i don't want to sound like i blame the media for the way people act, but i seriously believe that the import community would be way more advanced if the fast and teh furious never happened.
a very false image of what racing is and should be was presented and then marketeed to death. teh real performance community got swallowed up in it.
there have been people like JG engine making 600+hp honda motors for years. taht is damn impressive, especially out of a 2.0 -2.2 liter motor.
then the movie and the MTV feeding frenzy happened and now i talk to kids and have to answer questions like"how many nawz bottles are in your car?" and hear them talk about double clutching to be faster when they race.
personally, my big knock against teh imports and most small motors is the way they sound. teh pscho weed whacker thing never appealed to me. i still am a fan of speed though, and i can tell you that watching jeff hill from turbo trixx in north jersey launch his AWD first gen talon is plain old fun. the car squirms and fights for traction and puts up numbers while spinnign all 4 tires and rowing a beefed up stock 5spd. unfortunately people like jeff are the exception more than the rule.
later
tim