I think my problem with the general sport-import crowd is that someone told them that those cars are fast and they believed it without actually researching it. I actually had a fake EVO try to race me the other day while I was on my friend's Hyabusa 1300. Hmmm.. me: 0-60 in 2.3 with my front wheel in the air. him: 0-60 in 12 seconds with a hot clutch.
When I was young, I liked what I liked and it didn't matter; just like today's young crowd. I can respect that, but when they start thinking that their car is the absolute best at everything without knowing the facts behind it, that to me is a ricer. I have six cars. Only three run, but they all serve a purpose. I know every one of their strengths and weaknesses, and I don't race people when I'm in my 86-hp 1965 IH scout. Its a rock crawler with a four cylinder, not a race car.
I do appreciate the specific output those small engines make, but the fact remains that the same thing can happen with our big V8s. We choose not to most of the time because it hurts streetability and if we all got 100hp/L, I'd have a few 800-hp cars
I view them much like I view SUVs. Take a vehicle that is designed for a certain purpose, then completely re-configure it for an application it was not intended to serve. I don't mind that (in fact I do it myself with some of my cars) but it has to be done right. I have a friend-of-a-friend who has an Integra R and he spent massive amounts of money adding a turbo, intercooler, custom suspension parts, and since he owns a machine shop it is all unique and well-designed stuff. Unlike most of the cookie-cutter stuff kids buy these days. The net result is a very powerful car with a very understated appearance. He runs low 12s (which is very respectable for FWD) so he's on par with a slightly modified camaro. The car looks fast because I know he chose the wheels for their light weight, not their bling. He chose not to put a wing on because at it would add the improper downforce for what he's doing.
I define trash as a person who assigns too much value (either financial or personal) to an item that is not worthy of it.
I define a ricer as a person who ignorantly ascribes greater performance value to his/her car than is actually there. I'm all about looking good, and the sport import crowd has every right to make their cars look good in the way they wish, but just be honest about what's under the hood. Don't buy parts you don't need to make it look like its a better car.
Its a form of ignorance... and I don't mean that in a bad way. It comes from just not knowing the truth about cars and how they work. I turned 16 in 1989 and my first car was an 83 Celebrity. With the exception of swapping hubcaps from a Buick to get wire spokes, I didn't waste my time on it. I did try flipping the air cleaner cover to get more power out of the 2.8 V6
My next car was a 91 Beretta GT. Although worthy of some modding, I didn't. It was a front-drive V6 car. I saved up for some good 6x9s and 6.5" speakers so I could have some good sound quality music. Of course by that time, I was so passionate about cars that I couldn't learn enough, so I knew that putting all that money into a Celebrity or Beretta would be somewhat of a waste.