One of the famous lines from the cult movie The Fast and the Furious is: “…overnight parts from Japan.” As if it were really that easy and quick to get car parts. Perhaps it indeed was back in those days, but in our modern tariff-filled turbulent times, the wait can be excruciating. And you’ll pay more for the product, too.
Unless of course you took advantage of Black Friday deals like I did. On the day after Thanksgiving 2025 I bought a set of wheels for my then new-to-me MK7 VW Golf GTI. It wasn’t anything special, just the same exact wheel as the original set that came with the car, but painted silver. The factory wheels were painted in black. I absolutely detest black-colored wheels, and don't understand why it is the current fashion in automotive-dom.
You look at the wheels of most new cars on sale, and the wheels are likely painted black. Why spend the R&D money at all on intricate wheel design when it all gets lost in a black circle. Worst, after a fresh coat of brake dust, black-colored wheels look like a decaying, rusting piece of iron. No thank you.
That was why I was determined to get different set of wheels. Thankfully Volkswagen sells the same design in silver, so that was the obvious choice. I am too old to be fussing with fitting aftermarket wheels. OEM is the best. They’ve certainly spent the most money developing the parts.
It wasn’t until last week that the wheels I ordered back in November of last year, arrived and ready for pick up. Five freaking months of waiting, because the wheels are made in Germany, and these days importing anything from outside the U.S. seems to be a hilarious crap-shoot. Overnight parts from Japan in 2026? It’ll probably get stuck in customs.
The daily show.