Boy racers refer to people, usually males in their late teens or early twenties, who "cruise" around in vehicles modified with loud exhausts and stereos, or modified body kits. This behavior is frowned upon by members of the public irritated by the noise and the criminal behavior associated with it, including violence by skinhead and neonazi "boy racers". Many cars are cosmetically modified in an unlawful manner. Car enthusiasts who drive sporty cars, or those modified to perform better, typically seek to distance themselves from the culture. Responses to the boy racer problem range from laws prohibiting the antisocial activities they engage in to vigilante actions such as spraying expander foam, a common building supply, into boy racer cars with loud "big-bore" exhaust tips to stop such cars driving around emitting loud droning noises which is illegal and highly disrespectful to their property.

Culture

Publications for boy racers included Max Power

Max Power (magazine)

Max Power was a UK-based magazine, headquartered in Peterborough, which covered the performance-tuning car market, boy racers and softcore pornography....

, Fast Car

Fast Car Magazine

Fast Car magazine is a UK-based car magazine covering the modified car market and car culture. It was the first UK magazine focusing on this genre. It is owned by Future Publishing, based in Bath, Somerset...

, New Zealand Performance Car Magazine, MTV's Pimp My Ride

Pimp My Ride

Pimp My Ride is a TV show produced by MTV. Each episode consists of taking one car in poor condition and restoring it and customizing it.The original United States version was hosted by rapper Xzibit...

and The Fast and the Furious

The Fast and the Furious (2001 film)

The Fast and the Furious is a 2001 street racing action film starring Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster. Directed by Rob Cohen, The Fast and the Furious was the first mainstream film to feature the Asian automotive import scene in North America. It is the first film...

as well as DVD publications and television shows.

Boy racers are typically known for speeding away from traffic lights, playing loud music, and revving their engines rather than street racing. A typical boy racer is seen as a young man who sits very low in his seat and wears a beanie and/or hoodie.

Vehicle modification

Modifications typically associated with the stereotype include:

• Powerful sound systems
• Extravagant paint jobs
• Large, loud exhaust tips
• Spoilers and bonnet scoops (usually non-functional)
• Suspension modifications to lower a car's ride height
• Body kits, neon lights and other appearance modifications
• Tinted windows restricting the view from the car

Performance upgrades such as engine tuning adding turbochargers are rare amongst the boy racer subculture due to the high costs involved and the fact that most insurance companies charge extremely high premiums to young drivers with modified cars.

Australia

In Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, the terms hoon

Hoon

Hoon is a derogatory term used in Australia and New Zealand, to refer to a anyone who engages in loutish, antisocial behaviour. In particular, it is used to refer to one who drives a car or boat in a manner which is anti-social by the standards of contemporary society, that is, fast, noisily and/or...

 and "revhead" are used for people who drive in an anti-social or dangerous manner. However, revhead (which derives from "revolutions per minute

Revolutions per minute

Revolutions per minute is a measure of the frequency of a rotation. It annotates the number of full rotations completed in one minute around a fixed axis...

") may refer to any motor enthusiast, while hoon is always pejorative.

New Zealand

The term boy racer is used in New Zealand to describe a youth that partakes in dangerous activities involving an automobile. The Land Transport (Unauthorised Street and Drag Racing) Amendment Act 2003 is commonly known as the "Boy Racer Act". In 2009, a government led by the National Party augmented the Act with the Land Transport (Enforcement Powers) Amendment Act and the Sentencing (Vehicle Confiscation) Amendment Act, which allow police to confiscate and crush vehicles, issue infringements for "cruising" and prosecute street racing and "antisocial" behaviour, by creating temporary by-laws.

While the slang word "bogan

Bogan

The term bogan is Australian slang, usually pejorative or self-deprecating, for an individual who is recognised to be from a lower class background or someone whose limited education, speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour exemplifies such a background....

" generally has a broader meaning, it is often used in New Zealand in reference to owners of larger performance-oriented cars, like Ford Falcon

Ford Falcon

The Ford Falcon is a full-size car which has been manufactured by Ford Australia since 1960. Each model from the XA series of 1972 onward has been designed, developed and built in Australia and/or New Zealand, following the phasing out of the American Falcon of 1960–71 which had been re-engineered...

s or Holden Commodore

Holden Commodore

The Holden Commodore is an automobile manufactured since 1978 by the Holden subsidiary of General Motors in Australia, and, formerly, in New Zealand. In the mid-1970s, Holden established proposals to replace the long-serving Kingswood nameplate with a smaller, Opel-based model...

s.

Most cheap vehicles in New Zealand are used Japanese import

Japanese used vehicle exporting

Japanese used vehicle exporting is international trade involving the export of used cars and other vehicles from Japan to other markets around the world. Despite the high cost of transport, the sale of used cars and other vehicles to other countries is still profitable due to the relatively low...

s and the culture follows modification of these cars. During the late 1980s and 1990s tariffs were gradually removed on imported vehicles. This allowed many cheap second hand vehicles to enter New Zealand's car market and even caused new car prices to drop. In Japan, like New Zealand, cars drive on the left side of the road, and the Japanese car registration system discourages use of second-hand vehicles.

Boy racers in New Zealand have led to several cities putting "no cruising" bans in place around the major business districts. Christchurch was notorious for the "laps", or "aves". These were five avenues around the central business district which restricts cars from doing more than 3 consecutive laps of these streets between 10pm and 5am. This has led to boy racers and cruisers migrating to other areas which has angered locals.

In New Zealand the majority of boy racers cars are the rear-wheel drive Nissan Silvia's and Skyline variants, heavily modified in appearance with bodykits, two tone paint jobs, loud/large exhaust systems and extremely powerful sound systems using multiple amplifiers and subwoofers. Neon lighting is almost unheard of in New Zealand. Excessive window tinting is common as window tints can be self installed and there are no restrictions on the sale of window tints that are too dark for certain vehicle classes.

United Kingdom and Ireland

In the UK and Ireland boy racers are often synonymous with chav

Chav

A chav is a term that is used in the United Kingdom to describe a stereotype of teenagers and young adults from an underclass background.-Etymology:...

 culture, although the average boy racer tends to be more affluent than the welfare-dependent majority of British chavs as they are able to purchase and insure a low-end car. Some could be described as 'middle-class dropouts'. The stereotypical boy racers in the UK and Ireland can be easily identified by their vehicle choice. They tend to prefer aged, small, three-door, front-wheel drive hatchback

Hatchback

A Hatchback is a car body style incorporating a shared passenger and cargo volume, with rearmost accessibility via a rear third or fifth door, typically a top-hinged liftgate—and features such as fold-down rear seats to enable flexibility within the shared passenger/cargo volume. As a two-box...

 cars, such as the Vauxhall Corsa, Fiat Punto

Fiat Punto

The Fiat Punto is a supermini produced by the Italian manufacturer, Fiat, since 1993.-1st generation :Internally codenamed Project 176, the Punto was announced in September 1993 and launched in late 1993 as a replacement for the ageing Fiat Uno. The Fiat Punto was voted European Car of the Year...

, Ford Fiesta

Ford Fiesta

The Ford Fiesta is a front wheel drive supermini/subcompact manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company and built in Europe, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, China, India, Thailand and South Africa...

, Peugeot 106

Peugeot 106

The Peugeot 106 is a supermini produced by French automaker Peugeot from 1991 to 2004.-Phase I:The Peugeot 106 was introduced on 12 September 1991, as the French marque's entry level car slotting in beneath the 205 - although it is now largely considered the 'true' replacement to the 205. It was a...

, Citroën Saxo

Citroën Saxo

The Citroën Saxo is a supermini produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1996 to 2003. It was also sold in Japan as the Citroën Chanson. It shares many engine and body parts with the Peugeot 106 , the major difference being interiors and body panels...

, Volkswagen Polo

Volkswagen Polo

The Volkswagen Polo is a supermini car manufactured by Volkswagen. It is sold in Europe and other markets worldwide in hatchback, saloon, coupé and estate variants....

 and the Vauxhall Nova with small engines usually ranging between 1.0 litre and 1.6 litres; this "preference" is more based on financial restrictions rather than desire. (Engines with higher capacity are higher performance and carry increased insurance premiums, making them too expensive for many). These smaller cars are then often fitted with alloy wheels and large gauge or straight through exhausts to make them sound more powerful than they really are. Though not as common as the cars previously mentioned, mainly due to their price and insurance cost, Subaru Impreza WRX STI

Subaru Impreza WRX STI

The Subaru Impreza WRX STI, has the highest trim in the Subaru Impreza compact car line, produced by Japanese automaker Subaru.In the late 1980s, Subaru created the Subaru Tecnica International division to coordinate development for the FIA World Rally Championship and other motorsports activities...

s and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution

The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, colloquially known as the Lancer Evo or Evo, is a high-performance sedan manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors. There have been ten official versions to date, and the designation of each model is most commonly a roman numeral...

s are favoured among Boy Racers because of their turbo charged engines and racing-intended designs. Criticisms are often raised regarding these loud exhausts as they do not actually sound like a performance car, just louder. Powerful stereos and speakers are installed, which can be felt more than heard (usually due to a sub woofer), people can normally hear these cars coming before they come into sight. Boy racers often neglect to tell their insurance provider about modifications as this would further inflate their premium, even though English law requires drivers to notify insurers of all material changes to the vehicle. This creates a major problem, as many hundreds of young drivers may actually have invalid insurance (which is also illegal in the UK) as a result.

United States

Americans

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 often use the term "rice burner

Rice burner

Rice burner is a pejorative describing Japanese-made—or by extension, Asian-made—motorcycles and automobiles. The term is often defined as offensive or racist stereotyping...

", "rice rocket", or ricer to describe the boy racer concept, since most of the vehicles are of Asian manufacture. If a car is "riced out", it has the import tuner look, and may or may not actually have performance parts under the hood. There's also the less popular term "wheat burner", "rice rocket", or ricer or "Domestic Rice," which is the same thing, but with a domestic American model such as a Ford Focus, or Chevrolet Cavalier

Chevrolet Cavalier

The Chevrolet Cavalier was a compact automobile produced from 1982 to 2005 by General Motors. Built on the company's J platform, the Cavalier was one of the best-selling cars in the United States throughout its life.- Predecessors :...

. A "krauter" is a German model, usually a Volkswagen Jetta

Volkswagen Jetta

Although the Golf had reached considerable success, in the North American markets, Volkswagen observed that the hatchback body style lacked some of the appeal to those who preferred the traditional three-box configuration...

 or Volkswagen Golf

Volkswagen Golf

The Volkswagen Golf is a small family car manufactured by Volkswagen since 1974 and marketed worldwide across six generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates – as the Volkswagen Rabbit in the United States and Canada , and as the Volkswagen Caribe in Mexico .The...

.
The latter two categories are also sometimes referred to as "rice eaters," since their competition in the tuner scene is usually the more popular Asian models.

Alternate uses

In the United States, Boy Racer more often describes a car (not a person) that has a sporty or "racy" character, despite being completely stock and not very fast. This is because the car may stereotypically appeal to young ladies who want to race the boys. Their cars, then, are "boy racers."

The Ford Grand Am Cup

Grand American Road Racing Association

GRAND-AM Road Racing or GRAND-AM is an auto racing sanctioning body that was established in 1999 to organize road racing competitions in North America...

 racing model of the Mustang

Ford Mustang

The Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Introduced early on April 17, 1964, as a "1964½" model, the 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A...

, the FR500C was nicknamed "Boy Racer" by Ford executives.

See also

• Bogan
  Bogan
  The term bogan is Australian slang, usually pejorative or self-deprecating, for an individual who is recognised to be from a lower class background or someone whose limited education, speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour exemplifies such a background....
  
  
• Car customizing
• Chav
  Chav
  A chav is a term that is used in the United Kingdom to describe a stereotype of teenagers and young adults from an underclass background.-Etymology:...
  
  
• Cruising (driving around)
• Hoon
  Hoon
  Hoon is a derogatory term used in Australia and New Zealand, to refer to a anyone who engages in loutish, antisocial behaviour. In particular, it is used to refer to one who drives a car or boat in a manner which is anti-social by the standards of contemporary society, that is, fast, noisily and/or...
  
  
• Import scene
  Import scene
  The Import Scene or Import Racing Scene or Tuner Scene refers to the subculture that revolves around modifying imported brand cars , especially those of Japanese brands, for street racing.-History:...
  
  
• Joyride (crime)
  Joyride (crime)
  To joyride is to drive around in a stolen car, boat, or other vehicle with no particular goal, a ride taken solely for pleasure.In English law, joyriding is not considered to be theft, because the intention to "permanently deprive" the owner of the vehicle cannot be proven...
  
  
• Pimp My Ride
  Pimp My Ride
  Pimp My Ride is a TV show produced by MTV. Each episode consists of taking one car in poor condition and restoring it and customizing it.The original United States version was hosted by rapper Xzibit...
  
  
• scanger
• Ripspeed
  Ripspeed
  Ripspeed is a sub brand of Halfords, one of the leading automotive parts retailer in the United Kingdom. It began asan independent retailer in the 1970s, two decades later the business changed hands and was purchased in 1999 by Halfords, and operates as one of the five subsections of a store if it...
  
  
• Street racing
  Street racing
  Street racing is a form of unsanctioned and illegal motor racing which takes place on public roads. Street racing can either be spontaneous or well-planned and coordinated. Well coordinated races are planned in advance and often have people communicating via 2-way radio/citizens' band radio and...
  
  
• US Term: Rice burner
  Rice burner
  Rice burner is a pejorative describing Japanese-made—or by extension, Asian-made—motorcycles and automobiles. The term is often defined as offensive or racist stereotyping...
  
  
• Sleeper (car)
  Sleeper (car)
  A sleeper or Q-car is a car that has high performance and an unassuming exterior. Sleeper cars are termed such because their exterior looks little or no different from a standard or economy-class car. In some cases the car appears worse due to seeming neglect on the owner's part, typically...
  
  

External links

• boyracerguide.co.uk
• New Zealand Classic Car- Boy Racers or Car Enthusiasts?