Am I just getting old, or is my taste for custom cars that lean more toward classy and comfy than extreme and unsightly making me look like a codger? Regardless of what this geriatric-sounding reason may be, there are a handful of trends in the aftermarket automotive world that need to stop right away in order to keep the rest of us from gagging.
Now don’t get me wrong. I am not against modifying a car — I have modified every car I have ever owned and enjoy seeing people improving upon a manufacturer’s designs — but some of the crap that is popular today borderlines on being ridiculous, with the rest of it utilizing the word “dangerous.”
Certain mods remain merely a cosmetic “upgrade,” and are only cause for concern to anyone who wants to hold down their lunch. Then there are things like extreme negative suspension camber, which often goes well beyond aesthetics, with a lot of it teetering on the verge of being flat-out dangerous.
Unfortunately, the only downside to a fading fad is that there will always be another pointless and potentially dangerous trend to follow in its footsteps, so there is little hope that any of us will ever truly find respite from automotive abominations in our lifetime
This has to be one of the most American things ever created behind bacon-wrapped, deep-fried Twinkies on a stick. “Rolling coal” is a way in which diesel enthusiasts can boost power and fuel economy via series of modifications, and in turn churn out large amounts of soot-rich exhaust. The L.A. Times did a write-up on this recently that goes a bit more in depth, and while many diesel truck owners typically start with disabling the “Clean Burn Program” in the vehicle via chipping the computer, the list of modifications one can do are pretty endless if time and money permits.
Coal rollers say these carcinogenic clouds of crud are their form of “Prius repellent,” and after a bit of digging, we discovered that many states are working on making this blatant form of air pollution, with states like Indiana already issuing fines that top-out at $5,000.
Now don’t get me wrong. I am not against modifying a car — I have modified every car I have ever owned and enjoy seeing people improving upon a manufacturer’s designs — but some of the crap that is popular today borderlines on being ridiculous, with the rest of it utilizing the word “dangerous.”
Certain mods remain merely a cosmetic “upgrade,” and are only cause for concern to anyone who wants to hold down their lunch. Then there are things like extreme negative suspension camber, which often goes well beyond aesthetics, with a lot of it teetering on the verge of being flat-out dangerous.
Unfortunately, the only downside to a fading fad is that there will always be another pointless and potentially dangerous trend to follow in its footsteps, so there is little hope that any of us will ever truly find respite from automotive abominations in our lifetime
5. Rolling Coal
This has to be one of the most American things ever created behind bacon-wrapped, deep-fried Twinkies on a stick. “Rolling coal” is a way in which diesel enthusiasts can boost power and fuel economy via series of modifications, and in turn churn out large amounts of soot-rich exhaust. The L.A. Times did a write-up on this recently that goes a bit more in depth, and while many diesel truck owners typically start with disabling the “Clean Burn Program” in the vehicle via chipping the computer, the list of modifications one can do are pretty endless if time and money permits.
Coal rollers say these carcinogenic clouds of crud are their form of “Prius repellent,” and after a bit of digging, we discovered that many states are working on making this blatant form of air pollution, with states like Indiana already issuing fines that top-out at $5,000.
