Why do younger guys have a warped view of what a performance car is?

well im a V8 american muscle type of person but i do at least respect the real tuners out there with the real imports and other 4 and 6 cylinders that can actually run like the Evos and GT-Rs like you list and also like a supra with the 2JZ engine, i also agree that i don't respect the little ricers out there with the honda civics and other non tuner cars, ya you can make a honda fast as hell but think about how much money it will take, if you put that same amount of money including the car price into lets say a fox body 5.0 mustang or a V8 camaro then you'll get a hell of a lot faster and better all around car, i also CAN'T stand when i hear those little 4 bangers with an annoying a** exhaust that makes it sound like a dirt bike or lawn mower and i laugh at the tuners with the Boeing 747 wings on the back lol

little story, i have a 98 chevy silverado 4x4 Z71 with a 5.7L 350 V8, stock only about 255 HP but it has about 340 ft lbs of TQ which TQ is what puts power to the ground and also helps with the weight, 4 and 6 cylinders just can't make the TQ a V8 can, V6s might can come close but still not match a V8, well anyways performance wise my truck is stock except a K&N air intake kit and TRUE dual flowmaster exhaust with an X pipe crossover, well i pulled up beside a little annoying honda civic not sure if it was a Vtec or not but also didn't seem completely stock either, but he was doing that thing where you roll back a little and then let the clutch grab to move back up, he did that 3 or 4 times, i looked over at him and laughed, he got mad i guess and revved up his little ****, so i revved mine up, which you think sounded better? lol, well instead of loading up the TQ converter like i normally do which is when you have an auto and you hold the brake real hard and at the same time give just enough gas to where you feel the rear lift up but not spin tires so it basically puts the tranny in gear and ready to go, but i didn't do that because i wanted to give him a benefit by not doing that, well we took off he never had chance, stayed at least 2 car lengths behind me so you could fit another car between us lol, only time he got close to my bumper was when i purposely let off only because i figure i already made my point, now before anybody says i had the HP advantage ya i did but you also have to realize my truck is 4,200 lbs stock and about 4,500 lbs as it is now if not even closer to 4,600 so he had the power to weight ratio advantage, but like i said before i had the TQ, also he was more aerodynamic than me, my truck is like a brick on the front lol, what makes it even funnier is that after we turned on the other main road i hauled a** while he drove normal, 1/8 mile down the road i see blue lights, the honda got pulled and the cop was never close enough to get my plate # hahaha, now i know my truck isn't some muscle truck and i didn't buy it to race of course but i just find it funny that his little sh*t couldn't even keep up with my heavy a** stock brick of a truck

I'm not going to truly delve into this because it is all opinion.

I will say this however, all cars, regardless of manufacturer, can be made into "high performance" machines with the right modifications and a little ingenuity. Considering one country or manufacturer as the only true "high performance" machines is the reason why people end up having it handed to them by people who know what they are doing with a lesser known platform.

Take Buick for instance. Buick makes cars for grandparents and people who want to travel as comfortably and smoothly as possibly. However, they also knew that a smaller displacement, higher revving and lighter engine with a turbocharger will outperform the other manufacturer's "big displacement" buoy anchors any day. They then built the Buick Regal, GNX and simply wasted the competition. Corvettes, Mustangs, Camaros were ALL slower than a Buick. The reason this is has to do with "true performance." A "true performance" vehicle will be light, nimble and have the power to match it's chassis.

I am young(23) and I like all makes and models of vehicles, because I know the potential they have and that with the right modifications they can all be fun/exciting on the street or the track.

How many of you have seen a Honda do a wheelie?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPN9rQhFEY0

(Honda is the right lane)

Or seen a VW bus outperform a Porsche 911 on a racetrack?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=powVngJ-Ljc

(this VW bus has 4 race seats and is used to whisk people around Nurburgring in Germany)

An outside view:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK0v--XPNxU

(notice the 4 people in the car and he STILL beats Porsche 911s around the track)

Have you ever seen a Civic Beat a Ford GT around a racetrack?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fM5GigFPjU

The BEST modification you can do to any car is put the right driver behind the wheel.

All cars can be fun, so get out and have you some!

So I'm turning 20 next week, my generation is split right down the middle about half or more like all those cracker jack prize cars like Honda and Mitsubishi make. and there's my half that are really into cars from the 60's to the 80's. I think it has a lot to do with the way we are raised. my dad drove a 69 Camaro until he rebuilt the engine and never tightened the motor mounts all the way and spun the engine upside down. my moms brother still has his orange 1971 Plymouth Duster, which is an amazing car.

the people that see a civic or sentra as a performance car, probably shouldnt be allowed to drive. its those kids that are getting into accidents and killing ppl while trying to make there tin can cars go faster than they were made to go.

alotta kids drive/race civics and nissans because its cheaper to mod.. not because they're generally fast cars. they dont make "fast" cars that are affordable to everyone anymore. its all about eco-friendly, gas savers now. Yes any car can be fast if whoever pours alotta money into it.. but whether its pulled in on a trailor or not doesnt mean anything towards the cars performance. Some ppl would rather trailor it... its just personal preferance on that subject. The F & F did contribute to the younger kids wanting to mod civics and now its became the norm. and what ppl know. majority of the kids will get civics cuz everyone else has.. and its usualy the first car the parents buy them :) lol

I think a big part of this was caused by there parents who owned Jap cars to begin with. It's what they grew up with and all they know (which isn't much).

You also have to remember they are an 'instant gratification' bunch, if it's not wrapped in plastic and a 'direct fit' they are out of luck.

They have also been brainwashed by cable TV to a large part. The shows on there about building any sort of a real car make everything seem like it costs a lot of money. Some of this is true but a lot is pure B.S.

its all they have ever known, you have to remember that most people have had a family car that was a horrible gut-less 80's front wheel drive. because of emissions, and retarded engineers ( 70-90's) there haven't been that many good cars on the road.

i love little cars but i don't confuse them with speed, ive driven fast salleen 5.0's , sti's, 350z ( which was kinda disappointing for its cost ! ), but i want a little go cart. I have a honda fit that when its paid for and lived its use full life will get 200 hp ( but with a tight suspension and target weight of 1800 lbs ) should be fun, not fast, but fun.

They don't know any better. Their parents drove Jap cars, so that is all they know.

When I was in high school ('89) there were chevelles, camaros, fastback mustangs, 'cuda's, everything else cool. Go to a high school lot now, all you see is little pisser cars. The cool stuff is not as easily acquired as it used to be either.

ahh i think i can help you here my friend. see im 15 and in the exact same position as you are. i see these kids driving these crappy cars and actin all cool in them. i think what it is is that because they think they have a cool design and loud engine from the mufflers that they think they are cool(when they could get smoked from these classic americans)...its probably cause its all they can get to be honest. i mean think about it, theres not that many people out there selling their trans ams and camaros anymore. so probably one person got one and though it was cool and then boom, everyone else got them. sorry about the bumpy answer, its kinda a difficult one. and i was rattling a bit

I'm a younger guy, and I can't think of one thing to justify it. like a guy I went to school with spent like 12 grand on his v6 mustang. doesn't make any sense to me, considering I blew him away with a fox body with a cold air intake and a 75 shot of nitrous

i'm not like that, how dare you! :O

jks, but yea i don't get how some people like civics... not all young people though, i know some friends who despise civics too, but like stuff like evos, gt-rs, z cars, etc.

i have nothing against civics and all those cars, but if you start souping it up, then its kinda too much.