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There are several different uses of the word custom, most of them are nouns, but what we all think of as custom is an adjective and is simply defined as made according to the specifications of an individual.
It seems that many of these individuals are taking the custom thing to an entirely new realm, a place where modifications are no longer classy or conducive to a quality build, a place where cutting for the sake of cutting is not only accepted but encouraged. We've all seen these vehicles at a show, some of you may even love them and think that they're bitchin or sick (someone has to love everything out there, otherwise they wouldn't have been built in the first place, right?). This subject has been brought up at every "cool kid" meeting we've had lately, so naturally it had to be addressed.
As I am a firm believer in the phrase To each his own, I realize customs wouldn't be where they are today without some out-of-the-box builds or modifications. Hell, many folks were against airbags in the beginning and now look at them-it's almost a necessity for a custom of any type. Change is what drives the custom market; there is no other way to look at it, so accept it. But not all change is good. For this month's trip into my mind, I want to complain about the joke-trends that seem to be running amuck in our already suffering corner of the industry.
Some of you will certainly remember the "grapefruit shooter" exhaust tips that plagued our car shows for what seemed like an eternity. Next came the "powered by" stickers, the "your mom" stickers, and the "powered by your mom" stickers that were far from cool. The somewhat-recent popularity of spinners will fall into this list as well. All of these so-called custom modifications saw their way into Pep Girls stores at one time or another. Listen here, marketing people at Pep-Girl-trend-chasers: There is no faster way to kill a trend than to make it available to anyone trying to change their own oil, replace a faulty taillight, or buy a Korean dirt bike. None of these mods started out nearly as ridiculous as they ended up, but the unavoidable need for so many testosterone-driven individuals to one-up anyone and everyone with a solid dose of "if a little is good, a lot must be better" drove these styles to the realm of straight-up retardation. It will never fail, as absurd as wearing a Band-Aid on your face just because it looks cool, someone will always jump on board of an innocent mod and beat it into an unrecognizable bloody mess in no time.
Style-killing mods don't always have to be anything ridiculous, they can be an otherwise perfectly accepted mod like a bodydrop just taken to the "if a little is good, then a lot must be better" point. For instance, not everything should be bodydropped to the doors. Really, it's true. I know that many of you are thinking how could I possibly think that; well, I've personally witnessed said mod destroying at least two trucks that had tons of potential up to that moment. I warned them both, but alas, they did not listen and both trucks were destroyed. When was the last time you saw a doored cover truck or even a feature truck for that matter? And that doesn't even address how goofy they look when raised up and driving! Take it from me, 2 inches is not worth killing the potential of an otherwise nice truck.
Maybe it's my age talking or maybe it's just frustration, but I really think that so many people are cutting things up just to say they did, not because it was something they liked or genuinely thought would look good. Nobody thinks a stock, mid-'80s Nissan motor looks good sticking out of a hood, but as long as it's bodydropped it is perfectly acceptable. Can someone please explain to me how that makes any sense?