will change the crowd. Kids know what a cd player is and they know they want one, but could they actually wire one? I/H/E woot woot! But um wait what does that even do?

Visionz

The "rice" scene will always be strong and prominent, because rice = cheap. As far as the REAL tuners who go all out and build sick rides...I think the bad economy will slow it down some, but it will bounce back like any thing else.

Random

Yes, the tuning scene is dying. Long gone are the days of the body kits, custom lighting and crazy interiors. Long gone.

Yes, the above will still show up @ car shows in force...but the shows are getting smaller and smaller and more infrequent.



In LA, there used to be a sport compact/import car show every weekend in LA. Now they have about 10 a year, and they are all way smaller than they used to be. And it's the same 50 guys showing up @ each one.



Part of what killed it was just how crazy it got. At it's worst, you spent 20-30K on your car, you couldn't expect to place in a decent sized show. Then the guys who got sick of the body kits/rice mods, started the whole "JDM" thang. If at least 75% of your car wasn't JDM, you couldn't place.





I think people quickly realized it wasn't about creativity anymore, it was about who had the deeper wallet or the better cheap hookups for parts.

I also think the WRX/STi/EVO coming to our shores helped kill the tuning scene. Gee, spend 30K trying to make a crap bucket look good/fast and probably screw it all up, or I could buy a WRX for 22K (back in the day) and smoke 98% of the cars out there 0-60..



Now, 99% of cars only get rims/tires and suspension. Maybe a spoiler or a custom paint job and some MODEST interior upgrades.



I don't think we will EVER return to the "glory" days" of the late 90's/early 2000's when if you didn't have a body kit, your car wasn't S**T.

But I think that's for the best. Most of the mods I see are true performance mods.

I don't see the Suby Tuners or the EVO tuners going out of business.

I see more BMW/Merc/Audi tuners than there used to be. But again, the tuning is all about performance now, not "rice".

And that's a good thing.



I this is all based off LA. Things might be different where U are.

wheel_of_steel

that 90s dream of big wings, bodykits and altezzas died in the early 2000s. good riddance i say. after that, not much seems to have changed. people coming into new money will inevitably rice the hell out of whatever their dream car is/keep current trends going, and tuners will fight with emissions gear for decades to come. each modifying 'revolution' comes with a groundbreaking technology change - mass production of cheap V8s in the 30s, oil shocks in the 70s, widespread turbochargers and electronic tuning in the early 90s... atm there isn't a standout technology changing the way we modify our cars.



watch tech trickle down from Le Mans and F1 - Turbocharger technology thundered ahead in the 80s. carbon fibre is now fairly common. Diesel tuning is now worth a damn. The next 'craze' will come from these racing series.

SR Tech

I also agree it is dying, a lot of it, imo, having to do with the economy and other reasons listed above.



All i know is with gas at $4.47/gal, my wastegate's staying open

majik

It's DEFINITELY not what it was 5-8 years ago when F&F first hit. However, that was more of a ricer scene than tuner scene. I think it's still alive and well, but it's moved to more of a hellaflush scene than eye catching ricer neons and decals

Tibbi

If anything I think there is more of a movement toward function over fashion. Fewer kitted civics running around but many MANY more after market turbos. Plus I think the danger of street racing has finally hit home because every car guy I know has a track project. It's not a loss of interest just shift of importance/goals.

holeshot69

Is it more preformance or are we now just noticing the performance aspect more so the the ricenbaked side? Were I live it seems to be quite the opposite of what you guys are saying, lots of kits and lights still farting around. Do you guys think the demographic has changed? I mean Fast was the original influence to the surge in tuning but how many people would actually say okay I want all of that right now, get it done. I think less of some age group is participating but I can't decide which.



What about the lifestyle portion of it? I see that being the deciding factor now in weather or not people make the jump. When I first got the car I worked two jobs while being in highschool just so I could mod the thing and have money to attend shows and meets. I find more people now are thinking it's still cool and that they want a peice but not motivated to change there own oil.

187sks

Around here there is entirely too much hellaflush and "drifters" that don't drift but want to build a car to look the part. Both scenes are form > function but their form is as ghey as the worst ricers ever were.



I'm just glad I spend my time at autocross more than any other car related activity now. I'm definitely viewed as the old guy at most import meets. If we cruise, unless I'm leading I rapidly fall to the back because I'm not going to drive 20mph over the speed limit. I was "that guy" for many years, but I'm not anymore.