I hate to say it, but . . .
(uhm, too much visual information deleted
) It seems one can't just buy a car and accept the way it comes.Good luck, now. Just know there are several folks with you, but they will likely be silent.
ok, i heard that a few (teeny percentage) may be replacing a hood ornament for a flat badge, maybe doing something w/ the side markers (like the european models!), maybe getting an AMG (that is a legitimized rocket-boy mod shop), maybe different wheels, etc. just b/c the mod-topics are noisy, doesn't mean that its frequent.
my mods? i have weathertec mats... i added a small strip (4") of door edging at the most banged spot... i got C7, no, wait, thats legit... i got ugly steelies w/ snow tires!!! ok, i once used photoshop to remove the side marker lights and the grill's logo... i'm thinking about getting HIDs. i got VisionPlus bulbs but was too scared, that i'd break something, to pull the oem bulbs out so i haven't done it yet
and JoReL told me it was very easy... maybe this weekend...
Last edited by young; Dec 6, 2001 at 12:35 AM.
Hey, lets not let this discussion get out of hand
I don't like white cars. I don't think that you should screw with a MB. Ergo, I don't have a white car (but my wife does and it pisses me off!), and I don't screw with my MB's.
"of course, thats just my opinion ... I could be wrong" Dennis Miller.
Last edited by young; Dec 6, 2001 at 12:52 AM.
drew, you need the power of the FOOT coming down... (Homer Simpson reference). "No, (fill in wife's name), don't make me put down my foot! No, no, (wife's name), the foot's coming down! No, the foot is down, (wife's name). The FOOT is DOWN!" only use this power for good, never evil! and yes, Dennis Miller is wrong.
A smart (or even experienced) married man knows when to stand and fight ... and when to flee, only to live to fight another day.
"a man's got to know his limitations" Clint Eastwood - Dirty Harry
Last edited by Drew; Dec 6, 2001 at 06:19 PM.
This country was based on individuality and suddenly if we drive a benz we are supposed to have the same clone hair cuts and become country club polite? **** on that. I didn't buy the car to become a clone.
If we subsribed to that idea all our lives we still would all be driving Black Model T's.
good god, I should move to Europe where people still have style... oh wait, never mind... they actually pay money for French cars over there.... yikes!
what an enlightening analysis... too bad its so trite/obvious. since the dawn of time, kids have been like that and adults have said, "what childishness. trying to be different, but they're all the same! ha ha, i am so wise." uhm, yeah, savor your delicious insight.
JUST pointing an interesting phenomenon out. Not saying I invented it. Its obvious to some, but there is a huge population to which it is NOT obvious. Namely the population between the ages of 18-25 (which is why that age group is coveted by advertisers, very easy to influence).
what's your point socal? you deny that you don't dislike people who do stuff to their cars. you just think its silly. silly, doesn't that mean its foolish? you seem to stereotype mod-ers too - poor fashion taste, poor language skills. homies, huh? aren't you looking down on them? no? maybe you just like to laugh a lot. are you a clown?
OF COURSE I don't dislike people who do silly things to their car. Why would I. Do I think its silly? Yep. Foolish? I guess. Doesn't mean I dislike the people who do it. Do I stereotype mod-ers? I suppose. But some "stereotypes" seem to hold true. Example: I see a Honda with yellow painted mirrors, fake dual exhaust, fax HIDs, lowered down with 18 inch chrome wheels and a Folgers exhaust. Two people are walking towards it: A young Asian male with a really bad haircut from one side, and a 48 year old white professional female. One of the 2 is the owner and one is not. I will bet you $1000 that the male is the owner. Would you take the bet? Why not? Is that "stereotyping" or just a reasonable observation?
Do I look down on the "homies"? No. I don't really have any interest or reason to place a value judgment on them. Just a bunch of strangers to me.
what i think you're missing is the actual value of the 'FAD' as a whole. everyone within a group behaves similarly - that's the definition of a group. the GROUP is different; do you see the difference? the GRUNGE movement influenced music for the better (i think) - don't be distracted by their clothes/haircuts. in fact, i think the release of the the Lexus IS300, Mazda protege MP3, Toyota Matrix, etc, and yes, maybe even the C230K are all attempts to grab market share from these 18-25 (or 32 or 49
) younger crowd b/c they're different from the Camry buyers. i don't know many people that mod their camrys. you like camrys, socal?GOOD POINT about the group being different. That is true. Its also true that teens are the people to whom "group inclusion" is most important, but teens are the first to say that "individuality" is important to them. But you knew that already! As to the Ricer Fad, I can't say I see a lot of value in it. Its generally totally contrary to the Teutonic ethos of "form follows function," that has made BMW, MB and Porsche great over the years. Maybe it helps make otherwise boring Japanese cars more exciting (like the Japanese cars you mention), but the Ricer fad isn't going to do much for Euro cars. I hope.
what my point? i think this is one of those moot discussions and i agree w/ you, socal. it always seems to come to the same argument, "do what YOU want with YOUR car." except, i won't cheaply qualify that w/ the word 'lame'; i think its totally appropriate. and i will even go further by saying that i find great VALUE in people mod-ing their cars.
NO, IT IS a lame response, because it is NOT appropriate. It is not appropriate because it fails to address the argument. It instead sets up a straw man (i.e. that I suggested that one is not free to modify their car) to knock down.
FINALLY, is it a "moot" discussion? Maybe. But on a web discussion page that deals with new cars, there isn't really much to talk about. Our cars are under service and warranty, so we can't talk about DIY repairs. They are MBs, so they are pretty good out of the factory and don't really need "fixing up." You can only talk about buying clear lenses and large wheels so many time.
The Best of Mercedes & AMG
French cars are too good for you anyway.
btw, that was a joke... so was the other post... for a better explanation of my remarks, see my sig... damn i wish you could lace posts with sarcasm so people get the joke...
and what the hell does "Voitures Françaises" mean... dude I know my latin is rough and my german a bit rusty, but french... on an MB board... dude, thats weird.
Last edited by dasMafia; Dec 6, 2001 at 02:27 AM.
btw, that was a joke... so was the other post...
Gotcha guv, so was mine, that's why I used the winki
I sometimes wonder if I stumbled across the Acura or Honda Boyz site when I see many of the posts here.
All this nonsense about changing the bulbs to fake HID, clear lenses, 100w foglight bulbs, fake dual exhausts, pics of cars with stickers on them (each sticker 5 hp, right?), big pimpin' wheels, etc.
What's next, a 4 foot "POWERED BY MB" sticker? Baggy pants and bad haircuts?
I know, I know, as the "homies" say, "do whutever u want wid ur car."
LOL!
:p
I feel your pain
just give them some time... some will mature and maybe develop taste, others will go back after being consistently "smoked" and laughed at by owners of faster and cheaper cars... Just let the hype subside...In the meantime, I feel like part of my mission on this forum (and off, as I do a fair bit of teaching) is to try to inject some common sense and a little taste into the heads of those neanderthals...
Gotcha guv, so was mine, that's why I used the winki
..."Its funny how people come on here to share information but all that i see is closed minded people dissing another's vision.
My first post ever was about how to change the fogs to amber. But to my surprise, my reply's were all negative and useless...i had a bunch of sarcasm remarks saying that i wanna be a lexus. Whats up with that??? I thought we were suppose to help each other and if you think its wrong to do it, then mention it without sarcasm. Ones who dis are even more childish then the people they claim with fix up cars.
Dont worry Deschute, theres alot of people who agree with what your doing...maybe not the actual modification, but the fact that you are coming up with ideas. Ideas that others might like. Dont let closed minded people stop you. I got your back!..."
IN CONCLUSION.....IM DONE ARGUING...GNITERZ!!!!!!
Last edited by Jorel C320; Dec 6, 2001 at 03:17 AM.
(wipes nostalgic tear from eye remembering mid 12's and gut-wrenching HP at the drop of the throttle)
Don't get me wrong, I love to fix up cars (like my own) but it has to be done in good taste. These cars aren't civics.
I guess the word "rice rocket" is different to many people. To fix up a car in general (exhaust, few lights mods, body kit) is consider "modifying"......but a rice rocket is any car even a benz ...that has like stickers that dont even get them paid, body kits that dont fit and look right, two exhaust when only one is working (u can tell cuz only one is dirty), emblems that say the car is "turbo", "type R"(when its not). If he does lighting and the car looks good, then its considered modyfyin and fixing up. If its tacky, THEN ITS a RICE ROCKET.
RICE ROCKET is a general term for cars that were "over did"...its negative. BUT a car can also have the same aspects (bodtkit, lights, strobes, sounds, graphix) but still look good and clean....now thats modyfin.
For example BENZOMONTERY....i love his car...i love the leather...some of you might say its rice rockety...he wants to do hyperwhites too...but his has a certain "class" to it. Now everyone wants the leather, including me. Its a nice "fixed up car" that looks different from everyone else. MUCH PROPS!
REGARDING..."You can bolt a Lamborghini body on a Volkswagen...but it's still a Volkswagen."
-u also have to watch out...that "just because its a volkswagon , civic, integ, eclipse, accord ,impreza etc...doesnt mean thats the only thing under the hood..
its funny how people think they can smoke my car. Im actually more scared of the integs and eclipses that rev up on me other than the high class cars. High class cars are generally faster stocked but harder to make faster, unlike the so called "rice rocket" cars....you just dont knoe if they have turbo or nos under the hood. But i usually can manage. heee heee
I wanna see BENZOS car..ne pix?
When I finally made enough money to buy my first really decent car, I chose to go with a Ford Taurus SHO (the original, not the V8 junk they came out with later). This car, too, was exceptionally fast, but didn't have much to visually distinguish it from the other billion or so Tauruses on the road... It had some mild aerodynamic skirts, etc. and light-weight, but not particulary flashy wheels. In 10 years of ownership, I never got a ticket in that car, though I routinely drove it WAY over the limit. In fact, twice I was rolling down the freeway at 80+ side by side with "hot" car (one was a Porsche, the other a Mustang GT) when we topped a rise to find one of Houston's finest waiting with a radar gun... Both times, the "fast" car was pulled over and I was ignored. Point of fact, both times I was passing the other guy!
So my take on this whole "to Rice, or not to Rice" argument is "Go for it!" The more truly flashy, obviously modified cars there are on the road, the more invisible my "plain jane, no visible mods" car will be... Stealth is the ultimate mod!


