Rice Rocket
So what comes to mind when you hear the term Rice Rocket? Do you think of a sleek, fine tuned modified asian import car with a sporty body kit, or do you think of a 16 year old white kid in a beat up old Honda Civic who thinks he has a ricerocket just because he put a soup can on the end of his muffler? There are a lot of opinions on the definition of rice rocket, and I like to entertain all views. Rice rockets can be amazing pieces of machinery or rediculous jokes, but ultimately the quality of the rice rocket depends on the owner.
Rice Rocket: So what is the rice rocket? Rice Rocket is a loose term coming out of the 1990's used to describe asian import cars that have been upgraded, modified, or fine tuned. Rice rockets are made to race, look stylish or unique, or to be a 'trophy car' that simply looks amazing at shows but is rarely driven or raced. It is not unusual to sink many thousands of dollars into a rice rocket between buying a new engine, transmission, engine mounts, axles, and so on. And that doesn't even begin to take account for the costly bill of visually modifying a rice rocket. Paint jobs, body kits, glow kits, tinting, rims, chrome accessories, sound systems, and other costly aftermarket improvements bring the final price tag on a well modified rice rocket to an astounding price. Rice rockets have been quickly losing popularity over the last decade, much in part due to the trend of new cars being factory produced with high performance parts and high power engines coming stock. Subarus, Scions, Volkswagons and Toyotas coming to the market have been rapidly displacing the rice rocket community, and Honda Civics, Acura Integras, Mitsubishis, and other classic rice rocket car models are rapidly falling out of popularity and becoming a rare sight to see a well maintained rice rocket. The few rice rockets you still see on the road show thier age well, clearly being a 1990's era modified asian import. The term rice rocket is now used largely to describe asian import street bikes and asian motorcycles, which are quickly gaining popularity with the old rice rocket community and new fans alike. Rice rockets are a dying breed, but will probably never fully disappear from the roadways and racetracks. Many of the old rice rocket fans will always have a soft spot in thier heart for a well maintained, fine tuned, heavily modded import asian rice rocket.
Rice Rocket
Ricerocket: Ricerocket seems to be a dying word these days. In the late 1990's, the asian import car, AKA the ricerocket community, was in it's hayday. Honda Civics and Acura Integras ruled the road and roared past other vehicles. Today, many stock cars come out to the market well tuned and powerful, leaving the most desirable trait of the ricerocket, ease of tuning and upgrades, defunct. Ricerockets are few and far between, and many of them were modded and upgraded in the 1990's and are showing thier age. Ricerockets have a hard time competeing with modern Volkswagons, Subarus, and other sporty car models. The ricerocket is a dying breed, but remains a marker of the time that the nation was infatuated with tuning, modding, and racing asian import cars. R.I.P., ricerockets.
Ricerocket
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