Yeah know, it's not the import cars themselves that give them a bad name in my book. What makes the term "ricers" imply something bad is that the majority of these "import" owners (supposedly into performance) don't know anything about cars.
Point of example:
Someone that I used to work with that shall rename nameless, owns a Suburu. He's all into that car and imports, and thinks they are fast too. Now, some dude he knows is selling a Mustang that's in "ok" condition supposedly and that he was saying he might buy. In fact, he got all hot and bothered over the idea because it had a V8. That's all he knows, and so he thinks V8 (of any condition) equals FAST.
Any ways, at the time he wanted to get the car from the guy for a day just to bring it over for me to "check out for him" and tell him what's what. I was busy at the time, so I couldn't be here. So, he's got the car for a few days and starts complaining to me and another guy that worked there (Aka: BlackVert00 - who has a 2000 GT Convertible) that it doesn't seem that fast and his Suburu seems faster. Well, he's told us this is a V8 Mustang and we're like "that can't be". Well, not unless the guys total screwed the motor. Even stock it a 5.0L Mustang should be making over 200 HP and 300 ft-lbs of torque and blow the doors off that 4-cylinder Suburu.
In the end, what it turns out is that it's actually a 4 Cylinder Mustang!! The dude didn't even know the fricking difference! Even looking at the engine, he still thought it was a V8 until I got a real description from him of what the engine looked like and started laughing at him, telling him it was a flipping 4-cylinder Mustang!
Any ways, he didn't buy it needless to say. I think that was good thing that it turned out that way, because someone like that shouldn't have a car with any real power any ways...
In closing, it's a real bummer because knowing the guy personally he's actually a nice guy. He just buys into all that import nonesense and never will really learn anything having an import and hanging around nothing but other people that don't know anything either. Too sad.
I know there must be some import owners out there that actually do know about cars, but unfortunately I've never personally met one (yet).