“It’s what non-car people don’t get. They all see cars as just a ton and a half, two tons of wires, glass, metal and rubber. That’s all they see. People like you or I know, we have an unshakable belief that cars are living entities. You can develop a relationship with a car. And that’s just what non-car people don’t get.”- Jeremy Clarkson.

This quote by Jeremy Clarkson perfectly describes what we believe: no matter the car, never treat it wrong and keep it as nice as possible. These are extensions of ourselves and our families. For some, cars are how they express themselves, relieve stress, kill time, etc. Cars are so dear to us that plenty of car people put thousands and thousands of dollars and hours into their cars. They bring us together and truly are a universal language. It’s a connection that a lot don’t understand if you’re not into cars. 

Senior Cris Almgren has recently gotten into cars gradually more and more and feels more connected to cars as a result. 

“You make the car work, and the car is only as good as the driver, “ Almgren said. He enjoys the driving aspect of cars, to understand how a car handles in and out of corners, straights, and more.

The connection to senior Collin Murphy was a means of bonding with his dad over their shared love of cars. Collin said, “I grew up around cars. My dad, in 5th grade, we got this Camaro, and I used to build that with him, and it was just like bonding for me and him, and I later wanted to become a mechanic. So that’s just what kinda drove me towards everything and got me into cars.”

Senior Mark Nikityuk likes the personality you can give cars. 

“The fact you can modify them, make them look exactly how you want because when they come in stock versus how you build them in the end will look completely different. And it’s just a passion,” Nikityuk said. 

Also to add the personality you can give cars, Grace Mellen responded “They’re very aesthetic. And you can personalize them,”

However, one thing that pushes people away from the car community and meets is the small majority of people who use it as an ego builder or ruin meets by disobeying the rules such as no burnouts, no revving, etc. Mark Nikityuk claimed “It’s cool but there are some people that you just shouldn’t hang out with. They have nice cars but their personality is not humble,” Nikityuk claimed.

But overall, the LSHS the community is okay. Collin Murphy says “I think, to start off at our school, I think we have a good mix of American cars and Japanese cars. I think it’s all around a decent scene and community. The community itself is pretty connected with friend groups,” 

Sharing that sentiment of the car scene,  “There are still a lot of people who’ll *crap* on other people because of their builds or anything they don’t like about someone else’s car…” carrying on to say “Everybody should be nice to each other and respect each other and be friends,” Mellen said.

On the other hand, you can find the right people who turn into friends and learn about a whole new world which can even be used for many other things. Cris said “After you and Jalen introduced it to me, I fell in love,” Even so much to getting him interested in going to Japan, continuing he said “Didn’t really think about it until after you introduced me to touge. But once I started getting into it and watching videos Japan kind of built a place in my heart. It’s so amazing,”

Collin passionately said “They have. There’s been ups and downs with them. I lost a couple, it happens, but all around it made me pursue what I wanted to pursue,” Collin wants to be a full time mechanic working on cars.

Grace Mellens answer slightly relates to Collins. She said “I want to major in mechanical engineering so that I can veer off into automotive engineering and I wanna design cars,” 

Finally, a lot of people have a perfect drive in their head. This question of “What would be your perfect drive?” I had thought of it as it allows the person to get creative and possibly get a little more personal. 

Cris said “I want to do the Kanjo Loop,”  

This style has its own name, quite literally Kanjo style or Kanjozoku. The kanjo loop is the Hanshin Expressway in Osaka, Japan. A large group of Honda Civic’s get together and race on the road, with their engines screaming, regardless if there is or isn’t traffic. Japanese law enforcement has really cracked down on it; however, nameless drivers wearing masks still compete on the loop to this day to keep the tradition alive.

“I like to listen to music, sometimes I’ll bring a friend, usually one friend, and we just go in the night or evening and get lost. We don’t know where we are, we just drive our way out. It’s one of the best things to do,” Murphy said.

“Probably in Japan, by that mountain (Mount Hakone) in an R34 GTR, where the car came from, with a nice sunset you know? With a girl, listening to music,” Nikityuk said.

Grace’s opinion was Touge in Japan, listening to Xavier Wulf or Night Lovell.

Cars and the car community can generally be a great thing for many reasons, but it’s up to you if you want to take the dive into a very addictive world full of learning possibilities, friendships and more.