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Sergio Guevara
English 1A
Professor Ogden
















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The Secrets of Car Culture
For the average speed nut, car culture is something of everyday life. Whether its driving
from work, school or simply going out. The car is their pride and joy and it ultimately is the
representation of its creator and the environment in which it was created. Aside from the average
everyday car and driver this fascinating culture impacts everyones life by the technology
introduced into daily driven cars.
From the streets and highways to the tracks and airstrips of your city and even up to the
legendary Formula 1 cars of the 24 hours of Le Man racing series, this misunderstood culture is
seen everywhere. This paper will cover street car culture how people create ordinary looking
everyday cars into monster speed kings of the road; A bit of the basics of cars and how
automotive sports require more than just sitting behind the wheel and turning; A bit of history
and technology brought on by the intense racing of 24 hours of Le Man and Formula 1 Series.
This is meant to immerse people into the lives of the Picassos of cars and to demonstrate the
complicated works of art these machines truly are to these people.
Would you drive a car built by a teenager in his parents driveway? Probably not.
Modifying your vehicle has no age limit. All it takes is some dedication, time and of course a
large sum of money to dump on your little bundle of joy. Corbin Goodwin from YouTube
channel /Drive, at the time a 19 year old pizza delivery boy purchased and old beat up 1984
Mazda RX7 for around 350$. What he did to this vehicle is simply turn it into a joke, a really fast
thirteen thousand dollar joke. The exterior of the vehicle seems like its falling apart. It has
interior parts sticking out of the hood and a speedometer outside on top of the hood. Anyone
would glance at this vehicle and expect it to break down or to be able to barely run at all. Never
have people been so wrong.
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This is a perfect example of cars resembling their owners. Goodwin managed to
leave the exterior rusty and old but under the hood this car outputs 400 horse power. With a
brand new Mustang engine replacing the old and numerous racing and high performance parts
working in unison to control the raw power of his car Goodwin created his own work of art. A
joke on the outside that means serious business under the hood.
Our planet rotates at 1000 miles per hour and orbits our sun at 67,000 miles per hour. We
move so fast and smoothly that we feel nothing standing here on earth. So what is it that these
people are so fascinated by? What is it that they want to experience by driving fast? The answer
is simple, what they are really seeking is rapid changes in acceleration. Acceleration is not only a
change in speed but also a change in direction whether it be left or right. Being able to brake fast,
drift the car sideways or turn at ridiculous speeds around a corner while maintaining perfect
control of the car are really all forms of acceleration. Oddly enough Goodwin and I think alike as
he says in his video, You just kind of take it corner by corner. It reminds you every day that you
may die at any moment.
That statement can be a reality check for all drivers. I managed to speak to my good
friend Isaac Vigil that shares the same love and passion for cars and who drives a rather quick
vehicle, a Mitsubishi Evolution GSR. Upon speaking about cars we stumbled onto a grim topic.
The crash and death of Professional race car driver Roger Rodas, this is the same crash that
killed passenger Paul Walker. Like Vigil stated, The news hit close to home, although they were
driving an expensive Carrera GT we all like fooling around in our cars. When a friend gets a new
car the first thing we do is get in and test out the car to its full extent on the street. How fast does
it go? Lets find out. Ive done that weve done that. I encourage everyone to keep the racing on
the track.
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We now know what a car can be transformed into by a 19 year old, but what can a car be
transformed into in the hands of a person with more resources and experience? Frank Profera,
also interviewed on YouTube channel /Drive said Ive always looked at cars for acceleration
rather than top speed. By this he means that pretty much any car can reach 100 miles per hour
but the real question is, how fast can you get there? Profera has had fast cars, one of them being
the Ford RS200 Evolution that he built with 900 horse power that went from 0-60 miles per hour
in under two seconds. His dream car goes even faster. He bought the car of his dreams and took
it to the shop that has taken six years of his life to modify to his liking. His pride and joy is a
Lotus Exige with around 680 wheel horse power. The car has been modified to be 9 inches wider
than factory default to retain better traction of the road. It accelerates around a corner faster than
almost any car available. In fact it accelerates faster around a corner than most speed bikes.
Profera is a perfect demonstration of the great lengths of dedication someone is willing to
reach to attain their perfect car. Likeminded people will gather at car meets to show off their
beauties and hang around others with the same love for cars. Wherever you may live you might
hear once in a while a load roar of an engine or the screeching of tires, well be assured that a car
meet might happen in your city.
Car meets are not always founded and brought up by a couple of men and women at a
parking lot. Sometimes they are sponsored by companies such as BLOX Racing. BLOX is a
company that manufactures performance parts for import vehicles. They host a meet called
BLOX Evolution at their company headquarters that has grown in size over the years. According
to Mike Garrett author for Speedhunter.com, the event has grown so large that the venue for the
meet is now held in a warehouse at Pier 70 in the Port of San Francisco. Car meets this large
hold a plethora of different types of vehicles that will satisfy anyones taste.
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For others nothing will beat the smell of burnt tires and the sounds of roaring V8s on
nice early Spring morning. Racetrack days, days dedicated for car enthusiast or pure family fun
meant to showcase sports cars and track modified cars and of course a view of a good race
around the track by professional drivers. I have had the privilege to attend one of these events.
The 40
th
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach an event that jam packs 7 racing events into one high
octane weekend for everyone. Events like these show cars of every type battle it out on the race
track. Cars can range from everyday cars on the streets to exotic cars custom built by race teams.
By now you can see that cars isnt all about getting behind the wheel of the most
expensive sports car you can buy. It requires one to know the vehicle they are driving and if
given the chance to be able to modify it to your liking.
Lets veer your attention to a more professional scene. The 24 Hour of Le Man, this is
literally a 24 hour race around a track. This race started off in 1923 and has taken place almost
every year for the exception of an 8 year hiatus due to World War II. Its main focus is reliability
efficiency and speed. The event has under gone some drastic changes over the course of its years.
But the basic concept has remained the same. Whoever can cover the longest distance over the
course of twenty four hours is the winner.
This event is where many car manufactures built the foundations for their name.
Manufactures were able to demonstrate technological breakthroughs regarding safety, efficiency,
and performance that innovated the consumer market for vehicles.
One great example of some of Le Man innovations is vehicle headlights.
Le Man was one of the first racing evens to feature racers in a night time environment. This
scenario posed a great problem for racers as early headlights shut off or simply did not function
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during the race. Luckily enough by the 1960s Iodine Vapor headlights were introduced to the
race and thereafter to the public. Since then headlights have changed drastically. Iodine Vapor
lights were quickly replaced by Halogen, then Xenon Discharge to the most recent LED lighting.
LED lighting is something you can see hitting the roads jut recently. Next time youre on the
freeway take a look at your rear view mirror. If you see weird bright but not blinding lights from
the car behind you, they are probably LED lights that aluminate more of the road in front of the
car and on the sides.
Many other innovations have sprouted due to Le Man. Such as aerodynamics of the car
that not only make the car lighter but produce downforce to keep the car glued to the floor at
high speed. Engine types have also been renovated to not only achieve greater speeds but also
assist in fuel economy. Turbo charged engines and supercharged engines were also introduced by
Le Man. Brakes were enhanced due to safety reasons and higher speeds achieved by these cars.
Disc brakes were improved with air brakes. Anti-lock braking systems were slowly introduced to
consumer cars due to Le Man to keep cars from losing control while turning and braking. By the
late 1990s reinforced carbon brakes were brought up to ensure better stopping and reliability.
Finally now, electric cars have been introduced to the scene with full electric motors or
hybrid versions that have cut their fuel emissions by half or zero. In 2014 the first Formula E
racing series will be brought into public view as a new class of full electric formula racing cars.
This misunderstood culture is truly seen everywhere whether you are into racing or not,
your vehicle has been somewhat altered by the intense speeds these cars have gone through
racing on the 24 hours of Le Man.

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Paragraph
Fascinated by speed and acceleration, like Neil DeGrasse Tyson once said in a Car and Driver
magazine You want speed? Weve got it in the cosmos. By this he means that the earth rotates
at around 1000 miles per hour while orbiting the sun at 67,000 miles per hour. Lets not forget
that the sun also orbits the center of the Milky Way at 450,000 miles per hour. We move so
smoothly that here on earth we feel nothing. So what am I so fascinated by? What is it that I
want to experience by driving fast? Well, the answer is simple. What I really seek is rapid
changes in acceleration.
Lets turn to simple physics, acceleration is not only a change in speed but also a change
in direction. This is why banking around corners and tight turns is so fun. This is truly how I see
driving, I connect it to subjects like Tyson has connected it to physics.








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Works Cited
deGrasse Tyson, Neil. Seed. Car and Driver. August 2014:33. Print.
Garrett, Mike. Bay Area Style: The Car Meet Evolved. SpeedHunters. Electronic Arts INC. 21
Jul 2014. Web. 2 Aug.2014
Jancer, Mathew. The Ninth Annual:How it Works Issue. Popular Science. April 2014: 36-37.
Print.
Moore, Jonathan. 106 Years Of Road-racing At Le Mans. SpeedHunters. Electronic Arts INC.
21 June 2012. Web. 2 Aug.2014
Moore, Jonathan. A Light In The Dark: Aston Martins Le Mans. SpeedHunters. Electronic
Arts INC. 26 June 2013. Web. 2 Aug.2014
"Weekly auto agenda: Le Mans". The Independent. 11 June 2010. Web. 2 Aug.2014
The World's Fastest Lotus? Youtube.Youtube.com. 20 Mar. 2012. Web. 2 Aug. 2014
The Zero F**ks Given RX7. Youtube.Youtube.com. 11 Feb 2013. Web. 2 Aug. 2014