Is The Car Scene Changing For The Worse?
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- čas přidán 14. 05. 2024
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It's been a wild year and it's taught me that I kinda feel bad for people just jumping into the car scene now. The days of $500 Miata's and a relatively low barrier of entry seems to be filled with a sea of high-expectation, low-knowledge first builds. So let's talk about why I think it changed and how can you save it?
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Timestamps
0:00 Why The Car Scene Has Changed For The Worst
1:30 The Origins of Digital Car Clubs
3:00 Why I Love Cars And What It Used To Mean
4:05 It's Gotten Harder To Be A Car Enthusiast
5:15 The Commercialization of Authentic Car People
6:00 Is The Community Still Around?
7:15 We Won't See This Again
9:20 Take The Risk
10:30 Outro
All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.
All video owned or licensed by Alex Martinez - Auta a dopravní prostředky
16 year olds plastidipping their wheels with 1 can and having 2 layers is a canon event. We need to let that happen otherwise people will only build what they see on the internet :(
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This the reason I'm going my own route. Not following trends.
Indeed Alex. Something really bad in the car community is when people who can afford a lot, criticize other’s builds not realizing that’s probably all they can afford.
With all the vloggers constantly showing off hyper cars and super cars, I knew the scene was dead when I would hear kids saying they wanted their first car to be a twin turbo V10 this and that.
I intended on using my Instagram to learn and work with other classic chevy guys...i use it to keep track of milestone mods now. Im not in a race and dont care about clout so 🤷♂️
The car scene is just clout chasing and inflated egos. I barely post my car online anymore (like once every six months) and don’t go to meets anymore. Seems so serious now and fewer and fewer people are genuinely enjoying themselves anymore.
YES THIS COMMENT IS GOATED! 🐐 FACTS!
Part of my problem. I still enjoy going to meets, but very very specific ones. But it's also becoming building to build, and not for the passion of it and wanting to make something your own.
Yep, the only involvement in the "car scene" for me is just going to autocrosses or hanging out at track days. I dont see much point in going to meets all too often
It started at H2Oi and spread like a virus. Even the Cars & Coffee stuff isn't immune.
Yup. This is literally it
Had a dream of owning a Viper. Finally bought an 06 GTS and then upgraded to a 16 ACR. I don't go to car meets anymore because I'm tired of the first question being asked if whether or not it's one of the 3000hp 300k Calvo builds and then being met with disappointment. I definitely just enjoy it by myself at this point. I've had way better conversations with strangers in the Kroger parking lot than any of these dedicated events.
I want a 96 GTS but I almost paid off my C5. I love vipers. But agree I def swipe left on today meets now. It’s too ghetto.
Funny thing is all the 17-18 yr olds with no license asking those questions 😂
Sounds like you're in Atlanta 😂
As a person born and raised in the Houston, TX car community, it is very much the same. Every Lamborghini is expected to be an Underground Racing Build. Every 5th Gen viper needs to be a Calvo or Nth moto setup. Luckily the scene is so large that we still have plenty of fun options for meets to drive to and enjoy a nice morning/afternoon with the buds.
I know your feeling though as my ZR1 is only making 600 RWHP and not 1000 RWHP. I have been there and done that and I am quite over it. Right now it is more about building cars with my friends in my shop.
@@blue72nova I could imagine my experience being so much more realized owning a Lambo. Everyone thinks your bank account is 8 digits when you have something "truly" exotic. It'd be fun to line up against you one day.
My car scene life is like my gaming life. I play solo.
Bro, same.
What is this an action movie one liner
Facts when I lived in a “small” city in Texas it was all clicks and yehaw trucks. The onesie twosies that did go to meets were either dicks or just wanted to illegally race/hang with their friends. Being there for a few years turned me off enough to where I’ve had no interest in Utah 😂
@@benjaminwatson7868you are literally the kind of person we are trying to avoid
@@autoteleology oh im sorry i was joking
I think that there's a number of reasons for the change in the community
1. It's just more popular now. I don't think the idea of being a car enthusiast has ever been more romanticized. With that new popularity comes an influx of people and companies who aren't in it for the passion of the hobby but for clout and money
2. The insane costs of cars. New cars are marked up by dealers to a point that stops the average person from owning them. Older enthusiast cars are expensive too having been bought up by the aforementioned clout chasers. And classics are simply unobtainable to anyone who has had a full time job for at least 20 years.
3. It feels like there's less people building authentic cars. Everyone is chasing those high horsepower numbers or that insane widebody setup so that they can impress everyone. No one is building a car for themselves and the result is a lot of shallow, cookie cutter, and passionless cars
With all that said I don't want to sound all doom and gloom. There will always being incredible people and companies with a genuine love for the car scene. You'll find that those people are the ones who are the most friendly and helpful and will be the ones to carry the hobby onwards
One little counterpoint to classic cars being unobtainable: Only if you're seeking perfection and/or one of the garden variety popular classic cars everyone's heard of. There are a gazillion less well-known classic cars out there that are just as interesting and fun in their own ways, which if you buy a less than perfect but serviceable example, are actually quite affordable. Like, you might not be able to afford a '64 Impala, but a '64 Buick Electra is going to be a pretty darn similar experience and just as pretty to look at for a lot less money, and nobody's going to turn up their nose at it for not being a car they've heard of before - most people with a passing interest in cars will smile when they see it because it's "an old car."
And I know because I've done this... back in 2017, I bought a '66 Thunderbird as my first car, in running and driving condition, for $5,500. It wasn't perfect, but it was good enough to have fun with and experience classic car ownership, and you can still find similar cars for similar prices today. There are a ton of classic car projects out there for good prices if you just look around a bit, go type "project car" or "classic car" into FB Marketplace and start clicking on anything that looks interesting to you, and you'll discover a bunch of neat classic cars you've never heard of but suddenly want.
Here is the thing, the high horsepower happens because of people simply desiring to be in places faster, and due to roads having higher speed limits. Moreover, unless you have a few screws loose in your head, no one wants to go at a snail's pace on a road. Also, in many places, a person can actually be charged with fines for going too slow, as well as for going too fast.
@Thinginator Oh yea there's definitely some hidden classic gems out there. I own one myself! But if you want anything like a Charger, Fastback Mustang, or Camaro you're screwed. $15k for a rusty rolling shell ain't it
Idk about classics being top expensive. I got a 79 MGB for 5,850 put the door. And she runs, just needs a little love. She's not super fast. But so much fun to drive, and rewarding to work on.
@@paxhumana2015 average person never uses more than 250hp a day on their commute, ppl dropping money and chasing horsepowers sometimes aren't doing it for themselves anymore. People lost passion and ability to understand cars, these days it's all coming down to "ur car doesn't have 400hp so it must be bad"
The car community has felt pretty fake recently, and I gave it a break. Spending time with friends on the strip in Pigeon Forge during Slammedenuff was the closest thing I’ve felt to the car scene I originally fell in love with.
🤢🤮 slammed cars.
that aside, TN has very few from what iv seen actual car clubs or events outside of like a small town car show once every 3-4 months
In Eau Claire its fubar. Menomonie and Stout suck as well. The whole thing has degenerated to the point where i have had stalkers to my home for two years now.
Im a builder and have both latemodel and classic muscle. I also own a 9 second car so i know the fast scene when it was good. Im out and heading to Florida...
The scene is completely divided. The tuners are complete assholes now and the redneck builders have completely ruined it. Then you have the bullies in Eau Claire with only a handful of builders besides the old men.
The no country for old men crowd has separated from the crowd and mostly stick to their crowd and shows. Im one of them and our show scene is the best organized both here in Menomonie and Eau Claire.
The BK nights in Eau Claire ate a complete shit show of shit talking and slow junk that no one wants to be around.
The college kids at Stout fucking suck period. They cant build and fuck it up for everyone in the town.
WCEC has died except for the page. TBH... it is over now.
Everyone hates each other. No one is cool. There is no respect. Builders are rare.
The drivers are too aggressive on the road. And the rest of the normal communities hate us and now target us...
It sucks... im heading Florida. It rocks there.
Yeah Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge is a vibe! And I'm so glad I'm just an hour away!
One or 2 groups in Knoxville is worth going to. Not many. If anything it’s just a bunch of clout chasers and people tryna start stuff online
@@0Heeroyuy01you’re the problem Alex is talking about in the video.
You still feel that sense of community at autocross and track day events. I'd recommend it to anyone trying to find that spark again. The autocross club i race with is a bit small and chill (about 100 racers per event) but everyone is friendly, and even though they might get competitive they'd still have your back if something happened. Theyve towed broken down cars free of charge, helped with repairs on-site when possible, etc
The vibe at the rally cross organization that I drive in (CO-RX) is amazing. Everyone is so chill and just there to have fun throwing dirt around and hitting a few cones. You can talk to anyone and they’ll be happy to tell you whatever you want to know about their car, or recommendations for technique improvement. If you blow a tire there’s always like 3 different people that’ll rush out from the paddock to help you get back on course be it tools, resetting a bead or just lending a whole wheel.
My local SCCA is where I go to get my fix of that feeling for sure. Made so many friends over the past couple years. Just a bunch of people who love cars, coming together to have fun. No one cares how much your car costs.... In fact some of the most popular cars at the autox events i've gone to have been the total POS's that show up and have a blast. That's what it's all about.
@@andrewfoster1804 yep the attitude is so much different and big egos typically get put in check real quick. I think everyone should try it at least once, especially people who feel like the "scene" is dying. Cars were meant to be driven anyways lol
meets are easy to attend. but I imagine that actual racing events are a lot of hard work, which should keep the clout chasers at bay for a little longer
Very true. I'm in my late 30s. I don't have time to go to meets where silly things happen. But at the track it's great to see everyone's build and connect with them.
as a person who just got into cars around 2019, the amount of people that have told me to just google it when i had a question was incredible. I wouldnt be asking if I already found an answer i understood on google. Between that and the general judginess of people in my area in the car community have made it so i basically love my car outside of the community and when i asked, i never say I am a car person.
Google it
to an extent they're right - if you're having an issue on a project car that probably isn't brand new, you're extremely likely to not be the first person to have that problem. Forums, like Alex mentioned, are still around and are a gold mine for all the trial and error that's already been done with your platform of choice. AudiZine, ClubLexus, Rennlist, Miatanet, VWVortex, HondaTech, Bimmerworld, the list goes on.
I feel the same way too. And it's not just when I'm asking questions about cars. You can't even ask people to help you with electronic kiosks at restaurants without getting that look.
It's because the youth do not know how to communicate anymore. Their lives revolves around their phone, short video clips, and texting. They think Google is the answer to all and not realize you can get answers by talking. They don't know how to properly socialize. Go to anyone under 20 and see if you can actually have a solid conversation.
All this will get worse with AI, stuff like metaverse, and the politicians and school boards lowering academic standards because "RaCiSt" isn't helping anyone.
2019? Jeez, and here I thought we were talking about 1999. I must be old.
It’s hard to be an enthusiast when new sports cars are starting at 30k and used cars consist of un-fucking the previous owners mistakes
Tell me about it... Trying to find a unmolested, clean title, decent mileage, '07-'09 350Z coupe with a manual is ROUGH. I hope to get one before the summer, they will become even more rare as these idiots continue to blow them up.
That's not changed. You think we were modifying new $15k Mustangs back in the 90s? No...we couldn't afford that. We bought the $3000 used Civic and modded that. If we bought a modded Civic, guess, what, we were un-fucking previous owners mistakes.
Same game, different era.
@@urmilpatel1721no. Just no, not even close no
Uh yeah "new "cars are always expensive
, if you buy cash and used you'll have 1000s just get a used gt 86 for like 25k everything depreciates eventually
@@urmilpatel1721 The thing is you can't find a $3000 civic anymore without a chassis that's about to fall apart. $10k to even start a project car these days is highway robbery and is the main reason why I have said fuck even trying. $10k should be what the cost of everything you do, not the starting point.
Hey Alex, your opinion is not wrong. Coming from Appleton as well (I’m the bimmerolla owner), I’ve seen how much the car community has changed as well. I got into the car community around 2018 and got heavy into it around 2019. Cars were my life. As social media has grown the car community I think it has also pinned the car community against each other. I’ve seen how creativity of builds were completely crushed and how there was requirements to even attend hangouts, which pissed me off. The car community has also become highly competitive leading to an environment where 35 year old men are talking shit about 20 year olds. Since 2023 I have sold a majority of my cars and no longer affiliate myself with car culture, despite still owning a 1988 foxbody mustang. Maybe I’ll get back into cars someday, but that’ll take a maturity increase from the community as a whole.
In Eau Claire its fubar. Menomonie and Stout suck as well. The whole thing has degenerated to the point where i have had stalkers to my home for two years now.
Im a builder and have both latemodel and classic muscle. I also own a 9 second car so i know the fast scene when it was good. Im out and heading to Florida...
The scene is completely divided. The tuners are complete assholes now and the redneck builders have completely ruined it. Then you have the bullies in Eau Claire with only a handful of builders besides the old men.
The no country for old men crowd has separated from the crowd and mostly stick to their crowd and shows. Im one of them and our show scene is the best organized both here in Menomonie and Eau Claire.
The BK nights in Eau Claire ate a complete shit show of shit talking and slow junk that no one wants to be around.
The college kids at Stout fucking suck period. They cant build and fuck it up for everyone in the town.
WCEC has died except for the page. TBH... it is over now.
Everyone hates each other. No one is cool. There is no respect. Builders are rare.
The drivers are too aggressive on the road. And the rest of the normal communities hate us and now target us...
It sucks... im heading Florida. It rocks there.
Same, in my area, it’s all about who’s got the biggest wallet instead of how we all love cars, I still have my 2016 mustang GT, but I don’t even want to go to mustang week anymore or even go to meets anymore since too many regards start attracting police by doing retested crap
I find it odd that you are allowing your enjoyment to be mediated by the scene. I have been dyed in the wool since I was old enough to talk (my first word was vroom, no joke), I am in my 30s now and own 7 cars and beyond organized car shows at the local ice-cream place and H2Oi (once) I have never been to a car meet in my life. I have a couple close friend who are into cars, we enjoy them together/ wrench together but otherwise I just enjoy them for me. I don't think I have ever posted any of my cars on social media, your hobby should be about you and what you enjoy, not what other people think, the second you start throwing your car online looking for likes you've lost the plot (and I say that as someone who owns some seriously cool and rare cars ie a fully built 3dr sierra cosworth in the states). Stop caring, start enjoying.
Wow, you been in the scene for 5 years………😱
Why do you need to be part of a community to enjoy cars? Just do it for yourself. Stop trying to find friends.
It´s not so different here in Brazil, the car community changed a lot. When I got my driver´s license back in 2014 we gathered a small group of friends with simple econoboxes with loud mufflers and coil springs, we used to go canyon runs, help to modify cars in garage days and respect other builds. As the time went by, the group kept growing up, but no more with friends, and things started getting weird, people started competing to see which car was fastest or coolest and looking down at each other to the point that I left the group that I created after people talking shit about me and my car. Nowadays I modify and restore the car by myself and won´t go to car meets anymore, It doesn´t make sense to me leaving my house to meet people who would talk shit about my car in the moment that I turn around.
I started a car community out here in Raleigh during the pandemic. It was amazing seeing different walks of life become forever friends through a passion. But we were a severe minority. The majority of the people who show up are there for selfish reasons. Sometimes, it was hard to tell why they showed up in the first place. The thing that ended it all was that too many people wanted to see something good burn down. Aggressive driving in parking lots, swinging, litter, trashing the meet locations. Everything has to be private now.
I’d love to join your private car meets..I live an hour away from there
Sorry it imploded due to idiot behaviour. I started a UK meet in '21 that gained popularity too fast with the 'racers' leading to dangerous behaviour. I decided to lay the law down in no uncertain terms, threatening to close it down if people didn't stick to the strict rules I set. I could do this without fear of losing income as I've never charged a fee.
Overnight everything changed resulting in a better crowd and a tighter community. The few that still disrespected the rules were permanently banned without hesitation.
We get an eclectic mix of people and machines, anything from hypercars to £300 TR7s everyone is non judgemental and friendly.
I'd encourage you to try again, this time make sure you get help from friends to marshall the get togethers as they grow, setting strong rules from the get go
If you do, I wish you all the luck in the world
Cheers Adam
@carfarmsocial thanks, man! That's my plan for this year! I miss my community
@@car-nivores great. Go for it
It’s also very difficult when someone is proud of what they have, but when you go to a meet, there’s so many other vehicles that overshadow yours and it can put a damper on the enjoyment. People love the typical stuff, but they rarely enjoy the things that made those popular. You also have the group of people that are so popular, that it’s damn near impossible to join in.
It’s almost like high school.
Just dont go to meets and enjoy the car. Building my car for 300hp. Should be more than enough to have fun
I also think it depends on how much people take other opinions into account. Especially seen in the euro and Japanese seems from what I am have seen there is so much comparing and one upping. That's why I prefer the classic and survivor car scene as it's pretty much just talking about what someone has rather then comparing
Same in Europe. It's all about the likes on instagram. And the gap between people who done everything and people who don't have the money, but still love cars is huge. It seems most people turned into asshats to be quite honest.
My thoughts on why this happened: Shitty parents raising shity kids, social media and the addiction to likes, and the biggest of all: No more forums.
Im from chicago and this is spot on. Not to mention those who can afford nicer cars, or exotics or the latest parts usually look down on those who dont have said parts. Im glad i also ride motorcycles because thats a way more welcoming community compared to car community.
yep this was the first & biggest negative here in the midewest I experienced too
Let's all be the change we want to see and lead by example in the car community.. The car community is beautiful and most thriving community to be apart of to be honest.
Good stuff bro, I'm almost 45 and live in Missouri. Back in the late 90s and early 2000s it was excepted to take whatever you had and build it with quality. To be unique was embraced more. Now days you have to fit into this box. Also Im a car show person at heart because meets got to the point like you said to where if you didn't fit into the already established click your on the outside. Plus car meets people pulled up with dirty/raggedy things. Take pride not matter if its a show or meet
You're 45 years old and bro is in your lexicon?🤣🤣🤣
@@jimjones-pz1tt
You must be very young to not realize that “bro” has been around longer than anyone in this thread has been alive, and according to the etymology for it, it’s older than our combined ages too, bro.
Social media makes people all about themselves instead of other people. Actual socializing has been replaced... great video, agree 100%
Totally agree with this. I wish people were more open when at car meets. It seems like recently no one wants to talk about the build or car:(
I’ve been watching you since I was a freshman in high school. Besides fast and the furious you were the first one to introduce me to cars, their strengths and their weaknesses and the beauty of a build. At 16 the content you produced and put out had me excited to step into the world as an adult and made me excited for when I was able to work on my own car. Grown up now, As I keep watching you, I appreciate the conversations you share with us. You always give the reality of a situation and factor both sides, neutrally delivering your opinion in a world where so much is hammered onto us making us think one way is correct over another way. Sitting here now with my s2k, whether I agree with you or not, my teenage self and present self say thank you Alex, as you’ve continually and timely always delivered society driven content that’s been tailored to how a lot of us are feeling, especially my homies out in Cali. Ik everything you stand for is growing and it will just continue to get bigger. Im excited to be young and working on my car, and I have hope; I believe the car community will eventually get back to how my first meet was in 2017, just gotta wait it out a bit! The community here really brings me comfort as I scroll through these comments. Videos are amazing, thank you for taking the time late at night to deliver us high quality content! Excited for the next one
I think the worst problem of the car community are the high prices of most enthusiastically relevant cars nowadays. Especially the japanese ones, but there it has only been the most extreme and therefore most obvious. All the other ones like US, European, or South Korean cars are affected aswell. Another problem is, that most newer produced enth. relevant cars depreciate a lot less too, as they are held up by the prices of the legacy cars. I really have to search for relatively obscure cars, which don't have that scene reputation (yet), to find something cool for an appropriate price.
the one i personaly felt was e30's... back in mid 2000's you could find a solid one for like 500$ now you probobly cant even get rusty shell for that amount
Yup, nowadays there's so many bland "carboard" type cars that aren't meant for anything but driving a to b. That when an actually fun car for enthusiasts DOES come out, it's expensive as fuck and hard to find because they don't make many of them. The whole "eliminate gas cars and replace with EVs" bullshit is another big contributor for why enthusiast oriented cars are rarer now.
Thank you for talking about this Alex, as someone who has been growing up viewing the car scene from the sidelines for most of my life, and only within the past few years actually being able to enjoy cars (driving, autocross, meets, etc), I have noticed ever since I've been able to get behind the wheel, it seems like the car community isn't there anymore for what it used to be. I grew up watching many car youtubers and seeing how awesome the community looked, but once I was finally able to get a car of my own, it seems like it all just vanished. Almost every single time I have gone to any automotive event including meets (of various kinds), autocross, races, drift events, and more, mostly across Wisconsin, it seems like all the people there are just too stuck up to care about a new young guy with a 2006 Saturn (Yeah I know its not exciting) who is trying to enjoy the community and hobby, including haven gotten smack talk several times about the kind of car I drive from others. Sure I've met some cool people over the past couple years, but the vast majority of people I have tried to talk to just don't want to talk to new or young people if they don't have a desirable car or aren't already in their group of friends. Just puts me off for the future of the car scene as someone who just wants to learn more and enjoy it.
You captured my own thoughts better than I could have myself. There’s no sense of community or positivity or togetherness anymore. Everything is a competition. Everything is about “me”. It makes me sad that my kids (I’m almost 36) won’t have the experience I did growing up being a part of things that I was.
Alex, love the videos! I'm so happy to see your honest uncensored opinion now that you have started your own personal venture. I actually just recently moved to Appleton a couple months ago for work and coming from Arizona which obviously has no "off season" for car meets I was honestly concerned that there wouldn't be much going on here. If you see this comment I am hoping you can point me in the right direction of the "good" non-toxic car clubs/meets. I am already a part of WCEC on Facebook but would like to know about more shows, meets, cruises, and rallies. For reference, I have a turbo 5.0 Mustang that I've spent the last 3 years building. Thanks in advance and please keep up the amazing work!
Man that was depressing 😅 but you’re so right. I miss the days where you could buy a decent sports car for $5K in high school
subscribed half way through the video, so well spoken yet taps into my emotions perfectly. i completely agree with all of what you say and tbh the last real place where car guys gathered and actually helped each other was forums and when I enter forums abandoned from 5-8 years ago I almost get emotional seeing the difference between it and the current car scene. (the best place to go to irl to get car advice is probably cars and coffee because ain't no clout chaser is going to go to something that starts at 6 am lol)
I think it's just social media. It connects people with exactly the sames tastes so they think everyone is like them. It pits your build against the best in the world instead of just being the best in Eau Claire. It burns out any new trends before they have a chance to really develop. Pandora is out of the box. Plus, you don't need to ask people in the community for advice on popular cars. I signed up for all the forums before my first ever full car rebuild (260z) - never had to ask a question because everything has already been answered or there's a specific CZcams vid.
Even when online forums were the go-to there was a level of individualism even among 8,000 people who all celebrated the same chassis. Zilvia is a great example of that, the term “style biting” started showing up there around the same time wheel fitment started becoming a big concern.
I’m also of the opinion that making poor choices is a part of the growing process but the concept of “respect all builds” doesn’t encourage anyone to move past the poor choice stage, they get happy there then inevitably end up trying to sell a musty dented rolling shell (if you bring your own wheels) on marketplace for $9k.
The ae86 is the only car community besides my local non 86 car friends that are amazing and feel like a thriving community. They don't care about what kind of build your going for... Drift,drag, restoration, autocross and more all they want is to keep these endangered species alive and on the road. Everyone is always hooking someone up with knowledge without being pretentious like other car communities or parts and help in anyway. I've had so many parts donated or hooked up on my car that so many ppl are the reason for it running on the road and I've done the same and it makes me happy to see the cars I've helped and gave parts to alive. The aspect of community in the ae86 world is real and another main reason I love that car. Respect all builds from all tiers alot of it is time and money and some ppl have more of one or the other, all builds may not be my cup of tea or drivers but we should just respect bc we don't know the situations for why ppl do it or buy certain parts at the end of the day it's not mine ( as long as your not trying to pass fake as real). I just use other ppls cars as inspiration or see certain products that I want to see on a car (parts,paint,tunes,Etc.)
For me as an 18yo going to college soon, the thing that’s stopping me from getting into the community is the overwhelming cost of everything car related: parts, gas, maintenance, repairs, and the cars themselves have gotten way more expensive. The fact is that if you want to be a car enthusiast, that has to be the only thing you do because you don’t have money for anything else. It does feel too like the scene is just a flexing show and it’s hard to find real authentic people who aren’t bent on showing you how much money they have.
I'll weigh in on your comment since I have first-hand experience with this.
When I was 18 back in 2006 and got my first car, I remember spending the majority of what little money I had making my Honda Civic unique and a reflection of my taste (which in looking back now was absolutely appalling lol). The lack of funding caused me to do a lot of things the wrong way - but taught me a priceless lesson: save up longer and do things the RIGHT way.
Once I learned that lesson, and started making more money, I started modifying my cars the right way, with quality parts - and the hobby became more and more fulfilling.
In the process, I skipped a LOT of opportunities to travel and vacation because of my lack of funds; it was all going towards cars. It wasn't until a decade later did I start having money for other hobbies or interests. And it wasn't until my early-mid 30s did I really even begin traveling or vacationing regularly.
Car enthusiasm takes a lot of commitment. You have to be all-in at times to make it work and to make it fulfilling. Much like career advancement, being into cars takes networking to make the right friends who can help support you with your automotive endeavors, and it takes skill building to be able to stay as self-sufficient as possible with the hobby when you want to make a modification or perform some maintenance, or help a buddy out with his or her car.
Knowing this, you'll have to make the decision for yourself. Is this asking too much? Or is this something you can see as an enjoyable experience for you?
For me personally, I couldn't imagine my life without this hobby. Cars have taught me so so much about myself, and have rewarded me in ways that non-car-people can't even wrap their heads around. It honestly made me a better, more skilled, more knowledgeable, more ambitious person. Things that I couldn't have become by any other means but through my passion for cars.
I've kind of felt like a bit of an outcast in the local car group, in that my first car was an automatic 2019 GT86 (brand new off of the lot, a little over 4 years ago) that I used to get shit for being an automatic. I'll admit, I got my license much later than my friend group (literally, I was 26; family issues, don't ask), but I loved that car with every fiber of my being, simply because of how easy it is to drive, and the opportunity to drive what I wanted to drive. I'd always come out to support the local taco truck that came out to the commuter lots on Tuesdays, but I'd always feel a bit out of place. I had that handful of friends, and the encouragement of them to just learn everything about my car really spurned me to go on, despite driving the "inferior version of a car that was always meant to truly be manual". I've always liked cars, even from a younger age. Dad (r.i.p.) had a 1970 Ford Torino GT that I've recently picked up as a project, and I'm super hyped to get that thing running again, but my first true love was my GT86. Even on a simple Flexfuel tune, UEL header, custom headlights and tails, people loved the way it looked, even if it was a very conservative build...it was just when they asked if it was manual or not that I kind of cringed away and didn't say much else. I lost her in November, and my heart still hurts thinking about it. Was just shy of 70k miles, and I loved her with all of my heart.
Recent car culture in this area, when compared to when I started, just...doesn't interest me anymore. 30 now, ended up hunting down yet another GT86 (unfortunately used, but the same color, same trim, a model year later, and with the parts that I wanted from the beginning, notably the full factory Brembo kit and 18" rims)...and I ended up getting it to be my next daily, my first manual, and hopefully a stepping stone for what comes next. I was able to save my Verus/FTSpeed rear LCAs and toe arms, but my header, front pipe, and FF kit were unsalvageable. I'd have gotten a GR86, but with the issues that the block seems to have, coupled with the fact that the dealership local to me wants $43k for the manual? It's ridiculous, man. Recent health issues are unfortunately making it difficult for me to drive the current car, but I know that when I walk out to my garage and see her, she's waiting for me. While I'd like to go back out to support the lady that runs that truck, it hurts to see that nobody wants to follow her rules and they just want to antagonize police and be a public nuisance. Kind of hoping that it changes soon. Until then, I think I'm sticking with my personal car group and doing my own thing. The spirit of this car, even if it's slower than a lot of the others that the kids are driving around, will always live on for me. Once things calm down around here, I might go back out, but otherwise...yeah, it's the competitive nature, outright disobedience, and clout-chasing that's really dragging down my opinion of everything these days, especially since I tend to prefer a more conservative build plan. Not out here for power, I just want a chill group that's genuinely passionate about their builds and can teach me things, even if I tend to be one of the older ones these days.
GR is worth it. Congrats for stepping up to manual.
Exactly the same experience. Just turned 30, was able to finally afford a used '17 86; probably the only 'attainable' dream car I could realistically own. But at meets, you're basically invisible with a stock/lightly modded 86. I love it so much though. Don't think I'll ever be able to get rid of it.
Understand completely, just had a lady total my Pontiac solstice and it's a driver's car like the 86, slower but nimble glued to the road and high feedback experience. Do what I'm doing, save and buy another one to work on later👍
I'm in the same exact boat right now, AT 86 that I'm not too keen on modifying to intensely, and I love the car too, it does literally everything I want from a car, both fun and somewhat practical. luckily I've found a group that's not judgemental, but it's hard going to meets by yourself only to get snubbed cause it's got paddle shifters in the wheel by a guy whos lying about having 700 hp on a ""rebuilt"" FA (real occurrence if you couldn't tell)
@@jonf2009 "Lady" every time 😂
Man i fuckin love your videos Alex. Ive been going through a really difficult time in life. Everything feels like its going wrong and i just feel so alone even tho i know eventually it will work out. Watching your page your videos and everything has really been helping me ig keep distracted take my mind off the negative and just drift with your videos. Love ya man. Keep up the great content. Your a positive influence not just to me tbut im sure to many other people with similar goals as what you have done. 🙏 im trying brother keep it pushin
I wanna take that risk of ehat your talkin about in the video takin risks but i dont even know where to start in my area. Where there are car meets. When there are any or even who knows about them. Im just stuck but i wanna meet new people at meets and stuff
I love watching your videos because even through you’re talking about cars and the car community you can also apply your observations to society and how we all act now versus then and I feel like it’s important to bring these things up. We aren’t learning from the past enough and I’m glad there’s people like you out here
Hilarious that you said DSM owners lol. That was my first intro into cars (this was mid to late 2000s). My cousin was a DSMer and introduced me to a lot of his car buddies. They were very inviting. We would hang out in grocery store parking lots shooting the shit all night, no one did anything dumb, and the cruises were fun. I didn't have a fast car around that time so I often rode shotgun. Like with everything else in life, we all got older and drifted apart. The nights used to start at 10pm, now I get tired and want to be home before 9pm most times.
Really liked how you put this and agree. I really hope MW can help change that since gatekeeping is rampant everywhere, not just the car scene.
I feel like most of that has to do with the internet, especially because these giant corporations like Facebook and Google basically give you recommendations that put you in a massive echo chamber where you only hear the opinions you agree with and see only the things you want to see, nothing of what you don’t. People are therefore less tolerant of anything they don’t like or agree with
New cars are getting boring for us working stiffs
That's why I keep buying older cars instead lol
but older cars are now harder and harder to find back in the 00's my brother got a solid e30 for 500$ now i dont think you can even afford a shell of one for that price
@luk4s56 I bought a clean 87 325e for 3500 in 2012 and swapped a S52 in and won't let it go for less than 12k
Prices went crazy around that second stimulus check. My parts list freaking doubled in price. Used to be a carbon fiber drive shaft could be had for a bit more that what a foam filled aluminium shaft goes for now. Only saves 2lbs for a $750 or 100% price bump.... wut? When it was $450 and $825 yeah ok that's still 100% but it didn't hurt the soul to think about. Way prices are might as well just do grown up stuff with that money like start a 401k... they got me messed up
Best video out there for car enthusiast. Very well described. Thanks man for making this video.
Started getting interested in the car scene back in 2009. The forums were a big part of that as they gathered people with similar interests but different walks of life. If was immensely fun until about 2013ish when I felt it got very "elitistic" as Stance works appeared, insanely lowered cars became... the norm, and everyone with a different build, or a shitbox that they were slowly building up got excluded. Have had a build in a shape or form always, but have not gone the extra mile in a while. The new car scene is basically rich kids with mom and dad bought cars that treat them like crap but have cool wheels on. So yeah, for me, the car scene is dead and has been for a while
I have always had much love for the community here in co and i always try to be a resource in the various groups i am a part of. I have stepped away from the local space since the sideshow events have become the norm which brings out the local law enforcement which i do not want to be a part of. There are cruises north of where i live but im usually not available to make time for them with my day job of IT. Gridlife, bandemere, and shift sector were great events which i entered my vehicles and all of those are now gone and im really saddend. I hope to see new events here in co this year and moving forward.
Wow, smart guy! This video was insightful, informed, and well paced from start to finish. Mr. Martini, this could be your best video to date! Thank you for doing what you do
I wanna start out by saying that I only came to watch Fitment Industries because of you Alex since I enjoy the energy you bring and have followed your channel since the beginning and am happy that you brought this up as discussion because the realm of cars has changed in certain ways that I didn't believe would happen in the beginning. When it comes to costs, unfortunately it is more expensive. Socially, I feel as though a lot of people put their pride in the capabilities of the car they own rather than in their abilities as a mechanic. I know not everyone acts this way, but it can and has definitely been an issue from what I've seen personally. On the other hand, there are scenarios where for example my best friends and I are talking about cars for hours and others working together to tackle projects. The sense of community I believe is an important aspect as long as good intentions are presented, however, as you've presented a lot of people can be selfish and it hurts the community. All in all, I enjoy listening to your opinions and the messages they bring. Keep it up!👍
Yeah now days there's less of the normal car meets now there's so much takeovers. When really normal meets are the best and plus for me as a 2023 car enthusiast prices are unbelievable high 😐
Where do you live by?
@@AlexMartini. I live In Georgia like 30 minutes from Atlanta and there's a lot of takeovers going on in Atlanta it's not even explain able the cops have Gotten even more serious with them
@@rbxviperyt9454 I kinda agree, I also live 30 minutes outside of Atlanta and there are not any good "normal" night meets that aren't takeovers and cops around the area have really harden up on cars. But here in the Metro Atlanta area we do have Caffeine and Octane which is a big mouthy meet that's great and we do have a decent amateur motorsports scene with drifting, circuit racing/track days. They did take our drag strip which still sucks but its not all doom and gloom, our scene is still at least stable if not thriving.
@@SlickDisaster26 that's good atleast
I'm an old guy stuck working in DC on a long term project for the gov. The best I can do considering my circumstances is to buy something new and hang out. So I purchased a 2023 Mustang GT, 6 speed, all black w/chrome badging. So I'll do the cars n' coffee and occasional weekend meet. I'm glad I can still participate!
I am from Puerto Rico and I was waiting for this long time. Back in the days people enjoy build common cars like Corrollas, Mitsubishi Mirage, little Civics. Today only you see is a súper expensive cars. Nobody builds anymore, just buy.
It really is sad, those cruise nights were awesome for a while, I met some of my best friends in that o'reilly parking lot, we'd hit up McDonalds for some shakes after making the loop. Some of the best memories. I don't know what happened but they really went down hill right around the time you went to Appleton it seems like. Without that group of people and all the people who attended the WCEC meets I don't think I ever would have become passionate about cars or bikes or motorsports. I hope the next generation gets to experience what we did.
Here in central Ohio a friend of mine (who I met by going to his meets) started Kaido Car Meets and its been amazing. Park and Chill with kids around and people with cameras learning/practicing photography. And also the friends I've made there becoming one of my new friends groups I hangout with every Saturday meet or not.
Great video man!
Think you hit it on the head, but it's more than just the car scene anymore. Feels like we take so many aspects of our lives and seek self validation out of whatever it may be instead of finding pleasure in it being part of something bigger than just ourselves. And even if we do give that little bit to recognize a group, we still gravitate towards those who act/look/feel the same way as opposed to talking with those who don't. I get where you're coming from that it didn't used to be that way, and *thank you* for continuing to try to bring all aspects of the car community together the way you are.
People (especially car “influencers”) just keep chasing the next higher end car without any limits, so it’s more a consumerist mindset ("look what I’m upgrading to next and can afford") than an enthusiast one.
My dude…. Your video speaks to the soul of all car enthusiasts out there! Keep up the good content!!
Great video. Absolutely on point!
Alex, my friends and I. Had a car club over 20 years ago! It wasn’t a big club just 10 of us, but out of the 10. Seven of us are still friends, even though we live in different states and have different hobbies ( influence by our kids). But the cars is what brought us together and a bond was created. I will always be a car guy no matter how old I become.
The joy IS in the journey. I've restored 3 cars and built one race car during my life and the fun was in the hunt. My fondest memories are of that moment in a junkyard when I found a rare part and I bought it super cheap. When the car was done, I lost interest and moved on to the next one.
I was a fellow wisconsin car-enthusiast around the same time & locations (milwaukee). I even used to have your WCEC stickers. I remember when I started trying to get involved in the scene. I got flagged down in my subaru one time and that got me involved & hung out at a few subaru meets. The part that turned me away pretty quickly was the pervasive judgement of other people cars. These groups still had community respect at least & kept driving chill.
Not everyone has tons of money & loving car's shouldn't be about that anyways & it seemed mainstream in tahat community to almost laugh at people who did inexpensive mods, even if they were done well "oh they have fake wheel hurdurr".
Its a shame. The love for cars that I think we all have circles around wrenching on them, trying to build YOUR dream with your friends, and going out on cruises experiencing those thrills & memories.
I still live & breath cars but I found alot more enjoyment in car meets that target older crowds. They never stopped doing them right lol.
Man I remember running into you and some hotel at automation, wanted the pink WCEC hoodie and you had none. On the truck so you grabbed one from your personal stash in your room and gave it to me. Probably 2014? I'd say, your cool shit man, keep up the amazing and solid work
This hits home and I couldnt agree more. The community aspect of cars has come and gone - I dont think forever, but theres been a very clear shift and its been a sad reality to come to terms with.
When I got my first car, it's wasn't long before I got the itch to make it more... me. A close friend of mine had some different, older import tuning mags that he gave me, and I started getting into the forums.
Our local tuning shop was pretty cool, they had a nice selection of affordable to unobtainable parts, and offered a layaway program. The downside is that some of the employees also got busted multiple times for organized street racing, which has left a cloud over the shop for a number of years. Aside from a few cool people, most of them were also very elitist, which turned me off to the local community.
I've now stepped into the euro side and found there is a big, tight-knit community around me that's very welcoming. The downside, like you said, is cost; not having a lot of time to go to meets is another issue.
I feel in MN the community seems to be pretty tight. Car clubs all intermingle as well as having their own events.
Didnt use to be that way though. Part of why MNCEC was formed actually was to solve the infighting that existed.
I suppose that makes me happier I joined the scene when I did. It's been positive vibes only from what I can tell. I mean, I don't see what you, Alex, or other organizers see so I could certainly be wrong but I'd say we're in a good space 🖤
Yeah but car meets in the cities are dangerous in MN. People get shot at them.
My wife tried to become a car enthusiast and bought herself a 4 cylinder Camaro. Everyone made her feel insecure over the fact that she had a I4 Camaro instead of a V8. Even passive aggressive comments like, “it’s okay it’s not a V8.” Fortunately the 4x4 community has been super awesome since we’ve transitioned. They’re still all about community and they celebrate all builds. My wife bought an entry-level Wrangler and due to her experience as a Camaro owner she went in with the fear she’d be judged for not having a Rubicon. That’s when we learned the off road community still cares about building their own trucks and respect entry-level models even when they’re not modified.
I'm from the UK and I agree with your points for the car scene over here too.
Social media is pure cancer nowadays, the worst thing the internet has given birth to and "the algorithm" ruins my experience, as I hardly see any posts from the people I follow nowadays.
Some of my closest friends have been made from the car scene, some from the motorbike scene... but that was all 8-10 years ago now! Feels like everyone who you meet through social media now either only talks to you because of your car or to get something out of you, even if that's "exposure".
Not sure about general car meets but subie meets have been the same friendly and enthusiastic people attending and chatting :) since the first time I’ve gone to one!
Join an auto cross or rally cross group. Everyone is usually pretty chill and the ones that aren’t don’t seem to stick around very long. It’s probably one of, if not the best ways to feel connected with other people who like cars. Everyone is just there to have some fun throwing dirt, going sideways and taking out some cones along the way.
Thanks for telling the truth about the increase in price not correlating to an increase in production costs. Obviously there was pandemic and other events that caused production costs to rise or just become more difficult. But people don't realize how expensive stuff is just because they know they can get away with it. It makes complete sense. Why would you not take more money for less product and work if you still get customers.
I feel it's more of a generational thing. My local car meet is mostly older guys, and they are very down to earth. All in all I have a blast hearing stories and learning things.
It usually the younger people that have a "social media" expectation on others, majority of them not owning a car for themselves.
It's matter of maturity, because If you think about, we've all been there in our childhood, the honeymoon phase. where we think the coolest car, is the fastest, most expensive car.
Keep it up Alex, I’m learning a lot especially from a younger enthusiast
Thank you!
THIS IS WHY @nightride is One of my favorite CZcams channels ACTUALLY feel like TRUE car community. Just some dudes with awesome vibes, and a community goal of whatever task is at hand.
The real question is, is social media ruining call culture. Where instead to doing your own thing, you do what pleases others.
This is it.
I'll do ya one more; would it be as big and healthy without it? Or would we see the demise of affordable car building because the niche gets too small?
@@AlexMartini. Lets one up this again, are we sure car culture has actually grown due to social media or did social media just bring more events into the light? (x factor being car movies did help grow the culture a lot).
I mean your really successful Rally event, gold rush, gumball all did well without social media. Some of the best events are the ones not advertised.
@@AlexMartini. I will say Martini Works is a fantastic idea and does take advantage of the best of social media
Things have definitely changed over the years, I'm from the same early era and have been a part of many shifts in the scene. I think part of the issue at some meets is it seems like there is an incessant need to just show off. People do things for views or what have you and can't just go to a meet to look at stuff and connect with people, you gotta show you're the coolest. At times it seems like it's more and more about bragging than just building a car.
Coming from the motorcycle scene riding motocross, it’s a side effect of the industry growing. What once was seen as fun with the friends relaxing in the garage sharing stories. Everyone rather focus on the most extravagant builds and the most attention. The more popular something gets, the more the people who join without the right intentions. I’ve had multiple friends of mine who don’t care for either motorcycle or cars feel discouraged because “ their style doesn’t fit a mold” which I personally think is anti what modifying cars are about.
Alex, would love to do some sort of podcast with you or an interview. I've lived in PHX, LA and now in Chicagoland and experienced car culture in all states. I've seen the changes your describe occur maybe 10 years ago when cars became faster and faster for cheaper and cheaper. Kids went from getting 150-200hp cars to now getting 300hp G35s (my first car) for pennies followed by 335s getting dirt cheap with an n54 and getting them to 4-500hp when that was unheard of. Then taking those same cars and doing this like takeovers or street racing, burnouts or endangering those around them to show off. I stopped going to meets when those people showed up. LA had an amazing cars and coffee mid day called Super Car Sunday in woodland hills. The turnout was great with mature people coming out. Even saw Jeff Dunham out once just enjoying the cars and talking to people. It was great. Every time car meets happened later in the day, you had kids coming in to ruin it. I also unfortunately got to see meets near my house in Chicagoland by drivers putting others in danger and getting us kicked out. We had a sunday morning cars and coffee in barrington. Generally you had Ferrari, Porsche, BMW and other higher end cars show up on Sunday. What happened saturday night is Mustangs, Civics and Chargers would park, rev engines and piss off the local businesses. The end result? The sponsors of the car meet were not welcomed back and lost privileges despite not being associated with any of those activities.
As cars get cheaper and cheaper and performance higher and higher with DIYs posted on the internet, the individual doesn't need to learn from others and instead is seeking an outlet to show off a car. And most of us as we get older don't want to be associated with those folks. I do speed when I drive. But I don't want to be associated with 3-4 other cars doing stupid shit and getting my license suspended for something that isn't worth it.
Closest meet I went to last season was EP3 season closer/opener (forget which it was) and enjoying time with many BMWs that showed up and other VAG cars that behaved well in a well organized event. It was amazing. Talked to some of the guys at IND and some other members there about our builds, plans for the cars etc. It was an amazing show. But it took a lot of work from EP3 to put the event together. Sadly events like that can also be ruined in a heartbeat by someone's lack of judgement doing stupid things like revving unnecessarily, burning out or putting others in danger and not using common sense to safely join and leave the event. And I sound so much like a broken record but cheap powerful cars lead people to getting themselves in big big trouble.
I miss my car scene back home in Canada since moving to America. Would love to get involved with you and your base once i move to Wisconsin this year. I miss that feeling of community that you talk about. Regretably i had to get rid of my car when i moved to Ohio from Canada, but im really hoping i can find something worthy once i get moved.
The car community in my area is huge, but nobody wants to go out to the weekend meet because all the cars there are "regular traffic". Meanwhile dudes talking smack, split their rent four ways, still on their parents car insurance, driving $40k+ cars but won't line up anywhere that requires them to do more than mash the gas pedal, or start on a roll.
I live in a small town in northern Ontario, the meets we have every Sunday are honestly great, mostly cuz the people showing their cars have had them for a while and some have put serious time into them, what I find great is I’ve seen s13 sitting next to Plymouths and older mustangs, there’s a couple “beaters” with no hoods and blowers and everyone just looks at it impressed, there is a spot for the boy racers with their ricer builds but I haven’t heard any disappointment as everyone is aware the Canadian economy and car parts are hella expensive, I’m aware that I’m pretty isolated in terms of in-person community and I have a feeling I’d feel the same if I was in a bigger city like Toronto or Ottawa
@AlexMartini my name is Maverick. I run the biggest Cars and Coffee in the state of Ohio. We should talk sometime. I agree with what you are saying. I see the same types of issues in my own community. Car Culture is dying but it doesn't have to. Unfortunately, a lot of the comments below are a reflection of that statement. I think we know the problem, the question now I think is what are we going to do about it as a community? You have a voice like I do. A bigger one for sure haha. It's our job to remind everyone why this whole culture started in the first place and pass it on to future generations, pick people up in the process, have openness, and support our local communities and car shops. There are plenty of us still around in the Midwest. We just all need to connect and find each other.
Back in the 80’s the import scene was just coming up. Every week someone was breaking out 510’’s 200SX’s, Sentra’s, Celica’s, BMW’s and them VW’s. The 90’s is when everyone jumped on the bandwagon. And it became all about civics, and Acuras. Toyo’s, 190E’s, Eclipse’s and mini trucks. Back then no kid could afford any of the Legendary JDM 90’s cars. You brought what you could afford and made it so badazz Hollywood had to make a movie about it.
10:08 man in the back rocking that turquoise top and Jean shorts 😂
social media made the car community bigger but it didn't make it better, theirs a lot of fake people, I joined a car club on discord and met some awesome people, but I also watched the whole thing just kinda devolve into another twitch streamer discord as the owner of the club got more and more full of themselves, I find myself spending less and less time in the main club server and more and more time in group chats with the people I've met up and cruised with, genuine people still exist you just gotta find them.
When I finally was able to get my first sports car (98 C5 corvette convertible auto) I was so stoked. I'm still young and haven't had a way of learning stick yet. The amount of crap I get for it being an auto has now made me not want to take it to any more shows. This sucks as I usually go to a lot of WCEC shows since I live in Janesville. People just aren't happy for other people anymore and it really sucks.
As with most things, we're allowing social media dictate (or simply influence) people.
I live in So Cal and I find it bizarre how music is part of everyday life, yet less and less peeps are into the car audio scene (if there even is one).
I've always been intrigued on how someone can make a daily driver keep up or in some cases faster than some expensive cars at just a fraction of the price (same goes with car audio). Having a group of friends help each other out to build that car, is what makes the car community legit.
I've been a car enthusiast since 1990 and I can tell you, I don't want to interact with people at car meets any more... ever. They're so toxic in so many different ways. Same with most forums. You go places to talk to like-minded people and sometimes to get help, but you won't find that at any place where "car people" are congregating. You'll find the "find out for yourself" people and the "I don't like YOUR mods, so you suck" people and the "I want everything stock, so you suck" people. It's ridiculous.
Things have changed so much since I first started going to meets around 2001. Back then there was the usual import domestic rivalry of the times, but it was actually pretty fun and everyone was real cool with everyone pretty much knowing each other and just cruising around town in between times and the occasional race getting locked in. The forums were fun to just BS around on and talk a bit of trash. One thing that was interesting was the immense number of clubs and or crews and I could say one of my biggest regrets is not getting a sticker from my friends that were in different clubs of the time. I know they can easily be reprinted but it's not the same as if someone hands you one. I really wish I could see the car scene even be somewhat like it was back in the day. Those were some truly fun times, but the combination of takeovers and cloud culture have pretty much killed any semblance of that.
Well said, I started in car community when I bought my Z in 2006. The car community was all forums, late night meets, and weekend cruises. There were various ways in to learn without really any money or extreme effort. But the sense was always about the community and friendship. The Zcar group was a bunch of old guys in 240z's back then, so a few of us created our own VA Z club. We had no money so we met a parks and other free places and cruised the local twisty roads. It wasn't about having the best, it was about helping each other. Some of my best friends were made there, and for many years we alot of things outside of cars together. It fizzled out around 2016 just because most of us had kids by that point, but we still try to have some thing every once and awhile. I think the issue currently is social media created a culture of "look at me." It's now always about one upping everyone else. And Car culture has been infected with the drag racing curse: whoever has the most money wins.
i made my own physical car group, made my own logo. printed my own stickers. then i moved and locked up my really good stuff, like i still import my parts from japan JDM stuff.
not this unstretched hyper lipped air dumped its all in california.
like real racing setups and care for how the vehicle is setup. not just dumping it but definetly feels like im playing TXR3 and intentionally reference that in my design of my build.
i think after covid the way we interact with each other changed a lot. It's more everyone for themselves. Its a more combative situation rather than a cooperative one.
I haven’t done anything car scene related in like 10 years. It’s so cliquey. I’m introverted as well but I LOVE small quirky cars and bright colors so I’m always the outsider and I just get weird looks. Just isn’t fun as it used to be back in 98-2012. Especially if you can’t afford big $$$ brand named items.
I remember when everyone groaned about OBD II and how it was gonna kill the car scene… that was in the 90’s, everyone adapted... I was in a car club back from 96-98 in TX. IMO It was the peak of the tuner scene. It was super fun and people were doing a lot of cool stuff to those cars. Motor swaps and turbo kits were really common and pretty affordable… there was a lot of street racing and drag strip days but like anything, people move on to other things. It’s a fun hobby, but it’s expensive and once your off to school or helping start a family priorities change. Lot of people will love cars forever, but it’s hard to base so much of your life around it unless you’re making a living that way…
As someone who was all into meete 5-10 years ago and just loved cruising with a random group of cars. The community is budget racing series and autox events seems to be the closest thing now. Ive seen someone bring a clapped out old american sedan to an event and get more attention than a gt3 because its funny and enjoyable. If you are new to the scene please go to your local autocross. Drive whatever you have there. people will love it
Car meets are a big part of the spring and summer here in Illinois. Theres a cars and coffee almost every Saturday and Sunday. The meets in the mornings are pretty chill. As I've gotten older, I've stopped going to a lot of night meets. The crowd there is mostly a bunch of try hards that usually result in events getting shut down early. Cops nowadays have zero tolerance for noise disturbances.
Someone here stated that social media is the real reason the car community is so shitty nowadays because everyone wants attention. That's why takeovers are so popular nowadays. I also feel like builds are far less common than someone just having an expensive ass car with a wrap and nice wheels. People get more excited about seeing a Hellcat opposed to a twin-turbo R/T with all the supporting mods.
Semi recently me and some friends went to a sonic car meet and it was kind of both sides of the coin. I met and talked to a lot of cool people, many different walks of life and many different cars. I met a dude who recently sold a mustang and replaced it with a brand new 370z, complimented some owners cars, a dude in a 911 giving pulls to strangers. It was a pretty good time but I feel like I saw some of the kind of people the comments section brings up. Not a lot but I got the vibe from some people who would pull up, hang around for a little bit, then leave. Another cars and coffee event i regular has a bunch of older folks but very friendly and fun people. I remember a dude came by with his Miata, and I was pretty excited cause it was someone more my age, but he was very quiet and didn’t stick around to long. I’m sure he meant well but it was still a shame. Maybe all the VW/VAG talk I was having with one of the older dudes I met scared him away 😂
For me I cannot go to a car meet alone, maybe because I'm quite introverted. I either go with few of my friends or go with some Ford clubs (yes I'm a Ford guy). But one of these friends is getting frustrated because people hate on his Seat Leon mostly because he has upgradeded front bumper and not a Cupra bumpers like every other Leon, people call it ricey. Doesn't matter how many times I tell him not to care and just do his own thing, he takes it too much to his heart. But in the last half a year I actually got to know better a lot of people who come to these car meets. And that's just because I let them sign hood on my beat up Mondeo. And then when we talk a little further they're suprised when they found out it's a V6. And I love those reactions.
In addition to what you've said in regard to the degradation of the car scene, another big aspect is something that's effected all communities: the shift to online and how the social media corporations are allowed to control all our interactions. As counterintuitive as it seems, social media platforms are not incentivized to help people find and form communities. Their engagement algorithms are optimized to elicit outrage and negativity. Instead of facilitating interactions with helpful, positive or levelheaded people, they will always prioritize interactions with negative and controversial people and topics instead. The only time social media platforms will try to fit a person with a community is for the purposes of pitting them against another community to fuel their engagement statistics. It's happening to all kinds of communities, and I can see how it's affecting the car scene as well.
I kind of just do things solely for me now. The remaining forums are a cesspool of venom, and people attending car meets stick to other people driving the same type of car... like some kind of gang.
Thankfully, my wife and best friend are long-time enthusiasts, so we just go on our own cruises.
Car shows used to be about the cars. Now it seems like it's more about status. In its simplest (and imo best form) car culture was about buying something affordable and customizing it into something that reflects your personality. This created heaps of unique builds, which you don't see nearly as much. The dynamic seems to have shifted to being a competition of who has the newest, unnecessarily expensive car.
I recently went to a Cars and Coffee where this kid (early 20-something) had shoehorned an LS into an E30 BMW, somehow without having to trim any of the engine bay. It was not a gorgeous car but it was the coolest thing there, by a long shot purely because of the audacity of such an idea. He got comparatively little attention because the guy with the brand new M3 Competition had like 15 people huddled around him. That guy did nothing beyond writing a giant check. Yeah, that M3 Comp was cool but I lost interest in after about 5 mins. I stared at that E30 for what seemed like a half hour.
I get that car culture is (at its core) purely subjective, as it should be. People like what they like but it seems like it's less about creativity and uniqueness, now.
So refreshing to see a bigger Chanel have this opinion about it
I'm a recent automotive hobbyist - always wanted to work on and build a car of my own, but it never really lined up for me until recently.
Before that (and this'll make some of you chuckle) it was competitive video games around the same time that you mentioned when forums were the big thing. The big thing back then were clans, guilds, whatever where people flocked together to make these communities where having the most people on a leaderboard or during tournaments and stuff. I kind of moved into guitars as a hobby during the transition of social media, and I wonder if it's changed by nostalgia glasses, but it really does seem like communities in general have died off. The cranky old man in me says it's because the internet used to be more difficult to use so stupid people weren't as plentiful 😂
It's completely different trying to make connections now, and sometimes people are so negative about anything that's not what they like that it can be discouraging.
Went to a friday night meet in EC a few months ago, had some fun. But I have to admit it seemed 50/50 people chatting, and people trash talking other stuff rolling in.
I miss the forum days for some reason still lol
Hosted a car meet at a small spot earlier this year without the support of my precious endeavor and it started off okay.. but the cars that were there didn’t wanna wait and see if there were more cars coming they just left after ten minutes and then the next round of cars and the same thing happened and everybody expects bug meets and 1000 hp
As someone who is now more barley getting into cars as an adult in his 30s I can say it seems super expensive and difficult, I’ve always loved cars from playing need for speed underground back in the day and the FF movies to watching formula 1 racing and nascar with my grandpa before he passed away back in 2019. I’ve owned several cars but never tried to modify them . I’ve had a 98 Cadillac deville , 97 Honda accord , 2007 Nissan Sentra SER and now a 2013 Kia soul 😅😅😅 clearly not trying to modify that but looking for a decently priced late 90s early 2000s car that would be fun to drive but seems like everybody wants an arm and a leg for something that runs haha 😂
That's not just the car scene. It's a reflection of the generation. This current generation of car ppl are just shysty and don't want to learn or put in the time to be what they want respect and recognition for. This video gave me a warm feeling talking about why we all got into the car scene and how we put in the time and the feeling of community that in no longer even possible with these new car boys and girls, half of them barely know how to put washer fluid into their own cars much less work on them. As a car guy and technician, I try to teach as many of the current gen as much as I can, and they are so detached that it's almost pointless