My thoughts regarding this forum

[WRBlue]

Originally Posted by Black Yaris

basicly you two are useing the term as it was long, long ago, when it was a bad thing to own an imported car from Japan. Using rice to descibe all japanese vehicles faded with other other terms of the period "rad", "Awsome", "grody", as well as parachute pants and Vanilla Ice.

Exactly. Saved me from typing the same thing. I only hear old guys going through a midlife crisis and owning a vette/viper/old muscle car or hillbillys using rice to describe japanese cars anymore.

Rice in that useage was already out by the time of Vanilla ;)

????? When was it a bad thing to own an imported car from Japan?

Any time before about 1982. Until the gas crisises of the 70s, Japanese cars almost didn't exist here, and thoes that did were like the Subaru 360 - barely enough power to move.
In the 70s, people bought them, but they wern't cool and were un-american. Hell people thought they caused the rampant inflation and recession in the late 70s to mid 82. But by then, all american cars were total crap and people realized that Japanese cars wern't crap so using rice to describe Japanese cars died. By the early 90s, rice came to mean what it means today - show cars that think they are fast i.e. unfuctional mods, unfunctional go-fast parts, stupid owners, etc.

[kurokoma-kun]

Originally Posted by WRBlue

In the 70s, people bought them, but they wern't cool and were un-american.

people called them rice burners I think?

[Yaris Revenge]

Originally Posted by kurokoma-kun

people called them rice burners I think?

because they were Japaneses and ran on so little fuel, compared to domestics.

~YR

[churp]

Originally Posted by WRBlue

...
Any time before about 1982. Until the gas crisises of the 70s, Japanese cars almost didn't exist here, and thoes that did were like the Subaru 360 - barely enough power to move.
In the 70s, people bought them, but they wern't cool and were un-american. ......

I can only assume your parents hadn't met yet at that time. Here's a short history each within a year or two in the US.....Datsun and Toyota had a full line of cars in the late 60's including pickups, Honda introduced the 600's in '71, Civic in '73, Accord in '76, Prelude in '78....Datsun (I had a '67 411 with factory dual carbs) the famous 510 introduced in 68, 1600 & 2000 roadsters in late 60's also, 240Z '70, 260Z '72, 280Z '74, 280ZX '78......Toyota Celica introduced in '74, Supra in '79....Think Mazda came to the US in early '70s and the RX7 came in "79. I'm sure I missed some of the early 'rice', but you get the picture, and every one of them except the Honda 600's and the rotary, mechanically outlasted nearly every American car produced then.

Quite a few of these existed before the 1st gas crisis (winter of 73/74) and dealers couldn't stock enough 240Z's (some stupid American dealers even stuck vinyl tops on them just to make money...they were a sure sell).