Why not have a challenge being put up with lightly tuned street cars you know. Not filled with cars made by super expensive tuner shops that cost more than the state of Kentucky. Have it filled with cars that people made themselves with the best of their avilities or budget. The regular corriculum that appears on some of the project cars. Don't go overboard and know when enough is enough.
   Comments?  

Sounds great but can you imagine getting that organized? Many backups would be needed.  I don't know many people who would take off just for the posisbility of entering.  Would you?  I know I wouldn't be able to afford that on my budget.  It's bad enough I drive a DSM.  

I wish, but when is enough, enough? Hell I would be there in a heart beat if there was a good chance I would be in it. But my car wouln't stand a chance against the cars that compete in it. They are far from budget.  

I don't know to tell you the truth, but one of my neighbors bought and tuned a 01' Focus ZX3. He spent about three years saving and spending and the final tag "car included 3,500" was a mere 10,000  I think that's a good average and since most people own a car from the late 80's to late 90's that's a good limit? Don't you think? Mind you last USCC the NSX costed $65,000 BASE!  

Oh if you're wondering how he got the car so low ($3,500) it was crashed.  

I took a second job to fund the build on my 1985 Toyota Corolla GT-S.  

See that's what it should be all about. People with their regular cars that they built and tuned themselves. People like us. The b@$t@rd$ put all these project cars that they do on a budget, but do they get the people who follow their example? *** all they do is follow Turbo Mag with their choice of cars. All plastic neon and chrome. All they need is some girls with camel toes and that's it. "The girlfriend test?..."  

the "girlfriend test" was better than the grandma test.. at least they got a real girl.

What you are talking about competetion wise is very similar to the 200X challenge that Grass Roots Motorsports does. But without their tight rules on how much you can spend, how do you make sure that only enthusiasts like us enter their cars in your competition?  

Yeah the girlfriend test is better. On the competition selection you got a point. Maybe if they wrote how they came to owning and tuning the car there will be more of a criteria than "I got a Platinum Master Card on the Mail." But then again people lie just to get their car on the cover.  

I think SCC has done a great job of organizing the USCC for six years in a row now. It is the "Ultimate" Street Car Challenge after all, so the sky should be the limit. I think something like the Grassroots 200x is a good template to follow for enthusiats on a limited budget- (ie a 10,000 cap in aftermarket parts)for an entirely different event. Keep in mind that the rate of return on spending for mods drops significantly as the dollars spent increases. Maybe the last 10-20% improvements will cost an additional 50-100% more. Another possible concept is comparing modded cars with stock cars that have the same overall pricetag. A Hasport CRX with 40K in mods vs. a stock NSX. I know my USCC NSX has already easily spanked a Mercedes SLR and a modded Porsche GT2.  

Are you who I think you are?    Hmmm....Yeah I understand your point and what you say makes plenty of sense. I'm just trying to open these types of competitions to a wider margin of competition. Were not all milionares or have a tuning shop under our name.  What we do have is patience and a few extra bucks here and there on our pockets for these types of projects.

***
Complements on your win and you have a kick *** car! I wouldn't mind owning that car.  

Thanks for the compliment and I applaud your ambitions. My first car was a '79 Mustang with a 3.0 V6 that made about 100 bhp on a good day. Great to see enthusiasts aspiring to take their cars to the next level. Best of luck in your endeavors.

Danny  

Your welcome and thanks. My first car was a 92' Mercury Tracer that wouldn't go over 55mph and the CV joint sounded like if it had a built in machinegun that wouldn't turn off.

Maybe one day one of us enthusiast will join and compete with one of you guys

They call me PEPE (peh-peh)  

The problem with the idea of a budget car showdown is that there is know way of knowing how much everything cost. Plus, budget is a relative term. Some consider an EVO the deal of the century, but for some (me), it's just another dream car I can park in my fake garage next to my Mercedes E63.  

Well there's always a start on whay you can afford and what you can accomplish with the money (and the knowledge)you got. Some people waste thousands of dollars on parts they don't need. (like a performance fuel rail and injectors when there's no turbo or supercharger) When you can get the same horsepower from cheaper and fewer parts. (i.e. Turbo showed a Scion TC with a monstrosity of a turbo kit and parts and only had 219hp and SCC's Scion TC had 230hp with a moderate build.) Well after saying this I might of complicated things even more by putting another level of criteria on the subject. Smart vs. urban legend tuning and which one should get picked.