26 Apr Let Your Freak Flag Fly

Let your freak flag fly: Honda enthusiasts are outside the norm. 

By Aaron Gaghagen 

Let face it, automobile enthusiasts are not normal people. We fill our minds with information about engine block designations, exhaust pipe diameters, cross model compatible brake and suspension parts, etc… The general public does not care about any of that stuff in the slightest. All they care about is if the car looks cool and/or it gets them where they’re going.

I was reminded of this when a coworker was telling me about his car (a Chevrolet Cobalt, yuck!) with a blown engine. My first thought after hearing about this was that there are probably thousands of these engines sitting in the yards and that he could probably even upgrade to the supercharged or turbocharged power plant from a SS for less than whatever the shop he would take it to wanted to charge him. However this was not his take on the situation, he didn’t care about any of that. All he wanted was the same engine installed by someone else for less than what the dealership wanted to charge him. What? Why?!? Then I remembered that contrary to my friends, Facebook, Instagram feed and YouTube suggested videos, automotive enthusiasts aren’t normal. 

Bone stock 1997 Acura Integra GS-R?!?!? BOING! I want that. Regular people just see a car. Photo courtesy of Acura

Being a Honda enthusiast pushes us even further from being from close to normal. The average person can see a Lamborghini and recognize it as a cool car, but we will see a stock Integra Type R or an unmolested EF8 and have the same reaction. They’ll see an Acura and some tiny Honda. In fact the average auto enthusiast doesn’t even get what is so great about owning/modifying/driving/racing a Honda, ESPECIALLY a front wheel drive one. 

Although there are glimpses of us being accepted by fellow auto enthusiasts in the mainstream. The last two years a front wheel drive Honda has earned a top ten spot in SEMA’s Battle of the Builders. This Spring media-wide the new Civic Type R has been getting mad love. I mean, how could they not? When you create the quickest Nurburgring lapping front wheel drive of all-time it’s difficult to ignore when it’s coming to the USA for the first time. 

Those instances of Hondas being shown love are the exception and not the rule. Honestly, I like it like that. Nothing is more satisfying than creating something that only a few of us will truly appreciate and understand that can occasionally upset the balance of the status quo. So, let your freak flag fly like a pair of middle fingers aimed at conventional thinking and let’s ride!

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Nothing but Hondas. That’s exactly what you’ll find at VTEC Academy. Not because some of the other automakers’ cars that inherently drain the life out of the driving experience bore us, but because Soichiro Honda’s passion for motorsports and his company’s ability to express that in the machines they produce make a whole lot of sense.

VTEC Academy is a place for Honda fans who feel the same way and who seek the most accurate technical information and commentary to continue that very legacy and make whatever Honda it is that they drive just a little bit better. And faster.

The editors and contributors of VTEC Academy are some of the industry’s most experienced and trusted, which means the informative, unique perspectives you need are all right here. And, like you, we’re also obsessed with Hondas.

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