The last third of Jared Strong’s Sept. 2 column, “The automobile as imagemaker isn’t divine,” really bothered me. He is stereotyping people based on how they appear to the public eye. The import car scene is a sub-culture, just like goths, bikers, punks, even computer geniuses, etc. are their own sub-culture. When these guys choose to dump thousands of dollars into their cars, fine — it’s their money and their car, why should it matter to anyone else? If you knew anything about the import car world you would know the point of these cars is self-expression, just like art is to an artist and music is to a musician. They may think something looks great on their car while others laugh at it, but it’s their money and their car. Do you think every song you hear is great? Does every piece of art you see look stellar to you? Probably not, it’s all subjective.

There are more than six billion people in the world with more than six billion opinions. Also, believe it or not, some of these modifications actually have a practical purpose, obviously exhaust boosts horsepower, turbo charging a four banger boosts horsepower quite a bit, but it varies from engine to engine, and the gauges help monitor your engine more closely with all the extra stress on it. Nitrous oxide also provides an extra shot of power to burst across the finish line. By the way, NOS is a company that sells nitrous systems, not the actual gas in the bottle.

What you do to your car is a matter of personal opinion, just like the way you dress, what music you listen to, what you like to eat, watch on TV. If it’s their money they’re spending, then don’t whine about a crappy exhaust sound or undercarriage neons — it’s not like they are trying to “impose” their ways on anyone. All you have done is open the floodgates for an argument over a completely subjective matter with no right or wrong answer.

Joey Harvey

Freshman

Industrial Technology