I think most of the done up cover cars that get the ink at Nopi and elsewhere are put together by tuner shops and other private companies, to market high powered stereos, cold air intakes, vinyl graphics, neon lighting, fake carbon fiber, mufflers, aftermarket tail lamps, etc. The girls dancing around in tube tops are yet more of this same marketing to the "X-Box Generation".

I think most of the cars that real 17-year-old "sport compact" kids own might get a muffler and some LED washer nozzles (and that's about it). I am not saying they don't exist, but there are very few people out there crazy enough to actually spend $40K on a Civic with the intent of racing it or showing it off. For that kind of money, why not buy a lightly used Porsche 911, barely off the lot Corvette, or even the occasionally seen 10-year-old Viper? Anyone with real sense would.

And, I have thought the same thing about insurance rates driving the trend. Probably those who buy the muffler and the APC stickers are trying to spruce up the only car their folks would let them have (usually an Asian econobox of some stripe). Those few who spend big bucks to street race probably have little regard for high insurance costs, as breaking the law in anything by a wide margin is contrary to getting a good rate. Or, maybe I am just spending a lot of time rationalizing yet more proof that some people just have no darn sense.