When is it too far? I struggle to continue to support an organization that has, in my opinion, simply lost sight of its origins. This organization was founded on builders, crafters, creators... you might even say visioneers. A bit on the younger side most modify cars with with a combination of what we have, what we can salvage for cheap or free, and the tools we have at our disposal to work with. It sparked a sense of ingenuity, creativeness, and gusto the automotive industry had not seen in years. Scavenging through every source available from local classifieds to wrecking yards, buying totaled vehicles and parting them out after retrieving the single rare part they needed to perfect their vision. Searching high and low and often times selling everything they had of value in order to purchase, modify, and perfect the vintage uber rare wheels they had searched for over the past year. I have personally attended vintage swap meet after swap meet looking for weird obscure parts to finely tune a mix of old and new, spent hours upon hours flipping through magazines from the 1980's in search of that one simple mod that may get me lower, or just an idea that could set me apart from the rest of the pack. Back in the day it was called hot rodding, a more recent term that has come to describe today's creators and builder is "stance", or "fitment". There became a sense of hostility in many parts of the car community toward this fast growing trend of down and out, it was called impractical and a waste of money. There became a large divide between "form" and "function" a divide the "form" neither endorsed or embraced, a divide that was fairly short lived when the "function" side of things came to realize you could have the best of both worlds, if your measuring skills were up to par. We could delve deep into the minute details of the "scene" from stretched tires, crazy wide wheels with even crazier low offsets, sticker collections, and what some consider impractical camber. We could argue all day bout where "stance" or "fitment" was born... although the lines of origin are so close, and often over lap just happening on opposite sides of the planet. Before I get too far off topic, when is too far? When has a major supporter of this "scene" lost sight? In my opinion it is when they no longer focus on the builder, when the focus shifted to dollar signs, when the focus seems to have gone the way of bought not built. Don't get me wrong, to this day, I maintain the dream of owning a Ferrari F40, but, there are a million places I can go look at exotic cars. There are many websites dedicated to the precision of fine vintage European cars, and the preservation and showcasing of these cars. There was one place I felt at home, one page away from the bickering of purists, and so called enthusiests, a place away from all of the how do I change my oil threads. A place that showcased hard work, creativeness, and individuality. In the PacificNorthWest, my name became synonymous with the promotion of this place, that was somewhat of an electronic home away from home. This place was the starting point for something I never imagined would get as popular as it did, my car, The Dirty3Thirty. I developed friendships that I am glad to say will last longer then my lifetime, gained knowledge you can't find in a book, and experienced a sense of comradery you hear about from war veterans. I am proud to call this group an extended family. The sad thing is, I have distanced myself from my roots, and my family, because in a sense, my family joined a circus. I understand forming business partnerships to further your cause, and help shape the industry. I do not understand why you would completely sell out. I am about to say some things that are very uncharacteristic of me, and I am sure will upset a few people, but it is in hopes that maybe it will be the voice of reason, and we can get back to the good days once again. Lambos on air and $10k worth of wheels, pig skin leather driving gloves, concourse style shows and vintage Ferrari's all have their place in this world... it is not this world. This scene consists mainly of 16-30 year old males that make under $50k a year, yes there are surely exceptions, I am speaking in general terms. This scene was built and thrives from busted knuckles and zip ties, not trust funds and exotic car mechanics. This scene was built and is powered by starving students, and true enthusiasts not people that bought it because it looked cool, and their neighbor had one. I appreciate the automotive community as a whole, from the first car built to the last, I do not appreciate losing a sense of community over a dollar sign. This was a place I was proud to represent, and has become a site I visit less and less regularly. My hope in writing this is not to upset anyone, my hope is that maybe someone agrees, and we can get back to our roots.
Thanks for taking the time to read this... feel free to bash my grammar or spelling, as I typed this on a break at work, and unfortunately I am not an English major. As always your opinions are welcomed.
Thanks for taking the time to read this... feel free to bash my grammar or spelling, as I typed this on a break at work, and unfortunately I am not an English major. As always your opinions are welcomed.
Comment