What Happened To Tuner Cars

For all wheels, tires, & suspension!

Believe it or not but back in the 1970s the EPA paved the way for tunable import vehicles. The JDM and euro market seized the opportunity to step in to replace the iconic muscle cars of the time. As the decades went on, these automotive manufacturers created some of the most iconic tuner legends to date. But what happened? Why do these awesome cars we all know and love seem to have the shortest shelf life? Sit back, grab your popcorn and a tissue to wipe those tears, because today Alex is here to talk about What Happened to the Tuner Market.

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0:00 Intro
1:32 The Plug
2:07 Tuner Cars In Mainstream Media
4:04 Gaining Interest From Enthusiasts
5:27 Marketing The Tuner Scene
6:14 What Happened
7:36 How Digital Media Changed Everything
8:47 Final Thoughts
9:32 Outro

tags
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@rec tuned •
@top10cars
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@tapp channel
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@eric cheung
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@ilb tv
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@new line cinema
@warner bros
@seoul tuner
@drift review
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@mdc media
@iffla media
@flink films
@crbrfilms
@corners cz
@skuraweekly
@schwaafilms
@lars mars cars
@loveless vintage
@character toys

#JDM #EURO #TUNERCARS

[importroller]

It's not going down, it's increasing. However the "scene" is littered with stupidity due to social media clout chasers doing street takeover & nohesi driving. Then I also blame social media giants for making these older fun cars crazy expensive. Letting everyone and their mom know about these cars increases demand, and increases the prices when the supply is low. How the hell is my old $1700 s13 now worth $20k?

[waluigigang]

I should be doing school right now, but ya know... Fitment Industries just HAS TO POST. jk you guys are great

[FlaviaPitariu]

Tuner culture will never be the same as we have such easy access via the internet to all the forums and information that we only used to do it in a meet.
But the modding culture will never fade

[AaronHalpin]

We were cleaning some stuff out recently after our move, and I came across a whole box of "Sport Compact Car" and "Import Tuner" magazines from 1999-2001. My daughter (who is a current GTI tuner) was in awe about them and the trends from before she was even born.

[SpitsWithInk]

The comment about tuner enthusiasts is spot on. They grew up. As much as I still like the Gen2 Eclipse and the FC/FD Mazdas, I love my Italian and German counterparts just as much. If not more.

[MrBombRips]

I feel like the tuner car drought from the early 2000's to the early 2010's really affected the tuner scene today. Automakers up until the late 90's would have 2-3 or even more models of sports cars to offer which helped express individuality among car enthusiasts as well as offering sufficient supply to keep prices low second/third hand etc. Skip to the tuner car drought and automakers were lucky if they were offering even one model of sports car. Look at Toyota who used to have the supra, celica, MR2, and thats not to even mention the Japanese only market models. After the 90's toyota wouldnt even offer a single sports car until the FRS/GT86 in 2012. Supply of tuner cars just cant keep up with the demand of the second hand market, which drives prices arbitrarily high. With such high cost of entry, it makes sense that people dont trash their tuner cars now. Repairs arent like what they were in the 90's when a s13 costed less than 2000 second hand. Now just trying to have fun in a tuner car represents a potentially crippling financial mistake.

[MKorman]

Tuner market enthusiasts were literally priced out of the game. All those cars we loved back in the 90s and early 2000s cost like 5 times as much as they should now. Its unfortunate, but its just the way it is. Its nearly impossible for an average, younger person to get into one.

That is why the market for domestic muscle cars is so strong - the manufacturers keep pumping them out at a reasonable cost. Polar opposite of the Japanese car market save for a few examples.

[sebastianmorrison]

From what I understand Alex the fast and furious franchise didn’t get a Corona sponsorship the original movie had them cause that’s what they thought street racers drank.

[PumpkinDefender]

My first car magazine issue that I bought was an issue of Sport Compact Car in 2002 when I was 12. I miss the old days when magazine racks were full of tuner magazines.

[stevegarcia]

Fact: Much of today’s tuner market population was literally conceived in the backseat of a tuner car during the late-90s and early-00s.😂

[ryanhopp]

And here i am going back into that early 2000s and late 90s tuner culture rebuilding a 2g GSX and having it be a mild period correct build. What a journey it has been.

[aestheticswim]

It’s not completely gone, it’s just suffering from the insane hype tax that all Jdm car’s suffering from

[EFerrorfile]

I'm here to show support to the W8 guy. Keep it up. 👍

[Thatskpasabro]

I have a 95 silvia, full livery, underglow, mesh grill, and flame thrower. Sr20det. 300hp. It’s fun, and I adore that era

[chimera]

I’m still trying to figure out why a s15 is 45k when the last time I checked it was 17k

[benfowler]

I use to buy import tuner mag. Totally forgot about it. Thanks for sparking the memory

[tech]

As a 40something, i can clearly say that the stance world killed the "tuner car" there are some of us still around who actually care about performance and general fun with cars and not just bouncing and scraping everywhere. I mean when you get stuck behind an ek hatch that can only do 20mph around the corner because "they ll rub" is painful.

[micahblackwell]

I don't think it went anywhere just the medium it was presented in changed and also the the taste. It's definitely still alive and growing with a different generation although global supply chain is holding back builds

[TheKingOfDance]

I would note that the level of performance that you receive from even the base model of a non
enthusiast vehicle continues to decrease the need for tuning and performance modifications.
If a completely stock vehicle handles quite well or provides cheap power then the urge to increase the level of performance may not be as relevant as it was back in the day. In other words, modern vehicles are engineered and balanced so well that many people are satisfied with just cosmetic changes.

[SublimeC]

IceMan Intakes, Racing Hart Wheels, BF Goodridge Scorcher tires, JC Whitney Catalogs, Burned CDs… O what great times they where!!!!