Another Sunday has come and this one a more solemn occasion than usual, with the news last night of the passing of Paul Walker. Some IG readers won’t know who he is, and some won’t care. He and his movies changed the lives of many and that is why I feel it is important to spend a moment or two talking about Paul and his work. My Saturday evening was going fairly typically. I was hanging out with some friends and then all of a sudden, my cell phone was flooded with text. Within half an hour, I had over 20 texts saying “did you hear about Paul Walker?” That really isn’t surprising considering my contact list is made up of mainly car guys. For a minute, it surprised me at how big of a deal this was to my friends because none of us are exactly the celebrity worship types, but Walker was one of us. He was a car guy.
I know the Fast and Furious movies are often times a part of ridicule and jokes because of the over the top nature, the sometimes questionable acting, and focus on the illegal activity of street racing. Here at IG we try and celebrate the car responsibly, but we would be outright lying if we said we’d never done an illegal activity or two. I’d be willing to bet nearly every reader of IG has as well. So we certainly are in no place to condemn that. Aside from all that negative, though, the Fast and Furious series did worlds of good for the car world. It ignited a new generation of car guy. That is worth examining closer.
The Fast and the Furious debuted in 2001 and while it’s story line may have been a bit far fetched, the culture that was depicted in the movie was not too far from the truth. Sometime around the mid 90s, import cars began showing up at the local tracks and of course at the local street racing spots. By the time the movie came out, big wings, bright colored cars, and turbos were a regular thing at any many hang outs. It was a scene of it’s own, mainly separate from the American car scene.
After the movie, the import scene would absolutely explode. By the time I was finishing up college sometime in 2003, there was a clear shift in the cars that would be out at the local gathering spots. Oh sure, there were still Camaros, Mustangs, and the occasional Dodge, but Civics, Integras, and Toyotas were now just as common, if not more so. It was clear things had changed and it was clear why. The Fast and Furious movie had brought the high octane love for cars to a whole new group of people.
Charger from the Fast and Furious
Combing the internet this morning, more evidence of the impact of the Fast and Furious movies comes to light.
One reddit user posted “Paul Walker absolutely changed my life. From that scene where he pulled up in the Ford Lightning, I thought he was the coolest guy in the world. I wanted to be him, I had to have a career in cars.”
Another, “I’ve never felt sad for someone I’ve never met before, but I do today. That’s how much of an effect his movies had on my life.”
I think those are powerful statements and this morning the internet is full of those. I hate to make this leap but I can’t help but think that maybe Paul Walker is this generations Steve McQueen. A car guy, a racer, an action star, and died too young albeit of completely different causes. Paul Walker did most of his own driving stunts in his movies and in fact used some of his own cars. He was an avid BMW M3 LW collector and owned a few Nissan GTRs. He raced, wrenched, and used his cars for charity. In fact he died during a crash at a charity event. Paul walker is survived by his daughter Meadow and was 40 years old.
Dec 01
Sunday Commentary: The Death of Paul Walker
Sunday Commentary week in review
by Jason
Another Sunday has come and this one a more solemn occasion than usual, with the news last night of the passing of Paul Walker. Some IG readers won’t know who he is, and some won’t care. He and his movies changed the lives of many and that is why I feel it is important to spend a moment or two talking about Paul and his work. My Saturday evening was going fairly typically. I was hanging out with some friends and then all of a sudden, my cell phone was flooded with text. Within half an hour, I had over 20 texts saying “did you hear about Paul Walker?” That really isn’t surprising considering my contact list is made up of mainly car guys. For a minute, it surprised me at how big of a deal this was to my friends because none of us are exactly the celebrity worship types, but Walker was one of us. He was a car guy.
I know the Fast and Furious movies are often times a part of ridicule and jokes because of the over the top nature, the sometimes questionable acting, and focus on the illegal activity of street racing. Here at IG we try and celebrate the car responsibly, but we would be outright lying if we said we’d never done an illegal activity or two. I’d be willing to bet nearly every reader of IG has as well. So we certainly are in no place to condemn that. Aside from all that negative, though, the Fast and Furious series did worlds of good for the car world. It ignited a new generation of car guy. That is worth examining closer.
The Fast and the Furious debuted in 2001 and while it’s story line may have been a bit far fetched, the culture that was depicted in the movie was not too far from the truth. Sometime around the mid 90s, import cars began showing up at the local tracks and of course at the local street racing spots. By the time the movie came out, big wings, bright colored cars, and turbos were a regular thing at any many hang outs. It was a scene of it’s own, mainly separate from the American car scene.
After the movie, the import scene would absolutely explode. By the time I was finishing up college sometime in 2003, there was a clear shift in the cars that would be out at the local gathering spots. Oh sure, there were still Camaros, Mustangs, and the occasional Dodge, but Civics, Integras, and Toyotas were now just as common, if not more so. It was clear things had changed and it was clear why. The Fast and Furious movie had brought the high octane love for cars to a whole new group of people.
Charger from the Fast and Furious
Combing the internet this morning, more evidence of the impact of the Fast and Furious movies comes to light.
One reddit user posted “Paul Walker absolutely changed my life. From that scene where he pulled up in the Ford Lightning, I thought he was the coolest guy in the world. I wanted to be him, I had to have a career in cars.”
Another, “I’ve never felt sad for someone I’ve never met before, but I do today. That’s how much of an effect his movies had on my life.”
I think those are powerful statements and this morning the internet is full of those. I hate to make this leap but I can’t help but think that maybe Paul Walker is this generations Steve McQueen. A car guy, a racer, an action star, and died too young albeit of completely different causes. Paul Walker did most of his own driving stunts in his movies and in fact used some of his own cars. He was an avid BMW M3 LW collector and owned a few Nissan GTRs. He raced, wrenched, and used his cars for charity. In fact he died during a crash at a charity event. Paul walker is survived by his daughter Meadow and was 40 years old.
Tags: fast and furious, Paul Walker