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So when the club disbanded in 1999, that presented opportunities for members of the club to go into other ventures. Maybe it was timing or maybe it was just a coincidence, but it’s worth noting that a lot of the top tuners in the country got their start in car clubs like the Midnight Club. But just as street racing’s popularity waned at the turn of the decade, the aftermarket tuning scene started to explode in Japan. It even pre-dates the glorious era of street racing in the ‘80s and the ‘90s. To be clear, the Japanese tuning scene has existed for a long time. The conflict ended up injuring several bystanders, and it is believed that the single incident spelled the end of the Midnight Club, in part because the conflict violated one of the club’s most important rules on safety. According to reports at that time, a Bosozoku gang - Japanese motorcycle gangs - interfered with a Midnight Club run in 1999. The demise of the Midnight Club closed the chapter on Japan’s golden age of street racing. Likewise, local governments adopted traffic laws that prevented street racers from going about their business the way they used to. Between a few high-profile incidents - including one that caused the end of the Midnight Club - and inherent dangers of the sport, the police began going after street racers, slapping them with heavy fines and potential jail time if they were caught. For Japanese street racing, the end began in the latter part of the ’90s when law enforcement authorities started cracking down on street racing. Looks like a ton of fun.Street racing in Japan reached its apex in the 1980s and 1990s, but like most golden ages, there’s a start and an end to it. I really hope one day we aren't talking about events like this with rose tinted glasses.because they no longer exist. I hope to revive that with my own channel and content as I believe we have to try and preserve history. The real knowledge of automotive tuning and driving technique is dying. A lot of it is about social media now which is very unfortunate. It's a tough balance to achieve, but the track is always where the biggest gains happen.ĭrifting has definitely changed and so has motorsport in general. The difference is that tracks and events cost money which many of us don't have when we are young. With the amount of venues there are now I don't think there is a need to go to the street anymore and think it actually slows the learning curve down if you have access. It gets very very wild when people start running cars hard in the mountains. I can't say too much, but I was a part of a large boom in the Southen California area ~2005-2009. Japan has 90% LOST its' story, copying rather than competing, and still in the wake of the wrong Germans (Benz, BMW, Audi, and the wrong side of VW). Even a Jeep/Bronco has more sports car reality than a new NSX or Lexus or Nissan or, or. Don't blame EV's either - what people need is "Mobility Solutions" since no one can drive well anymore, what people want is "Popular Lifestyle Products" since taking a chance on a new idea is so scary, and the last true sports cars are Ariels, Radicals, Miatas, 911/718, Camaros, Caddi CTSV/Alfa QV, and a handful of hatchbacks - most of which are German or Korean. Sure today a one off hypercar might show up daily driven to your local gas station, but back then clocking a sports car, much less a tuned unicorn, was a rare and dreamy experience. But the true tuners, racers, mechanics, collectors, and enthusiast veterans all started with a picture book or two. START with Option Auto, make your way to the obscure mechanics diaries pamphlets without pictures or color that taught people how to put your larger but still wrong wrench into a freezer, blowtorch the back of panels and rolling paint cans over empty wheels, and tuning the tuned Solex and Mikuni with fine grid paper.Ĭar culture is pretty when you have posies in your pockets. Books were boring? There's a skyscraper filled with MAGAZINES and technical books that predated everyone's first car, especially in Japan. No way did you live out Japan's glory days.
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