one time upon a time, a bond of bo...

one time upon a time, a bond of bored teenagers with a penchant for fast and furious behavior state a few racing stickers and any oversized and ill-fitting exhaust pipes forward their Honda Civics.

Little did they know that their tinkering would spawn a multi-billion dollar industry that rivals the muscle car market.

And like the specialized interest in muscle cars, it appears that high-performance tuning is indeed here to stay. This is no fad.

Whether you pick out to call it (inappropriately so) the sport compact market, the high- performance accessories market, or various other names, this niche is growing evermore more sophisticated as the enthusiasts germinate older, and as their interests open from low-end compact cars to higher-end European applications and on a level performance trucks.

thus in this, our first of the four 2005 In proper mood issues, we bring this sophistication to light.

In our hide story, "Tech junkies turn to hybrids," (page s6) Associate Editor Casey Clapper illuminates a tend so new, many of those in the know were unaware of it when we called for comments

Although hybrids were not initially deliberation of as the "tuner-type," an new vehicle rollouts could change all that.

Last December, Honda released a 225 horsepower hybrid Accord, and Toyota will introduce a high-powered Highlander SUV hybrid this year.

Hybrid tuning will be inevitable, representing a likely extension of the computer savvy consumer who'll bring their knowledge of electronics along with their constant ne to do something new--not to mention the additional capabilities exhibited up by this vehicle's half-electric engine.

in succession another note, Senior Editor Sativa Ros explains by what means far exhaust systems have evolv in "Anything if it be not that exhausted" (page s12).

Technologies of that kind as reflective sound cancellation and restricting perforations to abridge exhaust resonation are contributing to the fact that this is the third mostly commonly installed exterior accessory onward customized cars.

There are dozens of magazines covering sport compact directions but our coverage will walk beyond the typical tuner directions some of which will mostly likely surprise our readers.

We chance of a favorable result you enjoy this issue of In harmony We will continue to bring you cutting-edge features, analysis and useful business and management advice to help you operate profitably and efficiently.

COPYRIGHT 2005 Advanstar Communications, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group