1 Modified: Cars, Culture and Event Mechanics Glen Robert Fuller Doctor of Philosophy
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Modified: Cars, Culture and Event Mechanics Glen Robert Fuller Doctor of Philosophy - Cultural Histories and Futures University of Western Sydney 2007 © Glen Robert Fuller 2007 1 Dedication I dedicate this work to my parents, Robert and Jenny Fuller, for allowing me to make my own mistakes. I have made plenty of mistakes but this has allowed me to find my own challenges in the world. They supported me through every challenge and without their support this work would not be possible. My brother and sister, Paul and Clare Fuller, have supported me with a critical strength that only siblings know and helped me cope with being away from my family. Every time I returned home, I felt like I was returning home. I thank Samantha, Kirsten and Amanda for surprising me with love and life. They were burdened with my distracted solitude and yet all gave their love with an impossible grace. Samantha taught me how to compose myself in a gentle manner and accept change. Kirsten helped me grow up and made me realise I was actually living in Sydney. Lastly, when lost in the anxieties of work and relationships, Amanda forced me to accept the flaws and responsibilities of being only human. To all my other friends, particularly those I correspond with through weblogs, the other postgraduate students from the Centre for Cultural Research and Cultural Studies Association of Australasia, and my old friends from Perth, thanks for keeping the world sane. For all the car nuts who allowed me to be part of their scene, I thank you. I only hope this dissertation is worthy of your enthusiasm. Acknowledgements Zoë Sofoulis and Greg Noble have been extremely patient supervisors. Both helped me develop a better sense of the balance between empirical work and theory. They have been instrumental in working through the administrative burdens, and were supportive, if a little bit worried, when I decided 6 months out from my original submission date to carry out historical research. Zoë has had the right balance of frustration to temper her patience to push me along. Greg has a healthy skepticism towards ‘pomo’ that encouraged me to be very precise in my arguments. Clifton Evers is a great friend and has helped me manage my philosophical excesses. Deleuzian philosophy is a ‘know how’ for the educationally and socially privileged, and Clif never let me forget that privilege. Statement of Authentication The work presented in this thesis is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, original except as acknowledged in the text. I hereby declare that I have not submitted this material, either in full or in part, for a degree at this or any other institution. Glen Robert Fuller _____________________ Table of Contents Table of Contents _____________________________________________________ i Figures _______________________________________________________________ iii Abstract _____________________________________________________________ v Introduction __________________________________________________________ 1 Defects ............................................................................................................... 9 Structure of the Dissertation.......................................................................... 20 Chapter 1 Events of Enthusiasm ______________________________________ 22 Bathurst Cruise................................................................................................. 30 Kant’s Enthusiasm ........................................................................................... 35 Stupid Shit......................................................................................................... 41 Affect versus Drive(r)s..................................................................................... 47 Hot Lap............................................................................................................. 52 The Event of Enthusiasm ................................................................................ 62 Chapter 2 ‘Know How’_______________________________________________ 74 The Belt Part 1 .............................................................................................. 82 The Belt Part 2 .............................................................................................. 94 The Belt Part 3 ............................................................................................ 101 The Serial Problematic Contiguity of Enthusiasm..................................... 103 ‘Know How’ of the Scene ........................................................................... 107 Chapter 3 The Scene and Dispositif of Street Rodding_________________ 114 ‘Street Rods’ .................................................................................................. 124 ‘Modified Vehicle’........................................................................................ 133 ‘Classic Customs’ (or ‘Street Machines’?)................................................ 142 From Statements to Power Relations......................................................... 147 Black Banning and the Sanctioned Event................................................ 152 Chapter 4 Street Machining: the ASMF and Summernats______________ 169 The Australian Street Machine Federation ............................................... 171 Forgotten Histories ........................................................................................ 183 Chic Henry: Traitor or Entrepreneur? ......................................................... 188 Chapter 5 Street Machining Magazines and Technology _____________ 208 “Supercar Scare”.......................................................................................... 211 Early Articulations of the ‘Street Machine’ ............................................... 215 The Problematic of Performance in Early Street Machine Magazine.. 223 “V8’s ‘till ‘98”.................................................................................................. 229 ‘Pro-Street’ ..................................................................................................... 240 ‘Head Turners’ ............................................................................................... 246 Chapter 6 Enthusiasm as a Resource ________________________________ 254 The Tension between Active and Passive Enthusiasm............................ 256 Biopolitics of Charisma................................................................................. 271 From Cultural Commodities to Cultural Events ........................................ 279 Architecture of the Spectacle ................................................................... 285 Chapter 7 ‘Fast Fours’ and the Emergence of New Enthusiasms _______ 294 i Street Machining Discourse and ‘Fast Fours’ ........................................... 297 Rotaries........................................................................................................... 303 ‘Hi Tech’ Fast Fours ....................................................................................... 307 The Rise of the Imports ................................................................................. 312 Post-V8 Street Machining and the Year of the Pump............................. 319 Chapter 8 Politics of Valorisation and Online Sociality_________________ 328 The Last Ride: Muscle Cars and Rice Burners.......................................... 330 Complexities of the Politics of Valorisation............................................... 336 Autosalon and the Spectacle of Import Culture..................................... 347 Fordmods: Cultural Events and Online Sociality ...................................... 358 Conclusion: Many Enthusiasms ______________________________________ 372 References_________________________________________________________ 383 ii Table of Figures Figure 1.1 Bathurst cruise photo Figure 2.1 Print out of ‘dyno day’ result from Crescent Motorsport Figure 3.1 [Cover image] (1973) Australian Hot Rodding Review. November 17(3) Figure 3.2 Myer, M. (1973) “Narrandera ‘73” Australian Hot Rodding Review. June 16(4): 32 Figure 3.3 [cover image] (1976) Wheels. May Figure 4.1 [poster image] (1975) Australian Hot Rodding Review. March- May 19(5): 23 Figure 4.2 [cover image] (1984) Street Machine December-January Figure 4.3 [page image] Street Machine December-January 8 Figure 4.4 [page image] Street Machine December-January 9 Figure 5.1 [cover image] (1971) Street & Strip (1) Figure 5.2 [inside cover image] (1971) Street & Strip (1) Figure 5.3 [cover image] (1985) Street Machine February-March Figure 5.4 “Holden Advertisement” (1984) Street Machine June-July 17 Figure 5.5 [page image] Paradise, Geoff (1984) “’V8s ‘till ‘98’: Update” Street Machine June-July 13 Figure 5.6 [cover image] Pro-Street: Australia’s Wildest Street Machines! Figure 5.7 [cover image] (1981) Street Machine & Van Wheels December-January Figure 6.1 [cover image] (1986) Street Machine March Figure 6.2 [cover image] (1987) Street Machine December Figure 6.3 [cover image] (1988) Street Machine May-April Figure 7.1 [cover image] (1988) Fast Fours & Rotaries (1) Figure 7.2 [cover image] (1983) Street Machine June-July iii Figure 7.3 [cover image] (1992) Fast Fours & Rotaries September- October Figure 7.4 [cover image] (1990) Fast Fours & Rotaries January-February Figure 7.5 [cover image] (n.d.) Fast Fours & Rotaries 9(3) Figure 7.6 [cover image] (n.d.) Hot 4s & Wild Rotaries (13) Figure 8.1 Dobrincic, Marcus [photographer] [n.d.] “Boys n’ the