The Fast and Furious franchise has a grip on the automotive community’s hearts. Before the million dollar cars and Space, it all started with the original films that connected with the car culture and community with sports cars that people were realistically bringing to car meets.
“it’s impossible to deny the impact the movies have had on society and car culture.”(Aaron Gold, 2021)
“Sung Kang is the actor who played Han, starting in the third installment,The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift, and became a car enthusiast largely as a result of his involvement with the film. “I think it was the first proper car film that represented a community,” “(Aaron Gold, 2021)
“Kurt Antonius, head of public relations for Honda and Acura when the firstF&Ffilms came out. “The Civic was kind of a hand-me-down car from parents. All of a sudden there was this movement, this interest in modifying the cars. Parts suppliers started growing out of the woodwork.”(Aaron Gold, 2021)
This goes to show just how much influence the movies that dove deeply into this culture was creating. People in the community were looking to these companies being used in the movies and investing in them to be more connected with the automotive community.
“the originalFast & Furiousfilm had massive repercussions for the aftermarket industry. “I went back to the companies that provided us parts for the movie,” Lieberman recalls, “companies like Sparco, GReddy, and Nitrous Oxide Systems, and they all reported their sales went up. Not hundreds of percentage points, but 1,000-plus percent.” “(Aaron Gold, 2021)
“Bill Tichenor was with N.O.S. when the company was asked to get involved. “They asked for a lot of NOS, so it was a gamble,” he says. “Sales went crazy the weekend the movie dropped and stayed that way for a long while. It even changed the name—people started calling it‘NAAAHS’like in the movie instead of ‘N.O.S.,’ which is what we called it. [The movie] really did take the sport-compact scene from a subculture to mainstream and ultimately created a lot of new car guys and gals that are still into cars today.” “(Aaron Gold, 2021)
The marketing from the movie with these companies absolutely blew up sales because of everyone trying to get a taste of the culture and to become a part of the community. Now there is even an energy drink that is owned by Monster Energy, called NOS that replicates all of N.O.S. bottles used in the movies. The company also sponsors motorsport athletes within the car community who drive and bring content to add to the culture.
” “Some of [Honda’s] executives, Japanese and American, started going to SEMA [the Specialty Equipment Market Association trade show] and going, ‘Holy Christmas, look at this!’ Everyone had a Civic in their display.And the amazing thing is that it was an organic movement the kids started themselves. It was not the result of Honda promoting anything or giving reduced parts pricing.”(Aaron Gold, 2021)
The impact of the movie on the community and for companies in the automotive scene are still influential today. From a personal stand point I remember watching the movies when I was little and thinking they were cool, but as I really started getting into cars the movies definitely impacted me on what I like, and others like me who are so caught up in the 90’s and 00’s era of cars and you can see this all through social media. I believe that the culture from the earlier movies are still the most influential in the community and a large amount of the cars you see at shows still stick to the same style, even with new cars that wouldn’t have been around during the time of the movie the way people customize through certain products, show off, and enjoy their cars have not changed.
references:
A.Frame. (n.d.). Where to watch every “Fast & Furious” movie | Academy Newsletter. A.frame. https://aframe-stg.oscars.org/what-to-watch/post/where-to-watch-fast-and-furious-movies
Aaron Gold. 2021. Motortrend, Fast 9 Is Here: The Deep Impact of the Fast & Furious Franchise on Car Culture.https://www.motortrend.com/features/fast-9-fast-and-furious-movies-saga-impact-car-culture-feature/
Pender, A.(2023, May 20). You can’t beat Tokyo car culture – Speedhunters. Speedhunters. https://www.speedhunters.com/2023/05/you-cant-beat-tokyo-car-culture/
Pundir, A. S. (2022, July 16). Watch Chris Forsberg reveal the secrets behind his 1300HP Nissan Z drift car. HotCars. https://www.hotcars.com/watch-chris-forsberg-reveal-the-secrets-behind-his-1300hp-nissan-z-drift-car/
