Car Appreciation.

My encounter with a young adult compelled me again to write about something. Don’t you hate it when you see these younger individuals, those who are given just a few tasks to do but often fail to do so. Those who fail to see the complexity of life in general or the inability to see their faults.

Some would contest that they became successful behind parents who are so lax and liberal. Some on the other hand stand by their achievements and believe that strict parents have contributed to what they are. 

I on the other hand believe that it’s part upbringing and 75% IN YOU. If you’re lazy, and give little respect to the tasks at hand, and your responsibilities as a person, then I think one doesn’t need to be a prophet or a messiah to see your future. Question is, are men and women built this way nowadays?

This brings me to quickly relate such issue to our appreciation for cars. Is your appreciation for cars in general considered a “brat”? Confined, tunnel vision, on strictly JDM cars, Sport Compacts, Honda’s, Nissan’s, your cousins Evolution 9, your neighbours STi with 19 inch TE37s, your barkada’s K20 endowed Civic EK?

Or have you developed into a more mature, car appreciating individual, who has a taste for well built sports compacts, such as your Tito’s old school Corolla and his paborito: a 4g63 equipped fully restored Boxtype? Do you truly respect the amount of sweat, blood and tears in restoring a 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger or breezing through the recent Transport show, at awe at the beautiful classics of past which we owe so much from, laying the foundation for the cars which we enjoy today. Appreciating the panels, the trims, constantly asking, curious on how that guy brought in those hard to find parts and emblems for a car five times your age. Classic European cars of the 70’s and 80s, truly dominant during their time, and arguably the one true canvass which Japanese and Korean cars have patterned their vehicles to.

Did your heart beat faster as that Bentley Continental GT passed you at Sctex at 7am in the morning as you and your dad made your way to have breakfast at Subic, overly enthusiastic and narrative, on how it held the top speed record on ice. Truly tastes and appreciation mature, this is why I have a high regard for those in the online and print industry. Through them, and though their appreciation and interpretation as ultimately car-loving individuals, we are able to see through the metal, the plastic, the wood and the nuts and bolts of things.

The SIR. Hate it. Love It.

I recently had a conversation with a few friends at the supplier place. They were talking about a recent thread which came about at Tsikot.com, regarding a feud or probably a misunderstanding on some JDMU (JDM Underground) members. I’m not sure if its the same thread but it also talked about the Civic SIR. People were discussing, why a 12 year old car has such a high value under its belt. There were also comments such as driver attitude, generalizing all SIR owners as “Asses” on the road and such. Some comments also stated that its beyond the times already, and newer cars have already taken its place in terms of being the king of “Pocket Rockets” Another poster even chose the road of discussing purchasing power, and some comparing it to equivalent tuner cars such as the Lancer, Corolla and Sentra and their corresponding engine swaps.

I was fond of the thread because it was a time machine. Reading the thread felt like using the good old Internet Explorer rather than Chrome. It was like using my Acer Aspire with a Pentium 400 and a 3dfx Graphic Card, using a 800x600 CRT, and a mouse that had “bombolyas” (reference to Tulfo brothers as they threaten Mr. Raymart Santiago J ). On hand was a burger from Hotshots which was twice as large as it is today, and in the background your sister had her MP3 downloads of all the hottest boybands playing in her very thick IBM Laptop.

Truly it was like the 90’s as they discussed by people hate and love the SIR. I think this topic has been discussed a hundred times already.

For me it was rather simple, so simple that it’s almost embarrassing, but at the same time, I wanted to voice out something which current EK SIR owners might share with me. Please bear with me.

The EK SIR is a Casa released car with a potent but not great B16A engine. At that time, people got a taste of the Type R Engines B16B and B18c which were used by Honda on their sport models such as the CTR and Integra Typ R. Because it was assembled by Honda, not by some garage or a tuner, the SIR held its value well in the market as a factory released and valid pocket rocket. The aftermarket support was tremendous also during that time and up to now if I may say. It would take me a day to discuss the amount of parts available and the ease of access to it as compared to other car models, it was truly an affordable tuner car at that time. Being able to build an EK Hatchback a few years back courtesy of Splitsecond, no matter how perfect  the conversion is, no matter how complete the parts are, it can never compare in terms of feel and value to an SIR. People may disagree with me but it is what I truly felt. The handling, the suspension, the noise, how the steering felt, how the doors closed, you can never replace the precision of a casa as they say. As we fast forward, the SIR is being used at the car shows, reinventing itself through better parts and that wiretuck we oh so love, it still wins some car shows and time attacks, autocross events, drag events, featured at magazines and such, BUT looking at the whole picture as of 2012, it is NOT at the top of the food chain anymore. This is something our friends on the road and well, at the forums should understand. It may be the decade’s favourite tune car, but times have changed and there are newer and better things in the market.

A guy commented saying, that it became affordable, and more people can buy it now, there’s another saying that people who bought the SIR in the past, are now buying cars from PGA, and if you’re buying one now, you’re so late. Those statements are all true. But allow me to just share how the SIR’s character and value is so “against the flow” as we compare it to its similar counterparts, at sulit.com or the most basic form: Manilla Bulletin Sundays.

The SIR is 12 years old and is selling at around 350k to as much as 600k. Even more if it obviously has more parts. Got pocket change and balls to buy a 12 year old car for 500K? I salute you. For the same amount you can buy a 3 year old City, Jazz, Yaris, Vios, Swift.

A good friend of mine was telling me of a story of his customer already spending 300k, and yet he feels that his SIR is so bare. By the way, the owner also owns an 2011 STi. Now that for the parts.

Right now, I can think of 10 friends, single and married, who own executive sedans, SUVs, newer cars and such, but still has an SIR at their garage. Their common term when I talk to them: “Panlaro” "Pang-Porma" "Pampabata"

Economists forgive me, but I just wanted to use the term Performing Asset. The SIR is one. As a sideline, I’ve sold 3-4 SIRs together with a couple of VTis already in a year, mostly outside Manila, it truly is a money maker, it truly has value. Now that's demand!

As of now, I’m guilty of resto-modding one, with the right parts, I’m able to use it once or twice a week, I even use it for deliveries and going to the shops. My girlfriend hates it, it has no tint, it feels old, the knobs, switches, the fabric and dash are so 90s, but it gets me from point A to B with a little more excitement, very raw. It’s as reliable as my 2010 car. Good?

Analogy: If the AE86 was Japan's favorite tuner car, because of the abundance of parts, affordability, know-how and such.

I can readily say that the Civic SIR is the Philippine's "AE86". Its a tuner car that we all learned to love, beyond its age, and limitations, we all got a hold of it and loved it. :)