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spoolin ddub

15+ Year Contributor
598
17
Aug 24, 2007
Chicago, Illinois
An little something from a friend. Enjoy.


This was written by Jonathan Wooley of S3 Magazine. One of my boys picked this magazine up and the next day showed me this AMAZING editorial Article about our current culture and the way things are. This is REAL TALK like no other! So I e-mail him and asked him if he could send me the article that he wrote, and he responded and happily obliged! This is 1 of 3 articles I will be sending you all and posting on forums! Take the time to read it, its amazing and says a lot about a lot of people. He even mentions DSMs in here, and he has a DSM himself. =)

And I know you all will appreciate it most of all!

"S3 Magazine is not going to bring you Perfect Cars"

S3 Magazine is not going to bring you perfect cars. That’s not what we do. See - people just assume that magazines are going to try and present the biggest and the baddest. And we all need to shift that way of thinking. Thing is, I know I know - most magazines in the automotive realm follow that notion. But c’mon, those are the sold out mags. They bring in these superstar cars – but they’re all just thrown together with cold hard marketing budgets . . . I say marketing budgets, because these cars are just marketing tools . . . owned by companies and marketing agencies . . . They’ve got the right parts, and on paper, they are impressive. But there is no soul. Because it’s fake from the start. At least shallow. They’re trying to do it less these days, but it still happens. It’s like a music label pushing the next manufactured pop sensation. Better yet - it’s like playing a video game with some dude that’s 10 times better than you. Doesn’t take long before you lose interest and throw down the controller, right? Well I don’t want anyone to get fed up and throw a controller. That’s not why we do this damn magazine.


And the crazy thing is, when you look back . . . it was the INDUSTRY that created this mythical dude that’s better than everyone . . . it was not the enthusiasts. It was a marriage between the sold out media, working with aftermarket companies who desperately wanted to sell out. They thought they would reel you (the youth) in by portraying this super-baller image. Showing you shiny shit. But it was unrealistic. They’re showing Hondas with 60 grand in them. But that market just doesn’t exist in real life. IE: Young guys don’t have that much disposable income, and old rich guys don’t want Civics . . . they want Porsches. How many people do you really see out there putting 60 grand into a Civic . . . that aren’t dealing. Not many of us.
So the guys who were really making the scene happen (you and me) were getting little acknowledgement/credit/appreciation/love in the mags. It was just a warm circle jerk between players in the industry – thinking they had us on lock. And by the time they got their hands off each other, the whole culture had shifted, and they didn’t have a clue. When all you see is untouchable cars making the tuner mags, then why even bother throwing 15 grand in a Civic . . . if it’s gonna take 45 grand more to get into the big leagues. The industry and the media was trying to sell us on the idea of champagne, when all we wanted was a good keg party. And over the last decade, those guys have skewed the whole culture into a way of thinking . . . that is f**ked up . . . for lack of a better word. Now everyone just wants to be on top in their status, rather than just being a part of something.

So back on point - we try to feature cars that are not necessarily perfect, but exciting. Above your average, but still within reality. We hope we’re all of the same mentality, and we hope that this mag inspires you to go deeper, rather than quit.
We pick the cars we feature – 1) because we have love for the real side of this scene. And 2) because there is just something about ‘em. Maybe one has a perfect stance. Maybe one has nut shredding power. Maybe one has a hood completely covered in stickers. Maybe one runs no hood at all. Maybe one has a paint job that makes you just grin . . . reminds you of the good ‘ol times of yesteryear . . . while at the same time – pushing forward in fresh, new directions. Maybe one is a car that comes with certain stereotypes – and maybe it crushed those stereotypes. Maybe you look through the magazine . . . this magazine . . . and you pull just one thing from one or two cars that, for some reason, you just really gravitate to. Then maybe you apply those little things, to your own car. And you find your own sense of style. Your own And you find your own place that you fit in. Because in the end. We are all the same. But we are not all the same.

I think we are seeing some great, really great, new attitudes grabbing root again in this scene again. And it’s high-time. But we have to make sure that people are following their own style, and not somebody else’s. And that’s important man . . . that you follow your own style. I struggle with that one sometimes myself. For example, I thought of a different color/wheel combo for my GSX not too long ago. I was gonna paint it a classy greenish shade from a new Porsche Cheyenne, and throw Lexus SC430 wheels on it. The car would look rad like that. It would be unique and current in other parts of the culture. But that’s just not me. Kind of wish it was, but it’s not. I’m a neon yellow kind of dude . . . what can I do? F**k it . . . I’m a ricer.
Truth be told, I’m kinda proud of that. Ricers > this new generation of forum p*ssies, that’s for sure.

Because with the Internet and forums and all – things come and go so quickly. It’s like a game of cat and mouse . . . makes it harder to dedicate yourself . . . and easier to just jump around always trying to follow the ‘in’ trends . . . but then you’re just a follower. Back in the ricer days, we used to call that ‘being a poser’. So you’ve got to make sure that you’re doing stuff that fits you. Because things can easily lose their luster with all that bouncing around going on. Want an example? Look at stance and wheel fitment. It’s hot right now . . . but I fear it’s time may be running out. I fear the Internet has already given it a death sentence. And not because it’s not cool . . . but because eeeeverybody’s jumped on the bandwagon. Everybody’s got a blog. And a lot of people have big heads. And leave it to Internet geeks to nerd-up something cool. Stance is cool, but it’s not the end-all be-all of the sport compact scene. All the attitude and judgment is a turnoff. Especially if you’re stock under the hood. That’s just asking to get called out . . . and all it’s gonna take is a couple good call-outs by some street guys making power . . . and the ‘trend’ will shift back to motor.

Problem is – we’ve got a lot of lames-asses in this scene right now (and world). And they want to make their clics, crews, clubs, squads, teams, whatever. And they want to put up fences, and keep people out of their elitist tree house. But they end up keeping so many people out . . . that there are enough of us left outside, to break your fence and your tree down.

Why is this scene like that? We’re like a bunch of sorority girls – when did that happen? Let’s be honest for a second. Maybe it’s because we all feel backed in a corner . . . for just liking what we like.
Most of the time when I see guys talking shit on forums . . . all they’re really trying to do (under the surface) is defend what they have, and what they like. You can see through the bullshit if you look. We’re human. And we’re gonna try to defend our cars, because we have a lot of pride, and love, and effort wrapped up in ‘em. But the fact that we’re human, also makes it easy to get caught up in drama . . . and want to take sides, and make teams.

Stance-guys spent all their money on wheels and suspension, so there’s no cash left to go fast. Inside – they are totally content with that for the moment. But then there are guys who don’t understand stance . . . I mean literally do not understand it. They don’t understand how to get there, how to roll fenders, stretch tires. (And in their defense, it’s a lot easier to get perfect stance when you have a GTI, Civic, or 240 . . . and 8 billion people have gone down the same path before you, and all your answers are on one website.) They don’t want to buy new wheels and still get it wrong, or risk damaging pieces. So they take the offence when they feel backed into a corner, because they are not on top of the latest trend. And they say,
“F**k overflush cars with stretched tires. It’s bad for the car and it’s bad for performance, and your motor is stock. You’re basically a mini-trucker.”

And then the Stance-guys feel backed into a corner, because that is partly true. Their car is not all that fast, and that’s their weak link in an otherwise sick car. So they place their crews on a pedestal, and down the cars that are not flush-focused. And the cycle continues.
Drift guys love to promote the fact that they actually use their car, ands don’t just hard-park it. They rag on fwd cars for being ‘wrong-wheel-drive”. So the front-wheel-drive guys feel backed in a corner . . . and they say,

“Your car looks like beat up shit and your bumpers fall off. You wear your sister’s jeans. And you say you use your car, but I never see it on real streets; I only see it on a trailer going to play around cones in a parking lot. You’re basically an autocrosser, but slightly and I do mean slightly cooler”

Drift guys then feel backed in a corner, so they further exclude themselves from the FWD-side of the pool. And the hate divides. And it’s unfortunate, because while a lot of us have been acting like little girls, we’ve lost some cool guys to Mustangs, Camaros, Challengers, Turbo-Diesels, etc. You’re most vulnerable when you’re in a civil war.
We don’t have to have a good reason for liking what we like . . . and we shouldn’t have to try and find a reason for anybody. We all need to have a certain level of pride for what we bring into the culture. But it needs to be a humble sort of pride. On the Internet hiding behind a keyboard, that’s hard to do. Face to face – it’s natural. We are all adding to the greater health (or disease) of the community. Which is it?
 
It does, certainly, make certain points true.
 
It makes so much sense it's annoying. The car culture is divided because people are different at their core. I don't get what he was trying to promote. World peace amongst car clubs? Never going to happen. Mostly because people are unwilling to accept new possibilities and the "my di** is bigger than yours" , I mean, "my car is faster than yours" mentality that is so easy to get caught up in.

Anybody know if this guys magazine is still in print?
 
Wow this is awesome. I think at least 95% of the Dsm'ers on the internet NEED to read this. I love this article thank you for posting
 
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