Unwritten Rule #1: Don’t Blow Up The Spot

I grew up kicking skateboards and pedaling BMX bikes. Much like the car community, the action sports community has been absolutely great to me in providing regular escapes from ‘real life’.

There’s a significant amount of parallels that exist between the two communities. One of the most important is the unwritten rule that you never blow up a spot.

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A ‘spot’ can be anything really; a ledge, rail, wall ride, or curb cut. Heck, it can even just be a concrete pad under four posts and an awning. The important take away here is that once you’ve found a good spot, for the love of god, don’t ruin it.

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Spots exist in the car community as well. They can be an industrial area, parking lot, secluded back road, or a seldom-used stretch of highway. Regardless of the what, the rules are still the same however. Don’t blow it up. The spot you chill at isn’t the spot you drift at. The spot you drift at isn’t the one you chill at.

It’s pretty simple: Don’t overstay your welcome in either area and it will still remain usable the following week.

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Clean up whatever mess you bring and security is likely to look the other way when they see you. Step out of line, however, and the walls start to close in very quickly.

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For a good while these rules seemed generally respected in both communities. I’m not really not sure what happened – and hold on, I need my cane to shake for this – but somewhere along the way respect was lost and previously sacred unwritten rules were forsaken.

We’ve all seen it – a meet broken up by some fool that feels the need to ‘drift’ on exit. A few people then follow suit until inevitably someone runs out of talent amid some first gear oversteer. At best a trash can gets taken out; at worst people are sent to the hospital and the police are called.

Boom! Spot blown up.

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Repeat a few times over and suddenly anyone with an exhaust within 15 kilometers of what was once a very good spot is a fugitive.

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This problem is incredibly infuriating for those of us that know the rules and follow them as they should be followed. As much as I hate the terms, clout chasers and takeover clowns are why we can’t have nice things.

Something’s Got To Give
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To combat the problem, at least here in Ontario, Canada, the answer has become smaller meets that are invite only. Welcoming a smaller subset of people to a permitted (and gated) location allows you to control the behavior. If someone steps out of line they get an immediate boot and a ban from future events.

One of the best to spin this format in Ontario is a group called the Outrun Night Racers. Their aim is to bring enthusiasts together without all the superfluous nonsense that irks the general public.

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Are they the first to do it? No, and there are no claims made in that regard. However, Outrun’s spin on the formula is that they pull out some of the more obscure cars that exist in the province. Especially Japanese vehicles.

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This Z20 Toyota Soarer is a rather stunning example.

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I’d never seen one before in person, and I have to say they’re a great looking car at any angle. This example is accentuated by the owner’s tasteful choice in wheels and drop.

There were also not one, not two, but three Toyota Century models in attendance. That’s absolutely absurd considering these were originally designed for Japanese dignitaries. Equally absurd is that with all three V12 cars running, their combined engine noise was barely audible.

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Not every car was exotic or imported, though. EF series Honda Civics used to be everywhere in Ontario, but now they’re only occasionally spotted.

One corner of the venue was filled with ’80s and ’90s Hondas, and I couldn’t help but marvel over the fact they all still had clean quarter panels. The bumper/quarter junction has always been a problem for any early Honda that’s seen salted roads.

Quarter-hunting aside, a keen eye throughout the evening could be used to spot a few of the accessories used to add a bit of flair to all the era-correct vehicles. Be it a Stillen grill, car phone, or stunning set of Mazdaspeed MS-01 wheels by RAYS.

Japanese cars make up the majority of vehicles at these meets, but there’s no discrimination when it comes to other makes and models.

This Coke-themed VW Bug looked rather cool opposite a very clean S14.

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Having not been to a meet of any sort in months, I was fine to take in whatever vehicles were present.

It was just refreshing to be out again, pointing my lens at cool cars.

Own The Night
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If I have any regrets regarding what was really a pleasant evening, it’s that I didn’t give myself enough time to take everything in during the rapidly-fading light.

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Splitting the time between catching up with those I had not seen in quite literally a year, and fighting exposure proved to be somewhat of a losing battle.

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But the darkness did work for those who came better prepared for the occasion.

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I do believe this Cressida is the one of two kaido/bosozoku-flavored builds running around Ontario right now.

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The car is a constant work in progress, so I’m sure there’s quite a bit more to come. The lack of any valance under the front bumper leads me to believe a massive chin spoiler is inbound.

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For the more reserved, this Nissan Gloria was a real treat. It’s said to be the only manual, six cylinder turbo Y30 currently in Canada.

At the time of the meet, the Gloria had been in the country less than a week and the owner wasted no time installing the accessories he’d previously scooped for the car on Yahoo! Auctions Japan.

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It’s been a long event hiatus for myself, but I can’t really think of a better event to get back into the swing of things. Thanks to the Outrun Night Racers for both their efforts and hospitality; I look forward to the next meet and hopefully spotlighting some of the vehicles.

Dave Thomas
Instagram: stanceiseverythingcom

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1

The best meets are the one where we just park up our cars and just chill and enjoy them
It's sad how we have reckless shenigans in the community that just ruin the sport

2

Man that Z20 Toyota Soarer needs a detailed feature.

Author3

I'll see what I can do. It's such a great looking car.

4

Trying to be inclusive isn't always a good thing

5

"Being inclusive" used to be called "having no standards."

6

This is exactly what we've had to do the last couple of years here in Calgary as well; meets are now invite-only because anything public is always ruined by people trying to show off, even in parents' borrowed SUVs at times. It's pathetic how widespread this incorrect and immature behaviour is now.

7

I think we mainly have social media to thank for that. People showing off for their 5 mins of fame

8

Exactly. The camera-equipped smartphone has allowed mankind's natural attention-whore tendencies, which otherwise would've remained buried deep inside each of us, to burst out into the world like xenomorphs - except the natural prey for these aliens is restrained, tasteful, civilized behavior.

9

It's tough .... because when you do that, then there is less public interaction. How does the scene then grow and present a positive public face? This seems like a knee-jerk reaction ensuring a longer/slower death. If we're talking about stretching the legs a bit, that's one thing. But a meet .... that's another.

10

Why would you care about it growing, regardless of cost?

It will always grow, but rather if difficult to approach, it will grow in right direction.

A slow rate of growth is better than explosion that ends up in your face.

Author11

Yeah, I hear ya. I think there needs to be a balance between public events, and private. The problem is however that no one wants to be the 'face' of a public event if it goes wrong.

One thing I have seen happen is people organize a public event under a name that doesn't represent an individual and if it goes bad they bail.

Unfortunately this doesn't always protect the organizers either...

12
Jesse Black Beetle

This same ethos exists in the graffiti community as well, but the consiquences are more dire

13

Graffiti community? There's a graffiti community now?

Perfect example of modernist thinking.

"They're not criminals or degenerates anymore - they're 'members of a community.'"

14

Thanks so much for the feature of my red na6!

15

I can't help but wonder how much of an impact the coal-rolling diesel bros here in the US had an impact on "blowing up the spot" on ECU tuning and the subsequent Cali/EPA crackdown. Them and the kids tuning in pops and bangs on deceleration.

16

That white NA white is perfection! Can we get a feature on that please.

17

That red "Rabbit GTI" brings back good memory of my college days. Dad had a black one and I drove it occasionally. Sure it only had 90 hp but it was light and felt stable in the snow.

18

If you want to see The Spot blown almost every single video visit https://www.youtube.com/user/AdamC3046
Worst car culture..

19

It's interesting that car communities around the world, without any real communication between each other are coming to the same conclusions. Yes, it makes it much harder to grow the community and to inspire younger people, but at the rate other meets are getting out of hand, they won't be around much longer either.

What's the solution?

20

Invitational for displaying but open to public access for viewing? Doesn't stop viewers from doing something dumb when they leave unfortunately, but maybe have a police presence at the exit for 'viewers' may discourage bad behavior...

Could opt to live stream the events somehow (Twitch, FB, YouTube) but getting it to viewers could be difficult to justify it...

Just spit-balling ideas that 'could' work. Of course getting the police involved could be hassle depending on the groups standing and deter people away from both showing the car or coming to view them, and a livestream you'll be stuck wishing the cameraman looked at a specific car for longer or bandwidth / quality issues.

21

Speaking for the Netherlands, the problem is mostly because of the noise disturbance. People 2-steppin and revving without any use, just to get a thumps up from your mate because lets be honest, nobody else is caring that much about it and finds it anoying.

Some guys found a solution by accident. They organized a meet-up behind a police station and guess what. (Almost) everyone behaved very nicely and it was a pretty quiet evening.

Obviously, this isnt the solution for everyone and everywhere. But I do think that good contact with local law inforcement is one of the best ways to make sure they dont kick you off.

22

I agree with points made, I think the culture could use a trending #code of conduct and if Speedhunters could make an article/more articles on it, make it trending, that would be very nice.

Make the immature people feel like idiots and ostracise them from the sane crowd.

You guys represent a form of authority in the scene and I believe you should condemn the behavior and promote good values whenever you can. Make it a separate topic and maybe a sticker? Make it trending, put it out there.
So when people put that type of stickers on their cars they can rep the good rep ya know?

As far as it being contrary to growing the culture, Id rather have 2 mature dudes in my club/meet than hundred kids. Growth at any cost is not a formula for success, not for a country or any scene.
You just dont take anyone regardless of their background and behavior. If u know what I mean.

Author23

That's not a bad idea, a universally accepted set of rules. Filling in where common sense is not so common.

24

Just to clarify, I been with you since 08 and I know u guys maintain a good moral compass.
But with new era there could be use of new approach and more strict appeal to reason.

25

That's exactly what we've been doing here - #savethecarmeets has been our hashtag/movement/decal and it's helping, but we're just one community in the car scene. The idea needs to reach further.

26

Glad to hear it. If Speedhunters get some coverage on it, it could help a lot.

28

Love seeing the local content, great article Dave!

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