Get Fit – workouts by Honda

Honest questions here: Do people vibe like this anymore? Or has car culture morphed over the last decade into an on-screen pastime more than a real-word practice? Are we “building race cars” & tying our identities to that… but driving anonymous stock monotony everyday? Have we lost grip with the refreshing, recalibrating side of car culture? Is every decision these days, made with an underlying thirst for acceptance, attention, & virality? Check out this Honda Fit. Correction: These Honda Fits.

And let them be a reminder for anyone who needs it: It’s not about the horsepower or the view-count… it’s about being in the moment. Being 100% where your feet are. Whether they’re in a Fit or a Ferrari.

My biggest struggle with car culture these days, is that it’s gotten way too materialistic…

It doesn’t HAVE to be, and it ISN’T for the real ones. But social media & our insatiable craving for likes has infected the lifestyle more than many of us comprehend. Modern car features have raised the cost of entry (compounded with general inflation) to the point of excluding many. And most of those features & amenities are completely unnecessary if not downright absurd, numbing the driving experience more than enhancing it. But unfortunately, money drives car culture. And unlike other more physical sports/lifestyles/hobbies… in car culture, money buys likes.

Don’t get me wrong, social media has its blessings…

It gives us a window to wild automotive creations across the globe, and it networks us all together. But frequently, on the flip-side, these high-profile internet builds exist to be a like-generating machine FIRST. And an actual viable lifestyle car second. It’s an oxymoron: 1,000+ tire-shredding horsepower adorned with sponsored parts, custom fabrication, wide-bodies, & hashtags… yet somehow more delicate than your girlfriend’s Kia. In other words, our role models have become phony. And maybe for that reason…

This photoshoot & these Honda Fits warped me straight back in time…

To the days of mobbing the streets with radiant, rebellious (and yeah fine… often slow) modified cars. The days before ‘dailies’. When there wasn’t a follower count. And we didn’t have to lose our dignity to retake the same video selfie 20-times for TikTok. Today, car enthusiasts have become supremely talented at seizing the moment for social media purposes… but they’re steadily losing the ability to seize the moment for themselves.

Put the phone down, and be a little more selfish with your hobby…

You’ll feel it more. And then learn how to take that feeling… and put THAT out there for the world to see & hear. Because that’s the good stuff. See, we’re in a time where everyone’s trying to be media. Everyone’s an influencer. That fact that ‘influencer’ is even a word shows how diseased we’ve gotten. But here’s a tip: Influencing will never compare to inspiring.

I met Joe Schneider a dozen years ago, and he inspired me…

It was Eibach Meet 2011. And in rolls Joe in a hard-edged yellow EK hatch with a graffiti engine bay & ITBs… and basically a middle finger to all the Southern California Honda elitists. But isn’t that how the import scene got its roots? Out of nonconformity? The answer is yes. Joe Schneider dripped authenticity. Not the ‘add to cart’ kind… but the kind you can’t buy. We clicked, and somehow found ourselves back at his compound playing beer-pong amidst 90’s rap & 90’s Hondas. Been friends ever since. 

Joe Schneider’s blue Honda Fit:

Joe’s Honda Fit is the blue 2008 (GD3) model without the roof-rack. It’s one of many Hondas in Joe’s stable. And as you can speculate by the car-seat in the back, this is one of his daily/routine rides. Overall, the Honda Fit is a great California daily. It’s economical, amusing to drive, and doesn’t stir-up that state’s batsh¡t crazy police force lol. But Joe’s got that old-school California hot-rodder swag in his DNA, so the way he sees it, even a daily’s gotta be bitchin’. No vehicle is left untouched, so Joe sourced cool parts to put some life & style into his Honda Fit. And to that point, this photoshoot is more about a lifestyle than a specific car.

Joe decided to hit-up other Honda Fit owners in the area (some of which he didn’t even know yet)…

And invited them to come hang out for some photos (below). And when you think about it: Modified dailies are the unsung heroes of car culture. Remember that – because modified dailies used to be the foundation of car culture before it transitioned to apps & influencers. They’ll never share the same amount of e-fame, but hell, you can call these Honda Fit owners on a whim for a photoshoot… and they’ll all start, run… and be there. Try that with your most-followed Subaru, Evo, Audi, & BMW builds & see what happens.

You can feel it can’t ya? There’s a certain energy in this photoshoot. It’s the energy of inclusion over influencing. An energy of spontaneity. It’s an energy that we used to feel more often in car mags… an energy that’s been drown-out by a digital world that pushes & shoves for your attention. Like some sort of Black Friday self-promotion sale on an endless loop. This though… this feels real. I think car culture is suffering inside, while simultaneously being bigger than ever online. And I think it’s because a lot of us aren’t living it where our feet are… in person & in the moment.

Photos by Manzoor Azeez @phlex0shots

 

2008 Honda Fit Sport

Interior:

Custom harness bar

Me Garage X-bar

RaceTech seats & harnesses

Re-done RaceTech rear seats

HFP switch covers

JDM hazzard switch & coin slot

Seb’s Garage dead pedal & wink mirror brackets

Mugen pedals

NRG race hub

Sparco steering wheel

Hybrid Racing shifter & shift knob

Pioneer speakers & headunit with Apple Car Play

Exterior:

HFP Sport lip kit

RS splitter kit

HFP bug deflector & window visors

Mugen grille & wing

JDM power-folding mirrors

Carbon air scoop

Wheels / Brakes / Suspension:

Group B Nc01 in 15×8 +35

205/50/15 Falken Azenis

EBC pads & Brembo rotors

Function & Forum 32-way adjustable coilovers

Progress sway bar

Honed Development offset strut top

Mugen strut bar

Me Garage X-bar

Engine:

ARC air box

DC header

Carbon dress-up components

HKS exhaust

Seb’s garage clutch delay valve delete

 

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