I was trying to sleep tonight and for whatever reason this discussion topic decided to drift into my head and refuse to leave. This was okay at first but became more of a pain in the ass when it refused to let me fade off to sleep. My mind was stirring fast enough that it could easily replace the motor in Mad Mikes RX7, so I decided to let lose in hopes that I may get some sleep before my alarm goes off at 8.

Mad Mike

Over the last week I have been reading different blog posts about our car scene and what is happening right now. For the most part to sum it up we are currently at war with ourselves, losing sight of the real idea behind the reasons it was started in the first place. I have been thinking about making a post like this for awhile now, even writing a few rough drafts only to delete them later. What really got me going on this topic was 3 or 4 different blogs who posted similar stuff tonight last night.

First Mayday Garage posted an article written by Charles Kha. This article was beautifully written and really spoke to me, opening my eyes to things I never thought of in the car scene before. He talked about how the scene started and how hard everyone worked to become recognized. How they had to overcome everything from personal lifestyle decisions, to keeping our names out of the ever circling media, for fear of being stereotyped in a negative way. One of his main points that I want to talk about is his view on what our scene is doing.

 “The biggest problem is how enthusiasts are starting to view one another. In the past, there was always an ‘us’ versus ‘them’ mentality; where late-model car modifiers stuck together as a unified front, irrespective of whether we drove mini-trucks, Honda Civics or Lancers. In our scene’s infancy we fought together, as a unit, for recognition.”

“Back then we all fought tooth and nail to establish our scene, to gain credibility and to earn recognition. Having finally accomplished this, we’ve now begun to turn on ourselves.” Read full post here

I really do not have enough years under my belt to say I know what it was like to fight for our scene back then. I am certainly not one of the OG’s, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know what it’s like to fight for what we are doing right now. Today’s scene is not just fighting with other groups but each other and to be blunt its bullshit. What was the point of all the work originally put into the scene to establish ourselves, only to tear it down now because we are being to fucking close minded to give different styles of modding a chance.

Its on the right.

I live in New Brunswick Canada, 90% of people in the stance scene would have no idea where that is. To say the least the car scene around here is small but mostly consists of guys who build turbo or all motor cars to run high numbers and go fast. There is only a select few of us who have ventured into the stance scene. I can’t tell you the number of times I get questioned about having my car low or driving it in the winter at its current height. The common thought process around here is that we are a bunch of dumb ass kids trying to live like we are in California. We commonly get this line “The roads are to bad around this city to drive a lowered car” or “it’s stupid to lower your car around here you won’t be able to drive it any place without breaking something”. That is complete and utter bullshit, news flash, everyone has f*king bad roads some place or another, not every single God damn Wendys entrance is flat and smooth. Keep your head up, stop fapping on your cell phone and watch the road, you will be fine.

This brings me to my next point which is a picture posted by Dave Thomas on StanceIsEvery.com.

I really love this picture because it sparked a few thoughts. The reasons for a lot of the issues within our car scene come down to this quote. “I don’t get it”. Where we grow up and what we live around or are exposed to is normally how we start out in the car scene. Whether that be need for speed underground or watching dad at the local stock car track. I for one was one of those kids who said he would never lower his car, I wanted to buy 18’s so I could fill wheel gap and be the same ride height. Once I was exposed to the stance scene and started really looking at the cars in it and how much effort and pride was taken for having the perfect stance, I was hooked. I believe this scene is great because there is so many different ways to “stance” a car. I am a true believer of personal preference being the name of the game. I love the look of flat flush, maybe even a little past flush with a small amount of camber. This doesn’t mean I hate mega camber, or that I want to sit on car forums all day and argue about it. I respect all types of stance and I am open to anything. What would the point of one way only be? How could you express your personal views / feelings if you could only do it one way?

I guess the point of this whole rant is to really get the word out there about this. Open your minds people, I promise you it won’t hurt. Let’s build a scene that is more of a united community than separate countries at war. You don’t have to agree with everything everyone does, at least give them the chance to express themselves with their cars how they want. We are only making it harder for ourselves by keeping our minds closed. I will leave you with a quote I picked up from another blog I read just last night as well and I think what he has to say rings true.

‎”Most of this “hate” is fueled by lack of knowledge, so have an open mind and educate yourself and educate others and maybe we can start acting more like a community …” Read full post here one more of his posts here

Before I sign off I also owe credit to William Lee of Night Imports, it was through him that I found the articles.

William Lee's TC

-Will