I mean, it’s pretty bad, but so is basically everything Imperial Japan did in China, Korea, and, well, everywhere else they tried to take over back then.

Haha, yeah, I remember that “mod.” Always looked terrible.

If everyone rode bikes, everyone would smell like sweaty ass most of the time, and very few people would get where they need to go when the weather sucks. 

I mean, the “style bars” that were so popular on early Miatas pretty much amount to this. 

Not really in my book. But I suppose it’s a small distinction for some. After all, good ol’ firebombing raids did more damage and killed more enemy than those early nukings. But they didn’t add radioactivity and the sheer, stunning force of a good nuking. 

That’s probably a good bet. I only go to Oxnard when I’m heading to the marina for a sail, or going to Shooter’s Paradise to hit the range. But, yeah, I could see it being a good place to find that kind of thing. 

I mean, it might turn into a cage if you roll the car, so ... maybe?

Yeah, even if you missed a few spots and had to go over it twice, it’d still take about as long as it takes just to start a regular mower.

If cars could be nerds, this thing would have tape on its glasses. 

You need to make an exception for British cars, because British Racing Green does not look right with anything but a Biscuit interior and top. 

I’m not sure why you’d be offended. Unless, of course, you want people to think a Pep Boys barfed on your car. 

I think it’s probably a function of age. The tuning scene I remember was mostly pretty young. Like, if you were 28 you felt like the old guy. Among the people I see in tuned cars here, 28 is probably the young end.

As far as I’m concerned, those accounts were all balanced out when we dropped two nukes on Japan.

Man, the Mazda dealer near me really sucks. At least the service department does. Never bought a car from them, and thanks to their crappy service department, I never will.

Lol, can’t believe I did that.

Yeah, that and “front lips” made of garden edging were pretty popular homebrew kludge mods. 

I don’t see nearly as many as I used to from around ‘98-’02. At least, not where I am, anyway.

It wasn’t dead yet in Texas, where I was back then, but it had clearly already peaked and was on the decline. It was pretty short-lived from my perspective. I didn’t start seeing these cars until 1996, which was when I switched from VW to Honda. And by 2001 it was on its way back down. 

Damn! That thing makes me reconsider my hatred of yardwork. 

True. But that illustrates part of what makes the tuning scene so different now from what it was. Back then, not a lot of people who could afford upscale luxury marks were all that interested in modifying them, and a lot of the people who were into tuning cars skewed younger and less affluent.