yeah in vegas the scene is dying  down all the old school players now run shops or got into another motorsport..there are several shops closing down...sad  to see they have the passion but not enough work to keep the doors open.  

i think a large part of the cars longevity, be it domestic or import, is largely due to the driver. think about it, how many LS1 firebirds do you see not being driven hard...? and how many V-dubs do you see not being driven hard...? allow me to answer those questions for you... the first answer would be none and the second answer would be all. thats how i've seen it for as long as i can remember.  

I've been in this tuning thing for as long as I can remember, say 22 years. That's longer than some of you youngins been drivin'. Not that i'm that old or any thing, I'm only 39 but man has it been a blast to have worked on and driven some of the fastest most powerful imports out there. Some of which I've personally built engines and suspension for. I live in the north east and have time durring the winter to build and design some stuff for street and racing application. Right now I'm seeing a small trend in restoring old school rides for street. I know that the AE86 and others in this category are gems to have but I personally am building an "87" Nissan 200sx for drift. It is a Z body and can pretty much do any thing to it. It's a blank slate. I'm building a RB26DETT engine for it as I speak. I don't think the import scene is dying I think people are spending more wisely and putting their money where it needs to go. The economy isn't what it used to be.  

hey guys there really isnt a scene anymore.....you have a bunch of guys that consider themselves "street racers" and go around on highways or local streets burning and putting themselves in danger, and also the ones who just semi-tune their college cars and ten go around hanging out in parking lots just looking at each ohter's engines and trashtalking......then you have the guys who just go to HIN, NOPI and Formula D events all the time just to see cars they wish they could build and the models they wish they could have.....and then there's these online tuner communities where we just talk about our mods and which is better Evo vs sti and what to do when we slip a rod and how much it is to get a new turbo and etc..there really arent "scene's" anymore most of the scene that existed in so-cal and mia are all just the pple who go to events now and tuners/builders....the japan/tokyo scene which existed waaaay b4 we even knew like in the 70's and 80's have gone basically amateur and professional motorsports...there is no scene street or w/e anymore  

miamito616:
hey guys there really isnt a scene anymore.....you have a bunch of guys that consider themselves "street racers" and go around on highways or local streets burning and putting themselves in danger, and also the ones who just semi-tune their college cars and ten go around hanging out in parking lots just looking at each ohter's engines and trashtalking......then you have the guys who just go to HIN, NOPI and Formula D events all the time just to see cars they wish they could build and the models they wish they could have.....and then there's these online tuner communities where we just talk about our mods and which is better Evo vs sti and what to do when we slip a rod and how much it is to get a new turbo and etc..there really arent "scene's" anymore most of the scene that existed in so-cal and mia are all just the pple who go to events now and tuners/builders....the japan/tokyo scene which existed waaaay b4 we even knew like in the 70's and 80's have gone basically amateur and professional motorsports...there is no scene street or w/e anymore

dang... that stings, but sadly true. the only thing that comes close to  the street scene is when your driving somewhere and happen upon some ricer bum that thinks their stage 9871239816 superturbocharger will spank you... that and the cars that can actually qualify as a streetcar are retired  

There are still scenes. Now they partain to a particular car make more than just all imports in general. Toyota meets.. Tons of 3000gt meets and 1 nationwide gathering per year.  

reality sucks  

I'm still building engines, but for hard core racers from Puerto Rico and some rally guys in Spain. Been doin' this sort of stuff since before there was even a scene to be had, since 1986. Buissness has slowed some on the street car side. But not on the pro racer side. That's why I could afford to build my RB26DETT. Some one, please... put me in my place for bragging!!! To keep it real, though... I wish there was a little more work on the street side of it. I get some here and there, but because of the economy today... I'm not hurting as long as I continue to build for the pros... well any way... that's my job description on the short. And reality does suck.