Rice: Here to stay.....

[Vipergrün]

As if the riced out Civics, Mitsu's, Neons were not already bad enough.... Who knows, perhaps this will be an option on the Cayenne.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2002-11-06-sema-lights_x.htm

[Jdub]

Welcome to Loserville: and you pay for the privilege!

John

[BlueSkyJaunte]

The Apocalypse is coming I tell you. I keep saying it, but no one listens to me! The proof is undeniable!

[12own911]

Yikes! That thing would scrape going over a cockroach...

[masraum]

There is no accounting for taste.

Hey, those guys make us look that much smarter and our cars look that much better!

[Vipergrün]

I saw a news segment a while back that was completely stunning. There are companies who will *rent to own* wheels and accessories for those who cannot afford to pay cash. Of course, the final cost is 150%-200% of the cash price. There was one lady, kids in tow, having fancy wheels and tires installed on her beater of a car. Her comment was "Ain't nuttin worse dan ugly wheels" I believe she was paying 50.00 a month for these and her monthly income, welfare, I believe was like 1000.00. Pretty sad.

[pwd72s]

Rice hasn't entered the P car realm? I think it has...check out the double page pic in the latest Excellence. Pages 80 & 81. If that isn't a look to turn on a rice boy, what is????

[BlueSkyJaunte]

And these "people" are allowed to vote...and BREED...

[Jay Auskin]

I can't say I like it, but I gotta start sellin' it!!

I've seen a number of places that open up as a little hole in the wall selling 24"+ chrome rims. Then they get a window for the hole, next the hole gets bigger, and they add a door, etc.

These little places go from shack to "megastore" in warp speed time. There's one across the street from my work, and they "upgrade" the place every three months. I'm truly amazed. While I can't personally speak for the financials for these businesses, I've yet to see one close down.

I guess it's kind of like selling drugs. It's a good buck if you don't get hooked! And this is legal...tasteless, but legal.

[DByers]

Seems as if this SEMA show is starting to make some waves. Wayne is Vegas checking this out. There is a report in the LA Times about this.

A report issued Tuesday in Las Vegas by the Specialty Equipment Market Assn., trade group for the industry, says appearance and performance equipment represented $25.9 billion in retail sales last year, up 4% from 2000, and is expected to top $26 billion this year.

The complete read

[juan ruiz]

:

[Ove]

I can see the eBay ad coming:

1995 Honda Civic (Rare!)
- Over $24.000 INVESTED in custom lights. They are EVERYWHERE, even in places you wouldn't expect!
- Over $6.000 INVESTED in engine and interior

- Engine: Fully rebuilt: Painted, carbon fibre look valve cover, New neon ign. wires, Mirrors in engine bay. 12 alternators to supply electricity for the lights. Turbo dump sound speaker (comes on at 1500RPM). Engine makes a healthy 18HP with all the alternators running.

- Interior: Awesome! All panels made of 1" MDF, Full race seats in pink vinyl (looks great!), Fiberglass 24 point roll cage (extremely lightweight), Instruments and heater knobs removed from the clean looking dashboard, 9 additional batteries (for the lights and the stereo) in the boot to get good traction for the rear wheels.

- Suspension: Full "Hara Kiri" race setup: Lowered down to the bump stops, springs removed (not needed), 2" front and 3" rear roll bars, Zero wheel travel. Steering modified to limit steering wheel input to 1/2 turn left and right (An elegant solution to the tire clearance problem I used to have).

- Bodywork: Too much to list, but: Head- and taillights removed to get that ultra clean look (and they didn't go well with the neon lights), Huge carbon look roof spoiler to get more downforce at the rear wheels. Even with the deep front spoiler there is still 1" of ground clerance! This indicates that this baby can actually be driven (or at least I think so, never actually tried).

- Paint: Ferrari red, modified with added white and yellow. Looks yellow but is red!

Starts at only $35.000

[surflvr911sc]

I couldn't believe it when I heard about renting wheels. WTF?? Sure enough, there is a place 10 miles from me that does it. If I looked I could probably find more but I would just prefer they didn't exist. Why would anyone want to rent wheels? Are these people that dumb?? Talk about a winning investment.

[RickC]

So many restrained and tasteful things have come out of Las Vegas that I'm surprised SEMA decided to hold the show there.

[Ove]

Hehe

[Embs]

Taste is very subjective, I say to each his or her own.

In my day we put hooker headers and thrush mufflers on our cars. We also put air shocks in the back of our Nova's and jacked the rear of the cars up a foot. We thought we were cool.

In my fathers day they hung fuzzy dice on their rear view mirrors and jacked up the front of their cars. Many cars had huge fins and looked like early Batmobiles. He said they thought they were cool.

Now kids light their rides like Christmas trees, drop their cars to the point they scrape every parking lot entrance. They put huge wings and coffee can mufflers on civics and similar cars, because to them, that is what is cool for this generation. Many (but not all) of these kids can't really afford to go fast, so they just want to look fast.

Everything changes, just give it decade or two.

[bigchillcar]

Ove,

Tell me that thing isn't made up of plywood and 2X4's??!

Ryan

[Oldporsche]

I have a nephew who runs a ColorTyme Store. (Rent to Own)

Since they already rent PC's, he might be interested in the wheels bit. Maybe I could talk him into stocking some Ruf's? Hmmm!

Good luck,
David Duffield

[Dantilla]

I'm sad to hear that the "glow lights" are a big job to install. A buddy of mine has a new F-350 flatbed dump, and I was thinking of sneaking some glow lights on it when he wasn't around. I already put a pair of those chrome mud flap girls on it, and yes, his wife saw them before he did. Maybe I'll just put a big coffee can over his tailpipe next.

[gr8fl4porsche]

That's not plywood and 2x4's

its...

plywood, 2x4's, 1x4's, and some fabric