Let's Give it for the Middle-Ground!!! (a Y-TRY rant) - Lateral-g Forums

Y-TRY · #1 07-12-2005, 12:36 AM

I just want to give all props to the unappreciated middle-ground cars that will never get their due attention......

There is a weird middle ground with Hot Rods.... To be considered with some of the best cars you have to spend no less than $60k on your car to be acknowledged for your effort. Either that, or you have to build it in your garage for only $12.00 with homemade duct tape and bubble-gum.

I want to officially give honor to those of us who fall in-between:

We've done the best we could do within a certain budget. It may have been above many, but below many more. We can't qualify as "Cheap Street" but honestly can't compete with some of the super-cars out there with exponentially more resources. We can't do it ALL by oursleves, but also don't have any sponsors. So where do we fit?

I can't knock any of the super-duper cars out there built on budgets that eclipse my yearly income. I also can't knock the true car guys who have EARNED the ability to do all the things we would LOVE to do with our babies. But many of us farm-out what we can, and do the rest in our garage. It's all relative. Many of us CAN do the work but have limited time to do it, whereas a retired paint-and-body-guy has all the time in the world to invest in a project. I have come to peace with that.

The point is that all of our/your cars are worth the attention of everyone.
We all mold our dreams around what we can afford but the middle guys never get attention. We bust our butts and lose our friends and families to achieve the goals we set for our projects but will never make it in magazines, or to SEMA, even. We are satisfied with a genuine nod from a stranger at Sonic on any given Saturday night.

I WANT to hate the people with more resources than I have, but I know it's not fair to them. Every person I've met in that situation has been cool to me. I know I have more resources to apply to my car than others may have and I don't want to be despised for that. So I feel blessed for the gift of being able to contribute to my car, as should you, if you own a hobby-rod. I concede that my budget puts me out of range of many of the cars I admire, but even my low-budget is above tons of other aspiring car guys.

We are NOT forgotten. Even if our budgets put us in the middle-ground, our cars ARE worth attettion. We are no more, or less, passionate about or cars than those who get attention from the media sources we worship so dearly.

I'm wanting to speak to those of you who feel like your cars are dimenished, in ANY way, by the amount of resources your are able to contribute to them. Your cars are worthy beyond what you can imagine. Our budgets promote ingenuity that is unrivaled in the car community. We find the best and most effiecient ways to realize our goals. We should be PROUD of that, not ashamed that we couldn't do more.

Keep fighting the good fight, or 'wrenching' the good fight, and DO NOT be discouraged. I truly believe that everyone at Lateral-G feels the same way and supports us as we claw towards our goals.

race-rodz · #2 07-12-2005, 03:30 AM

T Bell · #3 07-12-2005, 06:24 AM

Amen.

**camcojb** · #4 07-12-2005, 07:34 AM

You know Nathan, I do not judge cars by the dollars invested in them. I like to see unique things, new ideas, and attention to detail. These can be done on any budget I believe.

Good rant!

Jody

Y-TRY · #5 07-12-2005, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by camcojb

You know Nathan, I do not judge cars by the dollars invested in them. I like to see unique things, new ideas, and attention to detail. These can be done on any budget I believe.

Good rant!

Jody

You are right. None of us judge solely on how much money was spent on a car. But I think my point is that most "unique" things tend to cost alot of money. The middle-ground I'm speaking of may not ever be able to compete with the Mule (sorry clill), for example, but don't get to be excused for imperfections as a car built on a shoestring, novel, budget would.

But thanks you guys for letting me rant about that. It seems I'm just having an identity crisis

**Steve1968LS2** · #6 07-12-2005, 04:35 PM

PHR just gave the cover to a $10k Nova for August.. and a $20k firebird for September..

So I wouldn't say "middle ground" cars don't get any love

rockdogz · #7 07-12-2005, 05:58 PM

Wow man that was beautiful!

What you said has solidified what I have been feeling after trying (and failing) to re-create (at some level, not exactly but in spirit) the look of those mega-buck builds. That's one thing I love about this site - those of us that do turn the wrenches can appreciate the work that goes on.

Scott, I think this manifesto needs to be saved for posterity!!

Derek69SS · #8 07-12-2005, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve1969LS1

PHR just gave the cover to a $10k Nova for August.. and a $20k firebird for September..

How about a $5,000 Chevelle for October?

...soon to be a $10,000 chevelle

69MyWay · #9 07-21-2005, 04:48 AM

You are saying what I have been thinking!

It is so easy to get jealous, or sour grapes over these high end pro-built seemingly budgetless rides. While there is nothing to pick away on the car, it is easy to pick at the owners who often don't turn wrenches themselves, or will rarely if ever even drive these cars. Sometimes that makes us feel better when we open our garage and look over our pile of homemade, recycled, modified, and re-engineered parts that has consumed our time, budget, and virtually every waking moment and we realize it will never be featured on a 360 display in the middle of SEMA.

I know what you mean though. I have invested much more into my projects than the average Saturday night cruiser around my town. I hope nobody ever looks at my creations and feels the same as I do when I look at these pro-built mega buck beautys.

Hey, it is much the same when you are driving across town and you end up in the "posh" neighborhood, or you are looking across at the river front multi-millino dollars homes asking yourself "What kind of people live there?......How do they afford that?......" I guess it is just where your passion is.

I take comfort in knowing that no matter how nice your stuff is, it is human nature to always want just a little more.

The guy that can build a hot rod, stand back and look at it and say. "It is truly finished...and I am happy" WINS.