roof racks may look stupid on a lowered si, or teg or whatever, but at least they're serving a purpose. i don't know about snow boards in the summer though.

there's still a prominent hellaflush scene, i think, and they're ridiculous, but i don't hate on it. if you go down south to florida and texas and i don't know where else, the general public still loves their 30" chrome wheels with the lowest possible profile tire on their escalades and chevy avalanches. i'm not sure which is worse.

i'm happy to say that every mod on my car has a performance benefit, even if it's negligible and way overpriced. i got intake and exhaust first and i can't even tell if my car is faster, but i'm in love with the sound. new wheels i probably got based on looks and not performance, even though they're lighter and stronger than the stockies.

but i do know what the OP is saying about today's trend. i love love love an understated stock looking, but definitely not stock car that looks great but also has performance benefit. that way the general public might not notice that your car is modified, but an enthusiast absolutely will.

 

I see what you basically posted:

-A lowered car
-OEM styling
-Different Wheels
-HIDs

That's all I see on the streets really now. Maybe its because its hard for a lot of people to find good jobs so they can't spend the money on cars like they used to

 

<-- Also puzzled by the roof rack trend. Seems strange that a lot of the guys with VW's and some Civics are coming out of the woodwork to embrace their bicycling hobbies by putting roof racks on their cars. Funny though, every time I see one I never see any bikes on it...

 

for aftermarket cosmetic stuff on s2k's, mostly i've seen front lips, maybe hardtop, rims, drop. rarely vinyl, unless it's the entire car, rarely see wings, just mostly lip spoilers (bys, oem, tamon, veilside, etc), full bodykits are usually tasteful but they are rare also. the s2000 has avoided ricing well, except for the kobe one that was found on craigslist the other day.

 

what's s2ki becoming....................

 

I am an avid biker and see no issue with the bike racks. I plan on putting a hitch on my CR so I can have a bike rack on the back of it, also for a small tire trailer. Maybe a portion of the bike rack theme is due to cost. Economy is coming up but not quick... Let's face it a decently fast Mt. Bike can be had for under $5k. How much does $5k get you in the car world??? No matter what people do with their cars someone thinks it's the worst thing in the world. Without diversity there is no tuning world.

 

I know right? People giving opinions about cars and car related topics... oh how far we have drifted away from talking about cars and car related topics. Terrible... just simple terrible!

 

"Ass-pirational" modding seems to be a coming thing, mass market cars picking up features like LED running lights from Audi or the bold paint scheme from a Porsche GT3 RS. Probably started with the BMW angel eye mod.

 

I had no idea there was a roof rack trend. This is the first I've heard of it.

As for modding I'd rather see cars with small cosmetic changes than the types of cars we saw last decade with stickers, terrible body kits, fake hood scoops, random horribly-placed neon or LED lights, Erector-set spoilers that stick up 3 feet, etc. etc.

 

I see them all the time. I saw two civics and an rsx-s yesterday with them. No bikes.