Where There Are Cars, There Is Car Culture

I genuinely cannot think of a place I’ve been that didn’t have some sort of car culture, and during my trip to Hawaii this month I made it a point to participate in at least one activity that involved cars. My friend Eric took me to a local meet, one that’s held every week in Pearl City, the rough center of Oahu.

My expectations were seriously low; after all, this was a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It takes a bit over an hour to drive from the western tip to the easternmost end of the Oahu, and there’s a population of less than one million. There couldn’t possibly be that many modified cars that would show up, right?

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Wrong. I was very naive to make an assumption like this.

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Not only were there easily 100 cars overflowing from two carparks, but the variety was there too.

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From the craziest Nissan Juke I’ve ever seen, to dozens of modified bikes, to American muscle both old and new, there was a bit of everything.

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I know this is just barely, barely scratching the surface of what’s out here on this one island, but my schedule was otherwise too full for other automotive shenanigans on this particular trip.

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It really made me wonder what car culture is like in the corners of the Earth we’ve yet to uncover on Speedhunters. There have been loads of great IAMTHESPEEDHUNTER submissions as of late, and surely there are more to come from around the globe.

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However, I completely understand that not everyone has a decent camera, nor a plethora of amazing cars to shoot. There’s more to car culture than these two aspects, though, so that’s what the comments section on this story is for.

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If not for any reason other than to satisfy my own personal curiosity, share a photo below of your build, the abandoned car on the corner, some local meet, or anything automotive that the rest of the world would otherwise never see.

Trevor Yale Ryan
Instagram: tyrphoto
TYRphoto.com

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1
Tryon Lippincott

It is probably fixed now, but that blue Evo in your article was a giant shit show about 10 years ago when I lived out there. Had a Marine buddy of mine buy it from a fly by night dealership. It had been highly modified and semi returned to stock. It ran like garbage and this person put cf fenders on it that was put on incorrectly. A few days later it was backed into. The last time I saw it barely ran. I see its got awesome wing brackets with no wing. I see they are still keeping it classy out there. BTW this used to me from '06-'09 every Friday night.

2

Me and my first car in high school. I've been building this thing from the frame up ever since and I can't wait to drive it again.

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3

That's sweet man. My friend has a 74 and a 79 we're restoring.

4

My old van (long gone) lowered via photoshop

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5

Time to go Dajibanning.

6
Matthew Everingham

This bus is bangin...

7

Absolutely

8

A wild teg way out in the sticks

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9

Old Lincoln? limo with a 9 liter v8 from some boat...

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10

This car stands proudly and proclaims, "I AM."

11

YES. Drift it

12

I own the silver FRS

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13

With an STI wing.

Finally.

14

So how often are there meets for the BRZ/FRS/86 people? I am on Island and I haven't seen many that aren't bone stock

15

One of 5 spotless e30 M3's (including an Evo2). This is a rare color I think?

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16
Tryon Lippincott

Love it. I have an E30 Touring so I got some fanboy in me.

17

That thing looks amazing

18

Saw this at Driven Edmonton 2017. When was the last time you saw a Rolls-Royce at a car meet?

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19

Thanks for taking pics of my Nova!!! We have a huge car community. Wish you could’ve seen the other 90%!!!

20

Thankyou to @tyrphoto for the feature and welcome to Hawaii btw.

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21

Best, if not one of the best number plates I've ever seen.

22

Care to explain why? I assumed that was just a random sequence of letters?

23

Sound of a "Wolf Whistle" Wit-Wew

24

Here in the UK Z’s aren’t that common and are pretty expensive. I’d been thinking about importing one from japan, that was until a guy who’d already imported some from the us popped up. I quickly got in touch and made one mine. This is after 6 hours or so of wet sanding by hand. The right side and roof etc all still have to be done. Couldn’t see the bondo under the faded paint and 3 layers of different blues when I started.

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25

Me and my mate in his 86 living out our touge dreams. A4069 as seen in pretty much every UK car show and magazine. Classic and Sports Car magazine were there when we were.

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26

Hey a Spyder! I just ran into a spyder meet at the Dragon, check out this Veilside beast. If only they had dual wishbone...

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27

I'm more interested in the electric green mica in the background!

28

My good old CA18DET S13

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29

Hell ya! I love the little CA18's. Working on getting mine running for the first time. All you S-Chassis guys seem to have a lot of fun with them

30

Oh no, another mentally handycapped person that put a type-r badge on a civic si..when will they learn?

31

The same time you learn how to spell handicapped and also not bring illness' into the comment section

32

It's car man, they can do what they like to it.

33

@Dom Its an acura CSX....

34

Thanks for featuring my juke man! Its cool to see someone appreciate how much work I put into that car.

35

Here's mine her name is smaug, engine converted to sr20de, full tsuru exterior convertion too.

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36

There's something about a car with a front bumper that's one straight line.

From a time when cars weren't overstyled.

37

thanks

38

Looking clean. Like the understated look.

39

thanks i guess ^ ^

40

looks dope man!

41

thanks man, i've been working on it ever since i got it. ^_^ learned alot from it and really had those times where you want to give up but everytime it cranks up it just keeps the grin in my face

42

just on the other side of the world. Smaug sr20de tsuru body kits

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43
Tryon Lippincott

I had a B13 when I lived in Hawaii. It was a shitbox but I still liked it.

44

i guess it would just have be maintained properly. even a super car wont work properly if aint maintian

45

One thing I don't think most people share are the ideas that shape the final result of a project. I'm currently in the process of gutting my 03 R53 Mini while modeling the builds twin mid-engine, huge wing setup. We all chase Speed. Some of us just do it a little different. I get more out of people discussing their progress than pretty pictures at the end (but keep them coming!). Tell your story. No one else will!

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46

Very nice!

You're the first person to make a modern Mini actually look desirable!

47

Sweet idea! Sounds like a lot of fun. I'm a bit like you, the build a fun part of the lifestyle!
Been working on my bnr32 since I bought it in 2013, google-translate of my thread can be found here https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&nv=1&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=sv&sp=nmt4&tl=en&u=https://www.garaget.org/forum/viewtopic.php%3Fid%3D308764%26oponly%3Dtrue&xid=17259,1500002,15700022,15700122,15700124,15700149,15700168,15700173,15700186,15700201&usg=ALkJrhgr1Urz2pxsgryquVsId-EJIdqXcA

Have you started your build yet?

48

I have! It's in the strip down phase for measurements. Once its clear and cleaned I'll start fabrication.

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49

Will you post updates anywhere on the net? These "because I want to" builds are usualy a joy to follow :)

(Noticed that google translate did a poor job on translating my build comments, oh well, the pictures are there atleast)

50

I actually haven't yet. I run a youtube channel called Stkrbombd and thought about posting it there but as the project is going to be so heavy in fabrication, filming and editing takes quite a long time. I may end up doing a website blog style setup. I'm really hoping the guys here at Speedhunters begin to add more Projects like mine into the rotation. Get some #IAMTHESPEEDHUNTER projects in here!

51

If you ever get around to add a blog/thread, try to remember and post a link to me here!
Will keep an eye on your youtube too.

I'm working too slowly to contribute with any content for this page (besides, I'm only using my phone to document so photo quality isn't that great..)

53

Wow dude what an eye catching build. Sub'd YT & bookmarked the website. This is a Gatbil worthy monster my dude.

54

Sounds good dude! Thanks for the advice!

55

Overhead look.

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56

My Citroen C2 VTS

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57

French hot hatch solidarity! Mine's a Clio 172 Cup :)

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58

My Citroen C2 VTS:

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59

I used to go to Hawaii to visit my grandma and gramma who lived there. I'm kinda suprised I never saw any cars like this.

60
Joachim Taverne

Just took some pictures at the annual meeting of my local Subaru dealer before following FD live on the computer.

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61
Joachim Taverne

Sorry for the multiple post. Seems that I had some trouble with my computer :(

62
Joachim Taverne

Just annual meeting of my local Subaru dealer (yeah, lots of impreza there).

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63

Probably waaaaaay to large but this is my money pit here in Canada, also the one 'good' picture I have on the work pc. It's presently in for paint so it wears a shade of sanded primer right now. Lots done to it but I can get into that after if interested.

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64

I always liked the second-generation Intrepid.

They're big and sleek and "overstyled" in the sense of "you can stop revising the design, it's just a mid-priced sedan" rather than "overstyled" in the sense of "gonna make a mad-tight four-wheeled literbike, yo!"

65

Thank you! I've always thought sedan from my cars era were kinda cool. I've kept this one alive about 10 years now and I enjoy it. I've modified things to make it a bit better for me. Mostly second hand 'upgrade' parts because the aftermarket seriously lacks for this thing, but every part has been sourced to fit a reason. Second hand Recaro for the drivers seat because the factory seat has zero lateral support when I went to the track, second hand 18" Mille Miglia wheels, we even put a used OEM R33 GT-R turbo on it which is why the next step after paint and body work is to go with the stand alone so it can be properly tuned and adjusted. Cars never are 'done' tho, so who knows what else I will end up doing.

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66

Yeah, I always thought the Junkyard Rod path would be best for this car, meaning either repurposed or adapted parts meant for other chassis.

The basic foundation is solid enough with the 3.5 - at least from what I saw of a friend's 300M.

Keep goin' man - looks like a great car.

67

Thank you! I have honestly lost count of how many cars I have pulled pieces from at a yard with the idea of 'I think I can make this work'. Obviously there are some parts that need to be new. Maybe one day when it's finished I could get lucky enough to submit something to IATS. Mostly looking forward to driving it more.

68
Niek van Rossem

A Miata meet in The Netherlands. It was incredibly cold at night, but we had lots of fun.

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69

I am the proud owner of the 2015 Repsol1000rr sp. Her name is Trixie. IG @damnhaole

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70

My second-favorite generation of CBR1000.

Not the new one, but still sweet.

71

Dang that's a great photo with that white light.

72

I mean I saw a Ferrari Daytona once in Jamestown, Rhode Island but that's about it lol. I come to the internet for cool car stuff!

73

Dude, you're missing out on so much good stuff. Cars need to be experienced in person.

74

You're telling me!

75

Toyota Aristo JZS147. Russia, Far East. =)

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76

As a guy who grew up as a patriotic American during the Cold War, the idea of Russians driving cool cars still strikes me as some kind of weird parallel universe.

A good parallel universe.

77

Toyota Aristo JZS147. Russia, Far East. =)

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78

Here is lovely little model from a car meet in the good ol' North West of the UK

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79

"Is it green?"

"Yes. Very."

- Jeremy Clarkson

80

The irony of all of this is that so many of these stories about places with rich, vibrant car cultures are places that are generally very hostile to car ownership in general.

Whether it's congestion pricing schemes (London), onerous inspection regimes (Tokyo), exorbitant tolls (New York), absurd fuel prices (everywhere outside America), displacement taxes (again, everywhere outside America) "industrious" parking enforcement (Chicago), obnoxious speed limits (Sydney), car thieves aplenty (Los Angeles) or the ever-present TRAFFIC, The Car is under assault from all sides.

Maybe it'd be more accurate to call these articles "Car Survival" instead of "Car Culture."

81

Too bad theres only one decent road in the island :(

82

My lightly modified Miata from SW-Germany

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83

My diesel Honda Civic. First car i had that i chose. Got me into cars. Still had loads i wanted to do it, but had to end that journey for now. Next time i'll pick something that leans more towards performance than practicality! Still, i loved this car while i owned it!

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84

Always wanted an Integra when they were new--but they were far too pricey. Finally found one two years ago and I've been loving it ever since. it's only modifications are an AEM intake, Raceland Coilovers and a ghetto-fab exhaust (which I hate, by the previous owner). Plan on painting it this year (same color!), refinishing the LS meshes and saving up for a Kakimoto muffler to replace that horrible one out back.

I read SH daily and it's refreshing to see so many different ways to get our speed fix. Now I don't feel as geeky about cars. Haha!

85
86

Integrate were cheap when new? Lol

87
88

Haha! Depends on your definition of "expensive." Starting out as a mechanic at VW, I didn't make nearly enough to buy one new. Even used, they were overpriced.

Started out with a 91 EF Civic and finally came back around to Hondas over a decade later. I love the little things.

89

2015 Challenger R/T w/ a 6 Speed.

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90
Michael Garcia

Single Cab Chevy with a 6.2L V8

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91

Signing in from deep in the heart of Texas

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92
Arnoldo Mercado

VW Harvest Show in Cedar Park Texas

93
Arnoldo Mercado
94

I might as well share something ;) After 8 years of saving money - finally picked my first car, after winter 'refurbishing' :) Splitter, different diffusor and possibly cancards are on the way. Next year - why not ITB :)? Or a turbo maybe? What you think?

See you at raceism!

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