Pop culture can make cars into stars, but also destroy them. If it wasn’t for Back to the Future the DeLorean would be a historical footnote. If it wasn’t for 007, the Aston Martin DB4 would not even be uttered in the same breath as Porsche today. On the other hand, how many Highland Green ’68 Mustangs do we have to see at a Ford show? How many JZA80 Supras must be bastardized to recreate a cringey car from a mediocre movie? How many iterations of the silver and blue 2 Fast 2 Furious R34 must we walk past in the Target toy aisle? Sometimes fandom goes too far.
What car has been absolutely ruined by pop culture?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s your craziest tire-related story?“.
Who knew tire stories could be so compelling? The comments this week made for excellent reading, and we’re glad everyone lived to tell the tales.
For Walt, a simple flat tire on a 1983 Honda Accord led to friendships that formed a car club. For a young Lee L the experience of driving his first Z31 in the rain on exposed cords formed a life-long habit of responsible tire purchases. For Alan it was the experience of buying a Lexus LS400 with new but very odd tires. Sadly, StreetSpirit had to endure a coworker slashing new EA Civic tires because he didn’t like the wheels.
Wheels and tires completely detaching from the vehicles they’re supposed to be on was a recurring theme. It happened to Dave Patten and Fred Langille while driving their own cars, and to speedie but on Mitsubishi in a neighboring lane. It also happened to Negishi no Keibajo on a Douglas DC-8, and the amount of damage an runaway aircraft tire can do is pretty substantial.
We learned a completely new tire changing techinque from peglomaniac that doesn’t even involve a wrench. Franxou shared a valuable life lesson about Japanese spare tires while getting a flat in a small town in a JDM Fairlady Z. Dave Patten nearly won the week with a hilarious tale of a rogue tire that rolled down a New England hill.
It was close, but this week’s winner was Billy Edz, who had us hooked on an epic yet harrowing tale of buying a Scion xB sight unseen halfway across the country and driving home in a snowstorm. It also unlocked a new fear of a tire malady that we had never heard of:
I live in NY and agreed to purchase a 2006 Scion xB from a dealership in Wisconsin. I found it through an online car sales site. It was a small private dealership that had a shop “just down the block.”. I told the sales guy that I was going to need to fly in, get picked up at the airport, finalize the paperwork and then be on my way back to NY. He knew the car needed to get me back home
I flew in, and landed as it was snowing. it was January after all. The sales guy picked me up at the airport as planned. Brought me to the dealership where the toaster was prepped and ready to go. I signed the paperwork, gave the sales guy a thank you bottle of whiskey that I picked up at the duty free shop at the airport, and was on my way
I stopped to get gas and the snow really started to come down. My goal was to get to Pittsburgh, stay the night in a hotel, and then complete the trip the next day. A journey home in an econobox that I had never driver before during a Mid-west snow storm, what could go wrong?
As I was driving, this completely new to me shoe box on wheels, something just didn’t feel right. There was a bit of a vibration, a tiny pull. But was it the icy covered roads? Was it just normal for a first gen xB? I didn’t know, but I had to keep pushing on if I was ever going to make it home… somewhat as planned.
After a couple of hours of white knuckle driving in a completely unfamiliar car I decided the only way that I would EVER get home is if I had the car looked at. I pulled off the interstate, did an online search for the nearest tire shop and found one in Sturgis. It was close to closing time so I thought I would have to beg them to look at the car right then so that I could get back on the road. I pointed to the box in the parking lot and to their, and my delight, they said no problem, that they used to have one as a shop car.
Up on the lift, they couldn’t find anything wrong. they said it must have just been ice building up and throwing off the balance. That has happened to me here in NY in the past so I wasnt too surprised, and again, I thought maybe it was just the way the car rode. I told them that I had a new set of tires and wheels waiting for me to at home, and I just needed it roadworthy to get me there. They reassured me that I was good to go. So, off I went.
The sun has set. The storm raged on. And I questioned why I NEEDED to have a toaster. I started to hate my decision making process as the car CONTINUED to shake and rattle as I slowly rolled behind semis thinking I’d be lucky if I ever made it home.
I eventually decided I was in need of stopping before either I or my new purchase gave in. I made it as far as Columbus, Ohio. I pulled into a hotel. I asked the counter person for the cheapest room, was willing to sleep on the couch, just needed some restful shut eye to make the longer than planned second leg with a poorly driving car. The chap must’ve felt bad for me because I had gotten a decent room, which provided a great amount of rest.
I got up early, but it was light, and when I got to my new car, the driver’s front tire was flat. I felt a new sense of defeated that I thought was impossible after the previous day. Fortunately, there was a gas station just across the way. Filled the tire with air, said a prayer and was now on my way again.
On the interstate and there was the vibration again. But the roads here was clear with the storm having past in the night. Not even a half hour into this trip I knew something HAD to be wrong. I pulled off once again. It took me three shops before I finally found one that would get to my car with only a short wait.
I explained EVERYTHING that I experienced with this new to me car. I explained that I just needed to get home. And that there was only going forward.
After what seemed like hours, the tech came in and said that I was good to go. After being told the same in Sturgis I wanted to know more. He said that water had gotten into the tire. I said that I never heard of such a thing. He explained the water that got in was sloshing about and that threw the balance off. They separated the tre from the wheel, dried it all out, remounted and sealed it…and that I was good to go
I left with trepidation, but the car now drove straight and smooth. As the miles past, my confidence grew, and I started to not hate my decision of buying this thing and taking such an adventure. By the time I got to the highways that carved through western Pennsylvania I was in love with the car.
My only other slow down was the expected traffic in NY. I made it home, albeit several hours later than planned. And I now how justification for my other impulsive purchase…my premounted Yokohamas on Enkei wheels.
I keep those stickers in the shed as a reminder of this absolutely ridiculous journey.
Omedetou, your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop!
AE 86
miatas, especially the NA, there is no car that has all the stereotypes of the unfavourable side of the car scene represented as good as the miata. don’t get me wrong, the vast majority of miata owners are great people but the outliers are way out there…
– bondo-bodykit hoopties that ‘totally took a hellcat to gapplebees bro!’, check.
– elitists that still run the original tires from 1989 on their 35 mile a year garage queens neatly stashed with the family silver, check.
– cutesy UWU, oil change what is that nyaaaa? :3 tiktok kiddos, check.
– anything not track minded is rice and I dehydrated myself 2 days before the autocross cause weight savings bros, check.
– knuckle dragging driftbros with no regard for their own or others safety, check
– oil pans are consumables stancebois, check.
now i’m very well aware i have elements of at least three of these horsemen of the carpocaplyse in the way i do my stuff and i do love my miata but man are there some extremes in the miata scene…
My partner finally had to sell her NA Miata. It was an absolute crime magnet culminating in her factory hardtop stolen in broad daylight. Just can’t have nice things.
that’s a shame, i restored my wife an NA as a wedding present, painted it lilac so it’s 100% unstealable.
great little cars though ours is mostly grounded lately.
You’ve put exactly what I’ve been thinking for the past couple of years into words. Kids my age and probably tiktok have really tarnished the NA, and it’s a damn shame to watch, honestly
Physically ruined by pop culture, that has to be the Nissan S13 240SX. How many clean street cars has the drift culture ground down to scrap metal.
Is the Z33 Nissan 350Z next?
Physically ruined by pop culture, that has to be the Nissan S13 240SX. How many clean street cars has the drift culture ground down to scrap metal.
Is the Z33 Nissan 350Z next?
Well, in regards of the article posted on this web portal, therefore I may express that as while (or I say with) the term “pop culture” does not have much resonance nor vibrance towards European senses / tastes, as even Japanese entertainment and music businesses too are also affected (thus already giving South Korea’s showbiz and music industries the upper hand from Japan’s declination as well with Trump tarrifs already in place and the Hollywood / SAG-AFTRA strikes turning two this year), I think cars from Renault Group (Renault itself, Dacia and Alpine plus Renault Trucks and Volvo Trucks) and Stellantis (formerly PSA Peugeot Citroen and Fiat SpA later Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) would have show its kind of “pop culture” references – but as I suspect that only few of their cars have been seen in media contents developed in America.
While Peugeot’s 403 had its convertible variant being featured in “Columbo” by NBC / Universal / Comcast, the pre-facelift Renault 5 (as Renault Le Car in United States) in “Dude, Where’s My Car?” (by 20th Century Studios / Disney) starring Ashton Kutcher, the Peugeot 406 in “Ronin” (United International Pictures / UIP) starring Robert De Niro, Sean Bean, Jonathan Pryce, Jean Reno and Stellan Skarsgard, the Peugeot RCZ in “Focus” (by Warner Bros. Discovery) starring Will Smith and Margot Robbie, another RCZ driven by Amber Heard in a Luc Besson-directed film / movie atarring Kevin Costner, Connie Nielsen and Hailee Steinfeld (3 Days to…) among others…
… The not-so “pop culture” features of Renault and Stellantis group products have had the…
The 406 later Peugeot 407 in Taxi starring Samy Naceri (with the rest starring Marion Cotillard)
The current generation Renault Megane in Astrid starring Sara Mortensen and Lola Dewaere
Renault 21 (aka Renault Medallion and Eagle Medallion) in Patrick Bruel and Alexandre Arcady’s Cops (UK name for Brothers in Arms, 1988, and Arcady is father of “Piranha 3D”, “Crawl” with Kaya Scodelario and Lionsgate’s Never Let Go director Alexandre Aja)
Citroen BX in Flodder, Dutch (Netherlands) film / movie (franchise)
Fiat Punto, pre-facelift, in The Stendhal Syndrome, driven by Asia Argento (only interior shown)
RCZ in Great Pretender (anime)
403 in Belle de Jour played by Catherine Deneuve (as Severine)
Another 403 seen in Pierrot le Fou (Pierrot the mad) starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina
In Neon’s Ferrari (starring Adam Driver seen in John Voight and Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis) Enzo Ferrari drove a 403 but in real life he drove the successor (Peugeot 404)
Fifth season of Spooks (UK series by BBC) had the main characters using a 407
The live-action adaptation of Devilman features a Peugeot 206 CC
Subway from 1985 (starring Isabelle Adjani, Christopher Lambert and also directed by Besson who later went on to direct Nikita starring Anne Parillaud) starts with Fred driving a Peugeot 205 while being chased by Mercedes-Benz cars
205 again but in animes – City Hunter (Saeko Nogami) and Dream Hunter Rem (a 205 convertible driven by Rem Ayanokouji)
And that’s all, but to wrap this, I think another not-so “pop culture” mention(s) of Renault and former PSA / FCA would have been variety / set in real-life, and one of those would be (notably) World Rally Championship (WRC), with the latter’s first winner was Renault (Alpine, 1973) and the rest were Peugeot and Citroen, last wins for them were 1989 (Renault by Alain Oreille, Ivory Coast), 2005 (Peugeot by Marcus Gronholm, Japan) and 2019 (Citroen by Sebastien Ogier, Turkey aka Turkiye), so I think I find the Gallic carmakers and their Roman genetic siblings as resilient, especially with the point that not just South Korean media contents lack the presences of Japanese cars and their makers there, but also Japan’s economy even before and after bubble and recession as well may have affected its (Japanese) automotive industry… (So I may have no choice but view / see Renault and Stellantis formerly PSA / Fiat as the right alternatives especially with Hyundai / Kia not present in Japan…)
Lexus, or should I say, Lexi..
Only people familiar with UK TV comedy may get this, but it’s near impossible to hear someone say Lexus now without adding “they say its the Japanese Mercedes”
For everyone else.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwsBV2EgJ-E
..though there is chance Americans will still be confused.
love my 2nd gen GS300, it’s one of those cars that made it from executives turned retirees into the hands of less reputable folk. from freelance pharmacists to soundcloud rappers and drifters. still amazing value for money at 25 years old!
Mazda Miata: I sure got laughed at by those ignorant when I first bought my NA back in 2005. Easily stereotyped as “gay” and “girly” and “weak,” I gradually changed their perspectives when I took them on some mountain carving. I’m sure Mazda got word of it as well; the NC mid-cycle refresh definitely had a more aggressive front end, and the ND doesn’t even look “cute” anymore.
Infiniti G35: Ah, one of my “dream cars” when i was wrapping up grad school. The thought of a good paying job and having a G35 6MT sedan, and then the thought of monthly payments, oof. I will still check online to see what 2005-06 G35 6MT sedans exist, but then i start running into these mega clapped-out, trashed examples being sold. Further, the whole sydeshow culture is a magnet for these cars, as they’re cheap, high powered, and rear-wheel drive. They all get ripped to shreds in the “pit,” and many are also easily stolen and taken on joyrides, then set on fire and abandoned. It really pains to see how the car, and brand, has been cornered into this status.
Nissan Altima: It wasn’t supposed to be a bad car, it was supposed to compete with other mid-sized family sedans. However, it seems like it’s fallen into this category of “Altima drivers,” and you suddenly bring the car down a few notches. Along with it are the demographics who own it, the driving styles of those demographics, and the overall combination just ruined the car. I know Nissan is struggling, and this just adds more salt to the wound.
Without a doubt, the AE86.
What was once a cheap, decent-handling platform with a fairly extensive motorsports background has now been reduced to “le tofu drift car!!!” and has been priced out of the hands of most enthusiasts as such. Every time I tell people I love the AE86, I have to clarify that it’s NOT because of Initial D. Not to mention, many have likely fallen victim to fans of said anime, and been turned into scrap metal after being slid into a light pole. Not to mention, the glorification and resulting pushback against the car, reducing it to nothing other than “the corolla people spend 30k on because of an anime”. A number of it’s (primarily younger) fans act like it’s a handling god, even though Keiichi Tsuchiya himself said it had a tendency to understeer. Perhaps I’m just rambling at this point, but it does hurt to have a car I love so dearly (it IS the car that got me into cars, after all) be surrounded by such a cynical rhetoric .
That being said, a vast majority of actual AE86 owners appear to be fairly grounded, and great people.
(Note I said a majority – I had an argument with one who INSISTED that a 3S-GE swap would “ruin the balance” of the car.)
So perhaps it is just the keyboard warriors and 12-year old reality-rejecting fanboys that ruin the car, but either way, I can’t help but feel like it can all be traced back to Initial D. I don’t particularly wish the anime never existed, as if that were the case, the car may not have been mainstream enough for me to learn about it, but there are times I wish Shigeno had chosen a different car for Takumi to drive.
That being said, I still can’t help but love it, and still intend to own one some day.
Pop culture ruins absolutely everything, cars included, period. Why ? Because it brings cars down to some stupid storytelling that becomes more important to people than the actual reality of those cars. Result, any rust bucket becomes the center of the attention because it was featured in a random popular movie, even though it’s obviously not so great. The epitome of that being the DMC12 and Back to the Future. When it comes to Japanese cars, the case is even more complicated because the western world got to know them thanks to pop culture, would it be mangas, anime or video games, so from the get go they were perceived as much more extraordinary than they honestly were in real (in a totally exaggerated way). AE86 from Initial D, check, and GT-R from GT1, check, stupid A80 and R34 from awful F&F, check, you name it. Personally, I just can’t stand those cars anymore (especially A80s) because of that, even though we suffer less from F&F reference in Europe. The way fandom built its own mythology about those cars is so cringy, with all those YouTuber feeding the process, spreading the references, etc. It just reached a point where it’s ridiculous. Bottom line, any car that has an aura that is way above it’s real qualities is ruined for me, and it includes most of those already mentioned in the previous answers. If you drive around in a movie car replica, you’re not cool (except if you use it to bring smiles to kids), you’re cringy. And it goes from “Fujiwara Tofu Ten” hachi guys to silver James Bond Aston Martin DB5 (not DB4 though) with fake guns bloke. Grow up guys !
I have to agree with the AE86, not just because the prices have gotten ridiculous, but because Initial D has overshadowed all of the (real life) incredible cars and drivers throughout the history of that car. If you want to see real AE86 drifting, go watch Ueo win the D1 championship against cars with 4x the power
And for the love of god, the world does not need another Fujiwara Tofuten replica
I leave my rant with this-
I’m going to take this question a different direction by connecting how cost is driven by pop culture. Pop culture has absolutely ruined the R34 Skylines by granting them a status so legendary that it has driven the prices to a level more ridiculous than they reasonably should be.
JNC’s in general.