Even super car owners would fancy some zhng-ing

Every time an unknowing poster starts a thread on car modifications, there will, within minutes, be a deluge of posts espousing certain truths, half-truths and myths to dissuade anyone from embarking on the journey to car modifications. Any helpful advice proffered will invariably get buried and lost amongst such posts. I will not dispute that some of arguments made are indeed the truth; for e.g. the fact that modifying a car can get very expensive. But, there are also many other points brought up which tend to confuse rather than enlighten someone hesitantly taking baby steps into modifying his or her car. I call those the Anti Car Mod Myths (or ACMM).

ACMM #1: If XYZ mod was good, car manufacturers would have included it.

Sometimes true, sometimes not true. This ACMM is on this list because it does not help anyone, in any way, with dealing with the issue of whether a mod is worth his money or not. We can never use the fact whether the car manufacturer would have included it in stock form as a gauge of the utility of a mod. Simply put, car manufacturers do face constraints. They need to cater to a large enough segment of the market to hit sufficient sales and drive per unit costs down. They also need to keep a tight leash on costs. They also need to sell worldwide. Some of their constraints do not apply to the Singaporean market. For example, they might have concerns over adopting certain technology because of reliability issues when the car age hits double digits or half a million clicks on the odometer. That scenario occurs commonly in everywhere BUT SINGAPORE. So, the next time someone raises this point, know that it doesn't add value at all.

ACMM #2: The car manufacturer knows best; these aftermarket companies don't spend as much as the car manufacturers do on R&D....

A corollary of ACMM 1, this ACMM also does not aid anyone in making any decisions about car modification parts. Let me rehash the argument I made above; even if the car manufacturer knew best, they face constraints that may or may not apply to the Singapore market or the individual. Short of a super car manufacturer, car manufacturers would almost never be able to make the best car that they could. That is because everyone defines best differently. They would never be able to truly customize their cars to suit individual needs. And of course, we are working on the assumption that car manufacturers do know best (which is not always a given).

ACMM #3: You pay so much, you might as well save and get a better car.

This ACMM crops up with a scary regularity; perhaps because it sounds so reasonable and logical that it becomes inherently persuasive. But it ignores a critical dimension - that is, a car modification enthusiast would always want to modify his car. Be it a humble Jap sedan or an Italian raging bull, these are a breed of people who derive a separate pleasure from customizing their car. So sure, by all means save up and get a better car, but don't be surprised if the temptation to mod comes around again. Take it from a person who has been there and done that.

Heard a ACMM bandied about the forum recently? Or disagree with what I said? Drop a line in the box below and who knows, there might be a part 2 to this blog post.