Cars - Our Uniting Interest that at Times Seems to Divide Us

The age old question for car guys seems to be this: Which is better, JDM, Muscle, or Euro? Ignoring the fact that this completely ignores the vivid car culture of Australia, it also shouldn’t be the question we ask at all. If nobody can agree on which is better, the question has no real answer, and if the question has no answer we shouldn’t be asking it at all. While the culture surrounding each country’s types of cars may be different, all car guys really have the same goals in mind: enjoying cars.

Japanese Car Culture

In Japan the culture surrounds crazy body kits, aggressive aero and lightness. Drifting and time attack are the most often thought of Japanese racing events, and they do it well. The goal of most people building their Japanese car is to make it both look good and go fast. Whether it looks good to other people is completely based on opinion, but nobody can deny the speed they can obtain. These cars may prefer cornering over straight line speed, but don’t underestimate a tuned Japanese car at the drag strip either. A Japanese car can be built into anything as long as the versatility is within the chassis. Circuit race cars, drift cars, show cars, and drag cars are all built commonly from Japanese cars

American Car Culture

In America much of the car culture surrounds big power and straight line speed, although this is not always the case. American manufacturers built many different types of cars, some heavy and high powered and some lighter and lower powered. People building American cars, just like those building Japanese cars, want their car to go fast and look good. Stereotypes may keep American cars on the drag strip in people’s minds, but they are capable at the track as well. An American car can be built in any way the owner likes, just as the Japanese cars can. There are plenty of circuit race cars, drift cars, show cars, and drag cars all built from American car bases.

European Car Culture

European cars are very diverse, especially with so many different countries in the area. While some tuners may choose to build a very circuit focused car others may choose to take that same car and slam it on bags. There are so many different types of European cars to choose from that the sky is the limit with tuning. Just like car guys who own American or Japanese cars, owners of European cars want their car to look good and go fast. Although some cars may be slammed and seem to take form over function, often the car is on bags and can be raised, and the car likely has some performance enhancements as well. Cars from Europe are versatile and can easily be tuned into circuit race cars, drift cars, show cars, and drag cars.

Australian Car Culture

Not to leave Australia out, the car culture there is as vivid as anywhere. Burnout competitions, drag racing, V8 Supercars, and drifting are all popular, and inspire car owners to build cool and crazy cars. Aussie cars are diverse just as they are in other countries, and as such can be good platforms for any kind of build. The same goals apply. Owners of Australian cars want their car to look good and go fast. As such, builds of all the common types of tuner cars are common. Circuit race cars, drift cars, show cars, and drag cars all are commonly built from Australian cars.

In the end aren’t we all car people? We may prefer different types of cars but we have the same interests. Many car people don’t have a preferred country of origin for their cars. My two favorite manufacturers are Mazda and Alfa Romeo, so I wouldn’t peg myself as a JDM guy or a Euro guy. It’s time to break free from the boxes people put us in and agree that we all just love cars. The goal is to go fast and look good, and while people may go about it in different ways, all successful builds that achieve their goal are impressive in their own way. No more Muscle, JDM, Euro, and Aussie separation. This is CarThrottle, there aren’t separate MuscleThrottles and JDMThrottles for a reason. Let’s all enjoy cars the way we want to and stick together. Car people are rare enough as it is without divisions between us.