smoke: actually quite a bit of the younger tuner crowd around here seems to gravitate towards hondas, but it is the civic more so than the accord. my wife works at the local state college, where i see lots of hondas in the student lots; i'm guessing they are handed down from the folks or older siblings, which they have modified in various ways. for what it is worth, i see quite a few used Volkswagens, too.
to answer your question, no, i don't remember it. but i'm 39. back when i was a teenager it was mostly hand me down muscle cars and pickup trucks. times change. that was before there were many well maintained asian cars in the used car market.
to your larger (implied but not actually expressed) point, most people aren't really automotive enthusiasts. they are buying the camry/corolla or accord/civic as pure transportation appliances. it is just junior who is doing the mod thing to personalize a dependable, unoffenseively styled car. since you can actually get a manual transmission honda without much searching, it is a natural fit for the young hot rodders.
a true driving enthusiast is gonna want a manual tranny. this to me is the most significant barrier between me and ford/gm/chrysler cars. i know you can get a manual corvette. but most of the times when i see one parked, it is an automatic. not many of the young car guys and gals can spring for the vette. and while we are at it, how about some more rear wheel drive cars??
i haven't driven the new retro styled mustang, which seems to be selling well around here. but it seems to be mostly middle aged drivers behind the wheel, since it is so new it is out of the price range of most young drivers. gm is supposed to be putting out the camaro in a few years. we'll see how that one goes.
all i know is that when i had a buick regal back in the late 80s, early 90s GM parts and service never gave me any kind of break because i was an american. no automaker ever has. it is just business for all of them.
to answer your question, no, i don't remember it. but i'm 39. back when i was a teenager it was mostly hand me down muscle cars and pickup trucks. times change. that was before there were many well maintained asian cars in the used car market.
to your larger (implied but not actually expressed) point, most people aren't really automotive enthusiasts. they are buying the camry/corolla or accord/civic as pure transportation appliances. it is just junior who is doing the mod thing to personalize a dependable, unoffenseively styled car. since you can actually get a manual transmission honda without much searching, it is a natural fit for the young hot rodders.
a true driving enthusiast is gonna want a manual tranny. this to me is the most significant barrier between me and ford/gm/chrysler cars. i know you can get a manual corvette. but most of the times when i see one parked, it is an automatic. not many of the young car guys and gals can spring for the vette. and while we are at it, how about some more rear wheel drive cars??
i haven't driven the new retro styled mustang, which seems to be selling well around here. but it seems to be mostly middle aged drivers behind the wheel, since it is so new it is out of the price range of most young drivers. gm is supposed to be putting out the camaro in a few years. we'll see how that one goes.
all i know is that when i had a buick regal back in the late 80s, early 90s GM parts and service never gave me any kind of break because i was an american. no automaker ever has. it is just business for all of them.
