i am by no means anti-import...and i see alot of these mouthy ricers, but for the most part, REAL import enthusiasts, with real tuned import cars can generally back it up...but the mouthy idiots who spend a ton of money on things like body kits, stereo stuff, rims, etc...and then throw a set of hawk brake pads and ebay springs, and go on and on about "how they are built to handle"...or "im focusing on handling. i am proud to say that my civic forum is packed full of great members, who are proud of their cars, but they are not trash talkers..and when we do have the stray ricer walk in and run his mouth, he typically doesnt last very long.
yes, if you can get the car going 150mph, on the long straight on "the ring", that body kit may make a difference...and it might be a positive difference...
a friend of mine in high school had a early to mid 90s maxima, 3.0L auto..and it was fairly quick...i think that they are around 220hp stock, and his was stock...it would probably beat my stratus...but at the time, he wanted a shot at the mirada...he said "if we raced anywhere with turns, youd be done for, and if there were more turns than straight-a-ways, i would beat you. So, we left his work late one night, around 1am. we pulled out from his work, and stopped at a red light. it was about 10 miles to our house...starting with about a mile and a half of straight, empty, 4 lane road. by the time that we got to the first turn, i couldnt see his headlights anymore. the last 7 or so miles are all very windy roads...and with me shifting the manual valve body, i likely didnt get into third gear the rest of the way home...
i got home, pulled the car into the garage, got changed, and walked a few doors up to his house with a six pack, and was waiting on his porch when he pulled into the driveway...
the advantage of many imports is that they are smaller and lighter, so it takes alot less power to go just as fast...however, if the other car is faster, than fess up to it...i dont like people who talk trash, then add conditions...
the only reasonable head to head car test is the drag strip...road courses require safety items, and have a much better chance for damaging the cars...and people who are always trying to show that their cars handle great are typically the ones who get cut out of the car in pieces.
but then again, ive never turned down a race in the mirada...ill run a ten second car...just on the "any given sunday" theory...