The future of collector cars will ultimately be in the hands of the younger generations of enthusiasts.  Many in the younger generation are referred to as “tuners” who are modifying compact import cars like the Honda Civic, Toyota Supra, and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.  These are usually two-door coupes. They are cheap and easy to work on, which is a good feature for a new driver to start with as their first car and project. These cars are tuned to go faster and look unique, or custom to their owner’s preference.  No matter what kind of car is your personal preference, you will certainly be impressed with the design, craftsmanship, and personality created through these cars.

Characteristics of Tuner Cars

- 4-8 cylinders (usually 4)

- Bolt on Parts

- Turbo

- Easy to work on

Types of races:

- Drift Race

- Cross Country Race

- Drag Race

Typical Models:

- Honda Civic

- Toyota Supra

- Honda S2000

- Mitsubishi Eclispe

- Subaru WRX STi

- Nissan Skyline

- Acura Integra

- Nissan 350z

Maybe you’ve seen some tuners with under glow lights on the pavement, purring mufflers, or custom sound system speakers, rumbling the entire car.  There are many different styles you can take on, with the one common theme being a vivid imagination so you can customize and tune to your own style.

The point of this hobby is to tune your car for a couple of different categories in the tuner world.  Simple drag racing, breaking friction and drifting around corners, taking turns at 60 mph while road course racing, illegal cruising and street racing, and finally to make a show car, with the hottest unique styles, are all examples of types of racing and shows for which they tune.  

After the release of "The Fast and The Furious" in 2001, the Honda Civic became the most popular car to modify by simply adding bolt-on exhausts and short ram air-intake systems, body kits, rims, tinted windows, and some engine boost mixed with the fuel. Some run 110 octane gas and 450 horsepower in these non-turbo 4 cylinder engine grocery getters! 

The question is, will someone else like your customizations as much as you do after you are ready to move onto something else with a new project, and you are ready to sell your current ride?  Many people would say no, and its true many people would not like what other people have done with their cars.  This is the risk many of these car tuners accept going into their projects.  Most of them are doing it out of love for the car, and to show personality and creativity.  People have also associated car tuning and customization as a new form of art, much like hot rodding.  Tuners will continue to create new images that make statements in order to be unique and get noticed.

The “true” tuner is in it for the long haul.  They will continue on the same project, adding more and more parts.  There are many parts you can add onto these cars, not even including the one-off customized parts many people create themselves.  The new car tuners accept anything with their customizations, taking their rides as wild or as tame as they like.  

The future of cars and the tuner industry really has no limits.  Since everything is created to be unique, people can expect to see many superchargers, turbos, body kits, rims, carbon fiber replacement parts, rebuilt engines, and many more parts. I would not be surprised to see flying or hovering cars in the near future with the spur of new developments in the car industry!

It won’t happen overnight, and of course there will be the traditional collector car enthusiast related events and clubs.  There is no reason for the new generation to take over the car industry with their new creations, demolishing the collector cars.  It is simply an addition to the car family.

In the end, it’s all the same sport and the participants both have the same passion for cars.  A difference in taste or style is put past us and we are all still getting greasy, using torque wrenches and welders to create or recreate an automobile.

By Chris Kochan

Chris is a freelance writer.

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