rice rocket

Derogatory term once used by domestic motorcycle enthusiasts to deride the new Japanese motorcycles that were coming to market. Recently adopted by critics of a recent wave of self-modified Japanese import automobiles, particularly those that are held to have been altered in poor taste. Critics defend the use of the term due to the garish appearance and lacking performance of some such vehicles. Some critics, however, often cannot discern accurately the difference between merely garish modified vehicles and those that are tuned to high-performance levels. The term 'rice' is intended to describe the "Japanese" nature of the offending vehicles. Modified small-displacement cars, however, are increasingly seem to be both domestic and imported.