O/T... where does rice burner come from?
09-19-2002, 11:15 PM
#5
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[quote]Originally posted by icat:
<strong>I like "pocket rocket" better! Not trying to be PC or anything, I just like the sound better!
</strong><hr></blockquote>
But a pocket rocket sounds like it could be fast.
<strong>I like "pocket rocket" better! Not trying to be PC or anything, I just like the sound better!
</strong><hr></blockquote>But a pocket rocket sounds like it could be fast.
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09-19-2002, 11:39 PM
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The term was around long before the current wave of sport compact cars... I remember the same term being used to describe the Japanese bikes (Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki) in the late 70's and early 80's. I guess I'm getting old.
Ron
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09-20-2002, 03:11 AM
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Back in the late 70's when I rode a 900 Kawasaki, Harley riders would pull up and sneer with "Damn Rice Burners".
Then I would tear them a new as#####.
Fast and dependable has always been a lot more fun than cool. <img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" /> <img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" />
Then I would tear them a new as#####.
Fast and dependable has always been a lot more fun than cool. <img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" /> <img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" />
09-20-2002, 07:09 AM
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[quote]Originally posted by icat:
<strong>I like "pocket rocket" better! Not trying to be PC or anything, I just like the sound better! </strong><hr></blockquote>
though the original "pocket rocket" or "hot hatch" is generally considered to be the original Golf GTI. not a jap car...
<strong>I like "pocket rocket" better! Not trying to be PC or anything, I just like the sound better!
</strong><hr></blockquote>though the original "pocket rocket" or "hot hatch" is generally considered to be the original Golf GTI. not a jap car...
09-20-2002, 09:28 AM
#13
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[quote]Originally posted by David R. Hendrickson:
<strong>
though the original "pocket rocket" or "hot hatch" is generally considered to be the original Golf GTI. </strong><hr></blockquote>
Uh, huh... but it was actually the "Rabbit" GTI in the US market when it first came out in '83... I know, 'cause I bought one in spring of '83. It was my first German (and only new) car. The Golf name was used at that time in Europe, and I think was applied in the US with the next redesign... '85?
Compared to what was then available, they were truly pocket rockets... this was in the era when gas mileage & low price still ruled supreme in the small car market. $8200 was a high price to pay for anything with econobox roots then. But with an upgraded engine (8V 1.8), closer gearing, 4-wheel discs (_everything_ had rear drums then), and a lowered, stiffened suspension, it was hot from the factory. Would run with almost any base-model US V-8 on the straights, & eat their lunch on cornering & braking.
I first recall hearing the term "rice burner" in the Navy in Japan (late '60's); in the 'States, it was used by car guys as a derogatory term for the first real (small) 'wave' of Japanese imports in the early '70's. My Dad bought his first 'ricer' in '73 in response to rising gas prices... a Datsun B-210. Sucker was noisy & rode rough, but got great mileage and _never_ broke. This was a huge contrast to the Fords, Dodges, & IHC's we were used to. It also handled reasonably well, and wasn't totally slow if you really flogged it.
"Rice" had nothing to do with cheesy / non-functional modifications then. It was just a comment / slur on the nation of origin for Asian imports; with WWII a fresher memory then, it wasn't seen as non-PC, either.
Jim, and somehow 'RPG' (rocket-propelled grenade) morphed to 'RPB' in 'Nam as a term for the NVA & Cong... "Rice-Propelled Bastards"...
<strong>
though the original "pocket rocket" or "hot hatch" is generally considered to be the original Golf GTI. </strong><hr></blockquote>
Uh, huh... but it was actually the "Rabbit" GTI in the US market when it first came out in '83... I know, 'cause I bought one in spring of '83. It was my first German (and only new) car. The Golf name was used at that time in Europe, and I think was applied in the US with the next redesign... '85?
Compared to what was then available, they were truly pocket rockets... this was in the era when gas mileage & low price still ruled supreme in the small car market. $8200 was a high price to pay for anything with econobox roots then. But with an upgraded engine (8V 1.8), closer gearing, 4-wheel discs (_everything_ had rear drums then), and a lowered, stiffened suspension, it was hot from the factory. Would run with almost any base-model US V-8 on the straights, & eat their lunch on cornering & braking.
I first recall hearing the term "rice burner" in the Navy in Japan (late '60's); in the 'States, it was used by car guys as a derogatory term for the first real (small) 'wave' of Japanese imports in the early '70's. My Dad bought his first 'ricer' in '73 in response to rising gas prices... a Datsun B-210. Sucker was noisy & rode rough, but got great mileage and _never_ broke. This was a huge contrast to the Fords, Dodges, & IHC's we were used to. It also handled reasonably well, and wasn't totally slow if you really flogged it.
"Rice" had nothing to do with cheesy / non-functional modifications then. It was just a comment / slur on the nation of origin for Asian imports; with WWII a fresher memory then, it wasn't seen as non-PC, either.
Jim, and somehow 'RPG' (rocket-propelled grenade) morphed to 'RPB' in 'Nam as a term for the NVA & Cong... "Rice-Propelled Bastards"...
09-20-2002, 10:57 AM
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Did not mean to infer that only "rice burners" are pocket rockets - just pointing out another "slang term".
I also like "crotch rockets" for the MC crowd!
I also like "crotch rockets" for the MC crowd!
09-20-2002, 12:43 PM
#15
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Speaking of Bikes,
I buddy of mine has a Yamaha R6. Pretty cool bike.
Any way he was riding on the freeway one saturday evening minding his own business and the speed limit when some ricer drives up next to him. He did not say what kind of car it was. Well this guy looks over and revs the motor a bit like he wants to race. Well my buddy in the R6 droped a couple gears used part throttle and was gone. Stopped at about 100. Then went back to normal road speeds. Then the ricer catches up and wants to go again. Can you be any more stupid! Well my buddy did not bother as there was a little traffic now and let him go.
Damn these ricers are stupid... Race on R6? <img src="graemlins/c.gif" border="0" alt="[ouch]" />
I buddy of mine has a Yamaha R6. Pretty cool bike.
Any way he was riding on the freeway one saturday evening minding his own business and the speed limit when some ricer drives up next to him. He did not say what kind of car it was. Well this guy looks over and revs the motor a bit like he wants to race. Well my buddy in the R6 droped a couple gears used part throttle and was gone. Stopped at about 100. Then went back to normal road speeds. Then the ricer catches up and wants to go again. Can you be any more stupid! Well my buddy did not bother as there was a little traffic now and let him go.
Damn these ricers are stupid... Race on R6? <img src="graemlins/c.gif" border="0" alt="[ouch]" />