You're missing out :thumbsup:

Add me to the list of people who have never watched any of these movies. Or rather, I tried to watch one of them once but somehow didn't finish it. I think I got bored and distracted and ended up doing something else.

That's not a knock against those of you who like those movies. If you enjoyed it, great. I know I watch some things that a lot of people here would hate.

But not all of us here bought twins because we watched a movie. I bought mine because it reminded me of the entry-level purpose-built sports cars of the 60s and 70s that I grew up with, from back before the whole modding economy cars into street racers craze.

I like the F&F movies - but they've made me embarrassed to outwardly like modified cars, especially modified Japanese cars that the movies seem to use a bunch of. (Yes, they did use some American muscle cars as well.)

The movies are entertaining, but just like cop movies may make actual police officers cringe due to how they are portrayed, and spy movies would make actual spies keep their identity a secret for yet another reason, the F&F movies were so bad, for so many reasons, that they make people actually interested in the "import car culture" look bad. I just don't want to be associated with that culture by people who's only insight into it is the F&F movies.

Interestingly enough, the movies have found their spot as they have gone from sequel to sequel. They have become action/adventure movies, instead of trying to pass themselves off as a car movie.

Make no mistake: society views people who street race as tools. They put other people's lives at risk bc they "have something to prove". Go watch Back To The Future (2?) where Marty lines up his pickup for a street race - message to audience: street racing is for tools who are dumbed down to the lowest common denominator among the group.

Luckily F&F movies have swayed away from this in more recent films - though they still keep to the import car culture. Hey, you can be into modifying cars and driving fast without being a total _____ to everyone else on the roads.


Sadly, while the term "rice" was already around before the F&F films, the films just pushed more people into modifying their cars without actually having funds, so yeah, just "race inspired cosmetics". Now you had teens with ugly aftermarket wings and unpainted body kits approaching your modified import that you've spent $5k on stuff no one will see and they think they're just like you.

I could go on and on about cut springs and cheap coil overs, and loud exhausts on stock 100hp engines, etc etc. But you get the idea. Oh yeah, and clueless people seeing your import at a stoplight and wanting to race all the time. I don't do that, leave me alone.

So yeah - where would we be with F&F? Probably a better place.


I feel similar about "Guitar Hero", which some of you might have lived through that fad. I think people can see now what an embarrassment that was to the guitar culture. If not, watch the South Park episode about it. F&F movies are like that to the people who were in the car culture before these movies came out.

Again, to make the point: F&F quotes are a punchline to those who actually know about cars. The movies are an embarrassment - however, they are entertaining.

I was with some friends bottling a beer we had brewed early on a Saturday and had to leave because I had an appointment to have my tint installed. Upon telling my non-car friends I had to go and why:

"Well you better leave soon if you want to pick up Vin Diesel and still get there in time."

This was for a TINT application! Never mind a an engine/exhaust/mechanical modification.

So yea, we'd be in a better place. Much better.

Keep'em coming. This is turning into a good phycology experiment. Just so we don't get confused about my question, I'm 49 and grew up when 60's American muscle cars in high school was the norm, might fit more into the "Dom" mentality concerning import cars. I like most of the F&F movies for their entertainment value, while I admit I probably would be driving a Mustang instead of the BRZ if it hadn't been for the movies or my old T/C. It drives me to see just what you can get out of a car.

Those movies, while entertaining to some people, changed the enthusiast world and not for the better.


While the first one was okay (the plot was just rediculous) at least it was about the cars. The cars were the stars of the movie. Now the cars are more like movie props to propel the story line.

Am I?

Tell me what I'm missing that I can't get from internet forums, track events, meets, and bi-monthly coverage of a high speed pursuit in Los Angeles County...

-alex

A culture-defining classic. It spawned a lot of car guys. Not all for the best reasons, but it remains a classic in car culture nonetheless.

It's not perfect, it might not even be that good, but it's a defining moment in the creation of a whole new culture of tuning. :popcorn:

I know it inspired me to drive an interesting car when I could afford it, and the FR-S it is. I don't regret doing it and I'm now fully into tuning that thing to make it mine.

Without F&F, I'd be riding my bike or simply driving the company vehicle. Everyone at work tells me: "You already have the company truck, why would you own a second car?". Logical, but hard to agree with.

This car is my guilty pleasure, my pride and joy and I don't care if it's not a logical choice, I just love this thing with all my heart.

And F&F was the spark plug that ignited my true love of tuning. :D

Cheers!

Eh, F&F had nothing to do with me getting in to cars. I've always that it was ridiculous, even when it first came out.
It was mostly helping out my dad.
Going to the junk yard to get parts, talking about the different cars we walk by until we found the one we were looking for, helping him put the parts on.
Playing some Gran Turismo helped too.

I think a better, more universal question would have been:

Where would you be if you had never gotten a toyubaru?

In fact I think I will start that topic...

See y'all there...

How exactly was it ok? "Danger to manifold" warning on laptop, then passenger floor panel falls out? (Uh, where exactly is his engine located?) The warning itself was comical (data loggers don't do that...) but the resulting damage was side (and car floor) splitting. "Granny shifting, not double clutching like you're supposed to" - wow, didn't realize they were driving big rigs. So, everyone else double clutched the 3 shifts it would have taken to do a 1/4 mile run?

Oh that's right, it's 15 shifts - and doesn't matter if you have an auto or manual. Seems you short shift the next gear so you can downshift again when someone starts to pass you. Didn't realize they were so concerned about mpg during their drag race.

And nitrous does NOT make everything go blurry UNLESS it was being sprayed inside the car's interior instead of the engine. (Actually that WOULD have been a funny scene: everyone in their cars, shifting 20,000 times, the world around them all blurry, sounds of engines hitting redline - then pan out: cars are all still sitting at the starting line, not moving - people inside baked on nitrous, shifting like crazy and yelling "Monica!". Hahaha)

Note the 1/4 mile race between Dom and Brian lasted far more time than the 10 seconds it should have too.

The comment about the pair of engines fetching a premium the week before Race Wars has been quoted in reference to any car part in joking. And of course the "too soon junior" meme.

It's just endless garbage. Luckily in the second movie, they tried to fix some of that by the "pizza drink" comment and how Brian's cover would be blown if someone didn't know a pizza from an engine - so either EVERYONE in the first movie was undercover FBI, or the general scene people wouldn't know a pizza from a piston either. :p

The series made me like car movies, but it honestly didn't turn me into a car guy. The 86 twins did that, when they were announced. Before that, I was happy driving my shitty Mazda 3 which never got an oil change on time and was running on worn-out tires. Now I'm saving for a carbon fiber hood and doing an extremely in-depth investigation to see what kind of forced induction I should get.

How much weight savings (?) is the carbon fiber hood over the stock aluminum one? See, it's movies like this that have people spending money to "improve" their car without knowing if they're making it better or worse.