A judge has banned "car cruise" events in the West Midlands in a crackdown on "boy racers". But what can be said in their defence?
For years sleep has been disturbed by the sound of subwoofers and screeching tyres. Up to 250 cars have been blocking parts of the Black Country Route - which links Wolverhampton, Walsall, Dudley and Sandwell, preventing the sleep-deprived residents from leaving or entering their homes.
There have been 31 accidents and four deaths linked to events there over the past few years, according to Wolverhampton City Council. But a judge at Birmingham High Court has now banned car cruises. The engines have been turned off.
But beneath the speed and the aggression lies a genuine subculture - as strong in the UK as it is in North America and many other countries. There's a core of hobbyists who plough their wages into modifying their cars, who meet at organised gatherings to show off their souped-up vehicles. They are people who "park and pose". They say there are no races, no tyre-smoking doughnut manoeuvres and a number of women behind the wheels.
The one thing the hobbyists don't want to be called is "boy racers". They are adamant that they are not the people involved in illegal and dangerous street racing.
"We're just a group of people who have an interest," says Terri Young, who runs a car and bike group with an interest in Japanese manufacturers that meets on Brighton seafront every Tuesday night.
"I race on a track, because that's where it should be done. Not on a road. My car is my baby - I don't want her damaged and I don't want to behave like an idiot."
Young's car of choice for the night is a bright pink Nissan Cefiro. It has lowered suspension, a large spoiler and big blue wheel trims. Inside there are racing seats, a bespoke safety harness, a pink gear knob and a 2.5 litre turbo engine that once belonged in a much more powerful car.
She owns five cars, while her husband has four.
Becky Smith's Subaru Impreza Sport is parked alongside. It is green - the same colour as the Kermit the Frog soft toy that sits on her parcel shelf.