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The article seemed to go on and on and not have a real point...but on the topic: Hot-rodding is dying. Let's think about that. V8's are dying. Dodge was the f

The article seemed to go on and on and not have a real point...but on the topic: Hot-rodding is dying. Let's think about that. V8's are dying. Dodge was the first to stop putting them in cars. Mustang sales are at low levels. The Camaro is gone. Ford doesn't allow tuning of the current Mustang (asterisk for approved Whipple/Ford Racing parts). GM tried locking people out of the new Corvette but they eventually got into it. Tuning hardware+software companies have been raided by the US government. Most of this is due to the diesel truck crowd. The manual transmission is pretty much dead. Sure, the current 8/9/10 speed automatics are faster and get better mileage, but a lot of people still prefer a stick shift. Drag strips are closing. Housing gets built near them, the events make too much noise, and the land is too valuable to be used as racetrack which doesn't really make much money. Lastly, the younger generations aren't into cars as a hobby/culture like the previous ones were. They don't drive as much and view cars as more of an appliance.

keyle 2y ago
There is a reason the younger generations aren't into cars. There are less places to go to, shopping is online now, car parks and shopping malls are dying. Public transport is getting better or less worse than it used to be, owning a car is getting a lot worse with taxes and higher cost, insurance through the roof, particularly for the models you've pointed out. Finally, their buying power is a lot lesser than it was 1 generation ago when it came to "projects". Demand is lower for ludicrous vehicle, mostly because of the rest, leading to ever less silly cars being produced or designed. Overal, sadness.
Aurornis 2y ago
Hard disagree. The aftermarket is stronger than ever. V8s have been replaced by turbo engines which respond much more dramatically to modifications than any N/A V8. There are numerous enthusiasts cars to pick from across manufacturers. Tuning companies operate globally. People get their tunes from obscure companies in Europe. ECU protections are being cracked regularly. Even “unhackable” ECUs are getting tunes year after year. Stick shift options are available on a lot of enthusiasts cars. They’re slower, but people can get them if they want. I’ve been hearing talk about the death of the car aftermarket for a decade, but every time it’s really just someone lamenting that it’s changing. I think people just get upset when the car scene of their younger years is no longer the popular scene (Mustangs and Camaros with V8s and stick shifts)
- bluedino 2y ago
  The American V8 was a high performance product at an entry level price. During the last couple years the Dodge twins got ridiculously expensive (the Challenger 392 is now almost as expensive as the Hellcat was in 2016). The problem with the turbo engines is they are way more expensive to do anything with and they come in expensive cars. BMW, Audi really being the only things that are 'fast'. Subaru, Kia, VW are all pretty much low-level performance. And then you have really expensive stuff like the Nissan GT-R. Turbo engines have been around for a long time, they're nothing new. And they have always been part of the car scene. But again, the lower price options aren't really competitive, they were at least close in the 2000's. And again, the Ford ECU has been out for two years and nobody has cracked it.
  - _yb2s 2y ago
    I disagree on both of these. Turbo engines are usually much cheaper to tune- most of the time you can substantially increase the power with just more boost. More serious power requires a bigger turbo and bigger injectors which is still cheap and easy - an afternoon install with the engine still in the car. Tunable turbocharged European sports cars cost next to nothing once they’re a decade or two old.
    - bluedino 2y ago
      You need more than just a tune for reliability and real power. Sure you can get a cheap boost but everyone is going to realize they need to add hard parts like downpipes and intercoolers. Then you get into drivetrain issues. And you're talking about a very, very small group compared to the old days when the hobby was more popular. Honda Civica and Ford Mustangs were such a hugely popular vehicle to modify.
      - _yb2s 2y ago
        It’s all a matter of the vehicle and what your goals are- sure at some point you need to modify everything else, but a turbo car gets a lot further to start with for a lot less money. I grew up tuning old Volvos and Mercedes and they were so well made and undertuned from the factory you could just about double the horsepower for next to nothing and they were still reliable. Early on they even used massively oversized turbos that had a ton of lag but could really have the boost cranked up. European cars, especially older ones tended to be heavily overengineered - with the drivetrain, cooling system, suspension, brakes, etc. massively oversized compared to Japanese and American cars.
nyjah 2y ago
Lastly, the younger generations aren't into cars as a hobby/culture like the previous ones were. They don't drive as much and view cars as more of an appliance I think this was true of the last younger generation, and prob me and maybe you, but from what I’m seeing, TikTok is making anything and everything cool to the youths, particularly trade type jobs. They are realizing how much money there is to be made because our generation didn’t want the work and are embracing the opportunities because the videos they are watching are making it look cool.
- left-struck 2y ago
  I can’t speak for other markets but in Australia millennials are really into Japanese cars, 4X4 or our domestic cars. And the zoomers seem to be into 4x4 as well. I would argue modified cars are more common than ever in Australia, it’s just not what you’d expect when someone says modified cars, it’s 90% large SUVs and other 4x4 vehicles.
newsclues 2y ago
the last point, isn't applied to all youth as a homogenous group, but I think its largely economic and interest car culture will return when the economics make sense.

keyle 2y ago

There is a reason the younger generations aren't into cars. There are less places to go to, shopping is online now, car parks and shopping malls are dying. Public transport is getting better or less worse than it used to be, owning a car is getting a lot worse with taxes and higher cost, insurance through the roof, particularly for the models you've pointed out. Finally, their buying power is a lot lesser than it was 1 generation ago when it came to "projects". Demand is lower for ludicrous vehicle, mostly because of the rest, leading to ever less silly cars being produced or designed. Overal, sadness.

Aurornis 2y ago

Hard disagree. The aftermarket is stronger than ever. V8s have been replaced by turbo engines which respond much more dramatically to modifications than any N/A V8. There are numerous enthusiasts cars to pick from across manufacturers. Tuning companies operate globally. People get their tunes from obscure companies in Europe. ECU protections are being cracked regularly. Even “unhackable” ECUs are getting tunes year after year. Stick shift options are available on a lot of enthusiasts cars. They’re slower, but people can get them if they want. I’ve been hearing talk about the death of the car aftermarket for a decade, but every time it’s really just someone lamenting that it’s changing. I think people just get upset when the car scene of their younger years is no longer the popular scene (Mustangs and Camaros with V8s and stick shifts)

bluedino 2y ago
The American V8 was a high performance product at an entry level price. During the last couple years the Dodge twins got ridiculously expensive (the Challenger 392 is now almost as expensive as the Hellcat was in 2016). The problem with the turbo engines is they are way more expensive to do anything with and they come in expensive cars. BMW, Audi really being the only things that are 'fast'. Subaru, Kia, VW are all pretty much low-level performance. And then you have really expensive stuff like the Nissan GT-R. Turbo engines have been around for a long time, they're nothing new. And they have always been part of the car scene. But again, the lower price options aren't really competitive, they were at least close in the 2000's. And again, the Ford ECU has been out for two years and nobody has cracked it.
- _yb2s 2y ago
  I disagree on both of these. Turbo engines are usually much cheaper to tune- most of the time you can substantially increase the power with just more boost. More serious power requires a bigger turbo and bigger injectors which is still cheap and easy - an afternoon install with the engine still in the car. Tunable turbocharged European sports cars cost next to nothing once they’re a decade or two old.
  - bluedino 2y ago
    You need more than just a tune for reliability and real power. Sure you can get a cheap boost but everyone is going to realize they need to add hard parts like downpipes and intercoolers. Then you get into drivetrain issues. And you're talking about a very, very small group compared to the old days when the hobby was more popular. Honda Civica and Ford Mustangs were such a hugely popular vehicle to modify.
    - _yb2s 2y ago
      It’s all a matter of the vehicle and what your goals are- sure at some point you need to modify everything else, but a turbo car gets a lot further to start with for a lot less money. I grew up tuning old Volvos and Mercedes and they were so well made and undertuned from the factory you could just about double the horsepower for next to nothing and they were still reliable. Early on they even used massively oversized turbos that had a ton of lag but could really have the boost cranked up. European cars, especially older ones tended to be heavily overengineered - with the drivetrain, cooling system, suspension, brakes, etc. massively oversized compared to Japanese and American cars.

nyjah 2y ago

Lastly, the younger generations aren't into cars as a hobby/culture like the previous ones were. They don't drive as much and view cars as more of an appliance I think this was true of the last younger generation, and prob me and maybe you, but from what I’m seeing, TikTok is making anything and everything cool to the youths, particularly trade type jobs. They are realizing how much money there is to be made because our generation didn’t want the work and are embracing the opportunities because the videos they are watching are making it look cool.

left-struck 2y ago
I can’t speak for other markets but in Australia millennials are really into Japanese cars, 4X4 or our domestic cars. And the zoomers seem to be into 4x4 as well. I would argue modified cars are more common than ever in Australia, it’s just not what you’d expect when someone says modified cars, it’s 90% large SUVs and other 4x4 vehicles.

newsclues 2y ago

the last point, isn't applied to all youth as a homogenous group, but I think its largely economic and interest car culture will return when the economics make sense.