When it comes to cars, I'm a product of the '90s. Serving as my post-pubescent years, things like Transformers, Robotech, and Nintendo gave way to more important things like girls, ditching school, Street Fighter 2, shooting pool, and hanging out in K-Town. The problem with all of these activities was that it required the use of one very important tool: a car (mind you, this was an era before Facebook, Twitter, or the Internet. You had to actually, gasp, go out to meet people in the flesh).
Growing up in SoCal, mass forms of transportation were scant-you had better odds catching winning lottery numbers or HIV than a train to the city. Subways, like Austrian governors, are a recent innovation to L.A. If you didn't have a car, you were stuck at home or at the mercy of your friends-or worse-your parents. As a minor, getting your driver's permit was like your own Emancipation Proclamation; the license, your forty acres; and if you know where I'm going with this semi-racially sensitive analogy, you can guess what the mule represents (hint: they both have four contact patches).
Cars equated freedom, which is why my '90s were spent in adoration with them. You probably owned a Civic, Integra, or Accord (yes, they were actually cool back then), but the GT-Rs, NSXs, Supras, RX-7s, 300ZX, 3000GTs (yes, they too, were actually cool back then), were the halo cars of the era. All of which is why I'm still pre-Y2K when it comes to cars-I've been through at least a dozen pink slips, and the highest numbers I've seen are 1997.
But if I were a product of the new millennia, the two cars I would most certainly pine for would be the STI and EVO (see, I am going somewhere with this ramble). At first, they were a bit curious. All-wheel drive was cool and the turbocharged fours might have been a slight departure from the six-cylinders found in sports cars reigning years past, but the sedan configuration was straight-out weird. Four doors were for family duty. But your momma's Camry these sedans are not. They are fast, have an actual trunk, and sit four full-size adults. Try that in the back of Supra or 300ZX! Smarter sports cars, the STI and EVO are practical as they are nimble, and because of their similarities, natural competitors. They are the Mustang vs Camaro of our world and thanks to Continental Tires, we were able to continue the mother of all shootouts, STI vs EVO Challenge, to see who won bragging rights for the next year.
Speaking of mothers, this being the May issue, I want to dedicate the last paragraph to plug the one special person who matters the most in our lives. And no, not the tuner who solved the bogging issue under partial throttle or the buddy who helped you wrench during those late-night sessions, but your mom. This small morsel of gratitude is for the one who brought you into this world and wiped up after your oil-colored spills, topped off your fluids when you were shrieking in hunger, took care of you when you were way past your warranty period, and stuck by when you were in last place, disqualified, or suffering from mechanical failure. To all the moms in the world and to my own, thanks for being our own personal pit crew, team manager, and source of inspiration. Happy Mother's Day.
Editor
Carter Jung
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facebook.com/carterjung
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