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TUNING IN, TURNING ON (p. 3 of 3)

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Most of the cars at Spanish Banks are Mustangs, but tuning doesn’t discriminate by make and model, Kyle assures me. "Whether it’s a Mustang, Civic, Subaru WRX, M3 or Corvette, it’s all about modifying what you have." Kyle’s evidently well-off friend Dixon has poured 150 grand worth of modifications into a 2002 Lexus IS 300. It belongs to his mother. If Mom ever decides to emulate Jan & Dean’s "Little Old Lady from Pasadena," she’ll be the exception.

"Most of the women on the tuner scene are still there as accessories," says Dagmar Midcap, an automotive journalist and co-host of Tencrows Driving Television. She likens it to Natalie Wood flagging the drag race in Rebel Without a Cause. "Off they go, leaving her in the dust!" Midcap laughs. "There are lots of capable women drivers around. They’re not really attracted to the speed and noise of the scene, but that might change."

In the meantime, speed and noise rule. Technology has put crazy power within tuners’ easy reach. "Plug and play" bolt-on parts can drastically increase performance on the most modest jalopy. "You could spend $4,000 on a crappy old Mustang, bolt on a 150 ‘wet shot’ nitrous oxide system, borrow your buddy’s slicks and go beat a $75,000 Corvette," says Kyle. The extra speed they provide might just be too intoxicating for a young wage slave to pass up. Wild horses must run free. The question is, where?

On the West Coast, Mission Raceway Park offers a chance to run fast and hard on a closed track every Friday night during spring and summer – with conditions. "Even if you have a busted windshield you can’t run," Steve complains. "They’ll tell you that you need a roll cage or some other $400 piece of equipment. A lot of guys can’t afford it."

So racers will sneak off to quiet rural stretches of pavement on summer nights. After all, one General Motors study found that 55 percent of young new car buyers enjoy going fast just for the fun of it. What about headlines that scream of mayhem on city streets? Tuners blame it on the newcomers: "They’re not people involved in the scene; they’re wannabes," one sneers.

It’s those wannabes who are fuelling today’s tuning trend. You know pop culture critical mass has been reached when MTV gets involved. Sure enough, the American music network has rolled out Pimp My Ride, an extreme makeover show for old beaters. That cinches it: Car culture may be old school, but tuning is the new new thing. [ ]

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