But most of us agree that the birth of the modified car world as we know it today really began in the early eighties. Iconic car launches including Golf GTi MK1, Escort RS Turbo, Renault 5 GT Turbo and Peugeot 205 GTI create a dedicated follower of the market with a passion for performance cars that will last a lifetime.
In the late eighties and early nineties, the cars are accompanied by a variety of new Japanese import, fuel demand and profile of the scene further. Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Subaru sold Civic, Supra, Skyline and Impreza in large numbers, in many ways to recover some of the damage caused by years of lackluster models and reliability careless. European manufacturers responded with a wave machine Japan entry of icons including the BMW M3 E36, Peugeot 306 GTI-6, Renault Clio Williams, the Opel Calibra Turbo and the VW Corrado VR6. Thousands of former petrol heads look back on these times with affection, and good examples of the model continues to attract high prices.
Culture ‘Boy Racer’
At the beginning of this century, the stage changed again. Modified cars are getting wilder, the budget became increasingly flamboyant and the audience was getting younger. ‘Chav culture’ well and truly taken over, re-trigger the emergence of ‘boy racers’ it. The scene was flooded with negative publicity, police intervention, and crack down on roaming but despite this, car companies modification at its peak. leading magazines such as Max Power and Fast Car which reported record sales and tuning centers and body shops have never had it so good. After the release of horror movie The Fast and the Furious, and console games such as Need For Speed, as dusk fell in every major city cruisers can be seen crawling through the streets in increasing numbers.
Ironically, due to dramatic increases in insurance costs and fuel, the car changed, or perhaps because the fans are getting younger, which is really getting the smaller engine sizes. Despite the fact that there are still many fans of powerful engines, such as the Saxo VTS or Leon Cupra R drive cars like the Corsa C, and Polo MK4 Fiesta Zetec become very popular.
Challenging times
This trend has brought major changes in consumer spending. While the market has never been so profitable styling, tuning sector is almost stagnant. old fans that the operational cost of insurance and high performance tuned cars are older and capable of integration. Cosworth exchanged for Mondeos, and thousands of modified cars were destroyed or dismantled for parts.
It’s hard to say exactly when it happened, but to make matters worse, in 2002 the market was flooded with cheap made-bolt on parts. Shift spending from the refinement of the styling elements means that the products are less complex to produce. As a result, hundreds of companies in the UK began to import directly from factories in China. All people imitate other people’s products, with more and more consumers buy goods from eBay, quality and price of the king to resign.
If this industry had experienced “dark time”, it. Crowds of retailers shut their doors, and British manufacturers cut their product development budget or even go out of business. Never worse than in 2006, when the greatest achievements of British Magnex exhaust trademark discontinued. Modified car scene is equivalent to the loss of the British High Street Woolworths, and although the brand is happy now under new ownership, it shows how difficult a time the industry has suffered.
Road To Recovery
At the time of writing, the modified car scene is still in troubled waters, but despite the fact that in the midst of a global recession, we begin to positive signs of recovery in sight. We also see further changes in purchasing behavior. Although the market is still very styling oriented, demand for the quality of growth. Despite the fact that the pre-car modifications, as the Corsa OPC, the Civic Type R, Focus ST grew in popularity and reduce the need for aftermarket modifications, the sale of premium style element quality manufacturers like Lumma, Team Dynamics and Momo increases.
Product return went smoothly, and is interesting to note that many components are being developed for the brand new models like the Suzuki Swift, Opel Corsa D and surprising, for Prestige models including the BMW M6 and Porsche Cayenne. This is in response to the previous credit boom that mass access to new, more expensive cars, or even because of the credit crunch with owners choose to modify their cars as an alternative to replace them is given.
What now?
Whatever the reason, the market changed. More refined styling elements and produced with a higher standard. European model, especially Germany, have re-sales support and spare parts such as brakes and lightweight tuning suspension components are recovering. Customers now get a better deal, no compromise in quality, but by shortening the supply chain. The industry is getting leaner, meaner and growing confidence, and that is certainly a good thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment