Wow! They’re on EVERY corner in NYC and yet Mercedes pulled the plug on them in the US market (2019 was the last model year). They will be relaunched in China in 2022.

What’s the problem?

From what I can tell, the reasons for discontinuing the Fortwo are threefold:

• despite their popularity in NYC, micro-cars never gained traction and according to Automotive News, Mercedes sold just 1,276 Smart EQ Fortwo models in 2018
• the car’s underwhelming range at just 58 miles
• the high cost to Daimler of meeting regulatory standards and specifications for such a low volume vehicle.

Tuners on the other hand…

I’m seeing way more souped up Hondas and Toyota Supras. All with spoilers and loud as heck. This past weekend I saw (or should I say heard) a tuner making its way down Broadway. But look at what’s following it! That was my sign that I needed to write about this.

I also saw a Honda in my neighborhood with decals for both SpeedHunters and One Last Ride/Paul Walker. Very cool.

I follow dozens of tuner accounts. two favorites from instagram, below.

Super Street: 3.4 million followers 💕

I don’t know why, but I find these cars incredibly beautiful.

TJ Hunt: 636K followers

Love this guy. He just turned 25 and got the car he’d been dreaming about since he was a kid. And then the police impounded it on his first drive. ☹️

Speedhunters in Nolita

Bottom Line.

As a society we’re moving away from cars and yet (or maybe because of that), the tuner/souped up car scene seems to be getting more popular.

If anyone has any thoughts on why this might be, let me know.

All I can say is, I recommend following a handful of the top tuner Instagram accounts for inspiration. I predict the visuals are going to become increasingly influential.