The world of cruisers, modders and boy racers
By Lucy Townsend BBC News
BBC News Magazine
"It was a form of self-expression, and it's about getting the girl. We would see all these spotty young guys with really pretty girlfriends who were clearly way out of their league, and it was all because of their cars."
There are three main aspects to modifying a car, the enthusiasts say. The tuning - the mechanics and engine power. ICE - the in-car entertainment systems. And finally, the styling - the racing seats, the lowered suspension and the spoilers.
"The scene waned hugely from mid-2005 to 2010 but I think it's coming back," adds Sootheran. "It got too mainstream. There were the Fast and Furious movies, Pimp My Ride on TV, probably Max Power contributed too.
"I compare it to the rave scene of the early 90s. It lost its cool".
The Black Country is not the first area to enforce an injunction, which prohibits two or more vehicles gathering between 15:00 and 07:00.
"It's a problem everywhere," says councillor Elias Mattu, who oversaw the case. "Many of our surrounding councils have taken similar action. It's been a long time coming."
Apart from residents and the law, the drivers have had to contend with other issues.
Speed bumps have proved problematic - many of the drivers had lowered their suspension so much that they couldn't drive over them.
Supermarkets also started installing barriers to try to stop cruisers and modders gathering in the car parks for events.
"We meet at the local retail park, purely for the fact there are toilets and food," says Craig Colwell, who runs Eastbourne car club Coastal Cruiserz.
"[It] has newly installed ramps which come up at 10pm as well as the lights going off at 10pm. We chose to park here so we are not drawn into the boy racer crowd that is nearby, but everyone labels us as boy racers and these new measures were put into place regardless."
Of course, for every legitimate car fan there is a racer, out to annoy.
People living in Knightsbridge, one of London's wealthiest areas, each summer face an influx of young men who race their Ferraris and Lamborghinis in the streets around Harrods.
And the residents of the Black Country suffered every weekend for years, as cars raced, skidded and spun.
For now though, the smell of burning rubber has gone.
The Black Country car meets, or cruises, were a much wilder affair than the one on Brighton seafront, where the engines are turned off and you have to use hazard lights when pulling up.
Groups would gather in car parks - often at supermarkets or McDonald's. They would show off, perform tricks and light up the road with the LED strips beneath their bumpers.
"In the old days they would spend £1,000 or £2,000 on a Nova or a Corsa and then £10k on doing it up," says Sootheran.
Terminology
Modding: To tweak the design of a vehicle for style, speed, handling - such as lowering the suspension, adding alloy wheels, souped-up engines and spoilers
Spoilers: An add-on which aims to enhance the aerodynamic features. Mostly mounted on the back of the car, it aims to creates downforce on the rear wheels, helping to maintain grip
Burnout: When the front or back wheels of the stationary car spin rapidly, creating smoke
Doughnut manoeuvre: Driving stunt which involves spinning a car continuously through 360 degrees to leave a circular skid-mark pattern of rubber on the road. Can be dangerous.
This is how the rest of the UK see Car Enthusiasts so its time for us to make a change. Its clear to see Street Racing has become an issue and has tarnished the rest of the scene.
TeamWolf belives we should follow the examples of Just Japs and leave the racing to the tracks and keep the Cruise Scene alive !!!!!!!!