5 Ways ‘Fast and the Furious’ Changed Cars

Mackenzie says hardcore gearheads have roundly ignored the films or see them as strictly entertainment, which means that surge came mostly from newbies who may have opened their car's hood a time or two to check the oil.

Unfortunately, much of that enthusiasm failed to trickle down through the sequels with any consistency. While performance parts companies such as Turbonetics saw enough of a bump from the films to invest in being featured in the sequels -- Turbonetics was in Fast & Furious, its logo featured on the front of Walker's Nissan Skyline -- Mackenzie doubts the franchise has converted any corporate drones into full-time tuners.

"The Fast and the Furious franchise is philosophically not a lot different from the hot rod movies of the early '60s," Mackenzie say. "They're picking on a cultural phenomenon or a subculture, as it were, and whether that inspired anyone new to go out and customize a car ... probably not."

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