What happened to the modding scene?
Discussion
Just wondered. When I was a teen/twenty Max Power was ace, Fast car was also great. And there was Revs and Redline, the latter dipped its toes in a bit, but not as good as the others.
These days, anything Max Power is more of an insult in car enthusiast circles, rather than an individual ezpression to be proud of.
A quick flick through Fast Car in the shop today (the only one, I guess all the other mags have fallen by the wayside), I don't like what's in there either! But maybe I've just grown out of it. I still like seeing individual stuff when out and about though, nice to see different things.
There are lots of young uns on here though, So why don't you like this modding stuff? Is "bog standard" the new cool?
These days, anything Max Power is more of an insult in car enthusiast circles, rather than an individual ezpression to be proud of.
A quick flick through Fast Car in the shop today (the only one, I guess all the other mags have fallen by the wayside), I don't like what's in there either! But maybe I've just grown out of it. I still like seeing individual stuff when out and about though, nice to see different things.
There are lots of young uns on here though, So why don't you like this modding stuff? Is "bog standard" the new cool?
I think you may be noticing a decline in modding magazine readership rather than a decline in modding itself.
If fewer young people are modifying their cars, perhaps it has something to do with higher-than-ever insurance premiums. Maybe people are starting driving a few years later due to prohibitive costs and are therefore a bit more mature when they finally get behind the wheel.
If fewer young people are modifying their cars, perhaps it has something to do with higher-than-ever insurance premiums. Maybe people are starting driving a few years later due to prohibitive costs and are therefore a bit more mature when they finally get behind the wheel.
Modding is just as big as ever isn't it? it's just the trend is a little less in your face than the massive bodykits etc of the Max Power generation, now they just lower it, have wheels at a stupid camber, tyres that are too small, stickers and hang some flowers from the interior mirror
A couple of thoughts - based on absolutely no evidence(!):
Did cosmetic modding become a little more mainstream with cars like the Mini etc coming with a whole range of personalisation options?
Or perhaps small economical hatchbacks keep their value better now than faster, more exotic machinery - so much that there is not such a high desire to mod a small hatch when it might be cheaper to purchase a 330 BMW or such like?
Did cosmetic modding become a little more mainstream with cars like the Mini etc coming with a whole range of personalisation options?
Or perhaps small economical hatchbacks keep their value better now than faster, more exotic machinery - so much that there is not such a high desire to mod a small hatch when it might be cheaper to purchase a 330 BMW or such like?
Edited by mikeyr on Tuesday 25th March 11:22
I tend to think it's because insurance on older modified cars is horrendously high but equally I think kids attitudes to cars have changed significantly.
When I was a teenager and during my time at uni nearly all of my friends owned their own cars and typically they were worth <£2k. A small number shared cars with parents or brothers/sisters and I don't recall knowing a single person who had a car on any kind of lease/personal finance deal.
Now though there appear to be far far more kids who are only interested in having the newest car they can get their hands on. Even if it is "only" a 1.2X something or another it is instantly seen as being better than a 5 year older variant.
I could be wrong here as I've never borrowed someone's car for £x per month but I assume you cannot modify a financed car if in 2 or 3 years you have to give it back. You even hear tales of people who have handed their lease car back and had a fine or additional charge for minor cosmetic damage - how could you explain a new spoiler, different bumpers, new wheels, lower suspension etc.
When I was a teenager and during my time at uni nearly all of my friends owned their own cars and typically they were worth <£2k. A small number shared cars with parents or brothers/sisters and I don't recall knowing a single person who had a car on any kind of lease/personal finance deal.
Now though there appear to be far far more kids who are only interested in having the newest car they can get their hands on. Even if it is "only" a 1.2X something or another it is instantly seen as being better than a 5 year older variant.
I could be wrong here as I've never borrowed someone's car for £x per month but I assume you cannot modify a financed car if in 2 or 3 years you have to give it back. You even hear tales of people who have handed their lease car back and had a fine or additional charge for minor cosmetic damage - how could you explain a new spoiler, different bumpers, new wheels, lower suspension etc.
Because you get slagged off for trying look at the poor guy with the focus on here asked for Advice got slagged of and told to buy a better car. Yeah cause that works
The only car your allowed to modify is a mx5 and that's only if you have a strut brace or map your 335d
Lots if new cars come modified if you look at it, think the corsa limited edition, see millions of them, body kit and black wheels and the swift attitude- black roof and body kit
The only car your allowed to modify is a mx5 and that's only if you have a strut brace or map your 335d
Lots if new cars come modified if you look at it, think the corsa limited edition, see millions of them, body kit and black wheels and the swift attitude- black roof and body kit
Edited by okie592 on Tuesday 25th March 11:19
Edited by okie592 on Tuesday 25th March 11:20
It's partly that there's now the internet which has taken away a lot of the business of the magazines (remember the how to guides to do simple stuff?). Paper is still great, but it just can't touch the spread of the forums, you only have to look at the project threads on so many forums to see 1000 times more information and depth than you could ever hope to get from a printed publication.
Seperately though there are definitely fewer modified cars around on the road than there used to be. OK, some of the older stuff was a bit tacky and tasteless but surely seeing a modified older corsa is still better than a brand new 1.2 Eco on tick? Obviously insurance comes into it, and the ability to afford to run a car now is higher than it was, but it just seems that the younger generation justn don't have the same interest or desire to get into cars as they once did. I guess the internet and the ability to keep in touch more easily online has changed things too; no longer do you desperately need a car to feel in touch with people.
I like seeing modified cars now, good and bad because it makes me think that someone still has an interest in cars, and that's a good thing... I know that view is probably at odds with many here but the world would be a boring place with every car looking the same.
Seperately though there are definitely fewer modified cars around on the road than there used to be. OK, some of the older stuff was a bit tacky and tasteless but surely seeing a modified older corsa is still better than a brand new 1.2 Eco on tick? Obviously insurance comes into it, and the ability to afford to run a car now is higher than it was, but it just seems that the younger generation justn don't have the same interest or desire to get into cars as they once did. I guess the internet and the ability to keep in touch more easily online has changed things too; no longer do you desperately need a car to feel in touch with people.
I like seeing modified cars now, good and bad because it makes me think that someone still has an interest in cars, and that's a good thing... I know that view is probably at odds with many here but the world would be a boring place with every car looking the same.
Often wondered this myself.
When I was growing up in the 90's / early naughties it was all big body kits, big bore exhausts etc
I'm ashamed to say I had a corsa lowered 60mm on 15 inch alloys, with a 4 inch cherry bomb exhaust. I was only 17, and the social scene then around modded cars was fantastic.
Problem was it became very chavvy and that's probably a turn off for most people now.
Plus a lot of modern stuff looks modded from the factory, - its a lot harder to make a car stand out when it comes with 19 inch wheels and sports suspension as standard. In the 90's most cars had steel wheels and standard suspension so it wasn't hard to make them look better.....
Is there still a "cruising" scene?
When I was growing up in the 90's / early naughties it was all big body kits, big bore exhausts etc
I'm ashamed to say I had a corsa lowered 60mm on 15 inch alloys, with a 4 inch cherry bomb exhaust. I was only 17, and the social scene then around modded cars was fantastic.
Problem was it became very chavvy and that's probably a turn off for most people now.
Plus a lot of modern stuff looks modded from the factory, - its a lot harder to make a car stand out when it comes with 19 inch wheels and sports suspension as standard. In the 90's most cars had steel wheels and standard suspension so it wasn't hard to make them look better.....
Is there still a "cruising" scene?
Agree modding is still alive but I would say a slightly older audience now for a number of reasons as mentioned above.
I remember mid to late nineties when I was at school max power was my bible!
However police and insurance clamping down on modifications has had a big impact.
The cruise scene got stamped on hard by police and quite rightly so in some instances as usual a few ruined for the many with dangerous driving and antisocial behaviour.
Magazine readership for modded car magazines fell for two reasons, firstly the Internet, why spend money on a magazine when it's all on the Internet? Secondly the rise of the the cheap weekly lads mags such as Nuts and Zoo. Max Power and Fast Car had become soft porn mags basically for lads aged 10-15, buts Nuts and Zoo were loads cheaper. FHM and Loaded also suffered the same problem with the arrival of the cheap weekly lads mags.
Was watching some old vids on YouTube yesterday, check out some of the awful cars in this one!
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sv5aCT2EAxI
I remember mid to late nineties when I was at school max power was my bible!
However police and insurance clamping down on modifications has had a big impact.
The cruise scene got stamped on hard by police and quite rightly so in some instances as usual a few ruined for the many with dangerous driving and antisocial behaviour.
Magazine readership for modded car magazines fell for two reasons, firstly the Internet, why spend money on a magazine when it's all on the Internet? Secondly the rise of the the cheap weekly lads mags such as Nuts and Zoo. Max Power and Fast Car had become soft porn mags basically for lads aged 10-15, buts Nuts and Zoo were loads cheaper. FHM and Loaded also suffered the same problem with the arrival of the cheap weekly lads mags.
Was watching some old vids on YouTube yesterday, check out some of the awful cars in this one!
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sv5aCT2EAxI
Is there not a big shift in terms of young car buyers budget or is it just how it seems to me? In my day when it were all fields round 'ere, anyone in their early 20's had older, cheap, fairly basic small engined hatchbacks. To make their motor more sexy or faster, they added big wheels, a fido sticker and a cherry bomb exhaust. There were the odd rich kids who had parents who would buy them the GTi, GTe or Turbo version of the latest hatch but these were the minority. Also back then you moved out before you hit 21.
These days, most of the yoof I know live with their parents until they are 30 so spend their disposable income on cars. It's not uncommon to see yoof driving around in 300+ bhp beasts so modding seems a little pointless when your standard car is an M3, GTR or whatever.
It still goes on as a drive around Whitley Bay at night will testify but maybe the scene has died down a little.
These days, most of the yoof I know live with their parents until they are 30 so spend their disposable income on cars. It's not uncommon to see yoof driving around in 300+ bhp beasts so modding seems a little pointless when your standard car is an M3, GTR or whatever.
It still goes on as a drive around Whitley Bay at night will testify but maybe the scene has died down a little.
exigepete said:
Love the Mk 3 Cavalier mixing with the other japcrap!Combination of what every poster has said
Before I could drive I used to read all the magazines too then with the rise of the internet , forums popped up and had more info than magazines could print.
Insurance became even more astronomical than what it was for a young drivers.
And police shut down a lot of cruises because of some of the antics going on at them, I know there is still a small cruising scene round the country but nothing like the old days when you had hundreds of cars at the one time.
Before I could drive I used to read all the magazines too then with the rise of the internet , forums popped up and had more info than magazines could print.
Insurance became even more astronomical than what it was for a young drivers.
And police shut down a lot of cruises because of some of the antics going on at them, I know there is still a small cruising scene round the country but nothing like the old days when you had hundreds of cars at the one time.
hondafanatic said:
exigepete said:
Love the Mk 3 Cavalier mixing with the other japcrap!exigepete said:
Was watching some old vids on YouTube yesterday, check out some of the awful cars in this one!
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sv5aCT2EAxI
Haha, brilliant! My minds eye remembers modding been cooler than that. Rosey tints, lol.http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sv5aCT2EAxI
Did you see those guys doing donuts? They were NEAR actual people! Would probably be killed in a jail of death for that nowadays...!
26 years ago when i was 19 we were into minis.
We'd Cooper heads, twin carbs, big bore exhausts, lowered them, arches, broad wheels, changed the interiors, etc, etc. Some dropped in a 1275 engine. Goodmans radio cassette fitted and big speakers on the back shelf. Probably quite a group of us doing that. Probably 75-80BHP tops. If even that. The car cost me £500 and i probably spent twice that maintaining / modding it.
We would have "aspired" to an SR / GTE Nova or XR2
Roll forward to my son and at 19 he bought this...
120D M Sport. Black leather, upgraded sound system (done by BMW). 177BHP.
His only plans for it are maybe a remap.
I'd say hes at least as equally into his cars as i was.
We'd Cooper heads, twin carbs, big bore exhausts, lowered them, arches, broad wheels, changed the interiors, etc, etc. Some dropped in a 1275 engine. Goodmans radio cassette fitted and big speakers on the back shelf. Probably quite a group of us doing that. Probably 75-80BHP tops. If even that. The car cost me £500 and i probably spent twice that maintaining / modding it.
We would have "aspired" to an SR / GTE Nova or XR2
Roll forward to my son and at 19 he bought this...
120D M Sport. Black leather, upgraded sound system (done by BMW). 177BHP.
His only plans for it are maybe a remap.
I'd say hes at least as equally into his cars as i was.
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