WRONG/RICE BURNER!

[JJINHART@xxxxxxxxx (John Hart)]

    I guess the number of posts on the issue of tarted-up Japanese cars
reveals a level of emotion I've never seen on the digest.  I don't mean
to argue the specifics, or be politically correct, but there are two
things that need to be addressed: 1) BMW's are Bahn-burners, but there
is no racial stereotyping in saying that, is there.  Equating Japanese
or even Korean cars with rice is a derivation of negative comments about
Japanese motorcycles, and that in turn revealed long held stereotypes
about Oriental cultures.  
     Are our American cars imported and bought/not bought in Japan and
Europe because we are a bunch of burger oil burning, capitalist world
dominating gun toting rednecks?  Do they have big laughs/insults when we
show off our brash individualism through material possessions, which,
whether expressed through our cars, movies or materialism, is as brash
and jaded as anywhere and anything.  If they do, its largely because we
did it better in the 50's and sixties, with our undiluted muscle cars,
than with all our money going overseas to try and outdo our past (which
these other culture's cars seem to be doing well at).
      2 (shorter rant):  If all those Oriental cars are driven to excess
with non functional options, what then of BMWs, stock and aftermarked?
Can anyone justify the M-3 functionally inferior side mirrors as
anything other than styling (remember that excess is a matter of
taste..but you get half the mirror, and twice the appendage-looks.looks.
looks....and what of BMW "wings", clear lenses and markers (ha, ha, what
do they do in Germany,,,import US/DOT spec plastics?}to be different?  I
have to laugh at the Z8's neon tail lamp markers...gee, how many small
Japanese cars made a go with neon about 5-10 years ago, at $500, versus
150.000?!?!!  
     BMWs can be made into nauseating overkill burners with those stupid
exhausts that sound like low flying aircraft, power chips that
necessitate super unlead, wonderful wheels and tires that have no winter
capacities or (alloy) strength over bumps..just as many functional
trade-offs, in short, as making a 72 Datsun into a Puerto Rican Shriners
Parade lead car.  
      At least most of those cars will be running in twenty years, and I
hear their owners have great affinity with each other.  Has anyone seen
similar consistency and camaderie among BMW owners...it seems more like
"we're better because we have more money"!

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