"Ricer," to me, is any Japanese car (whether it has a Japanese nameplate or a domestic one - a lot of Mitsubishis are overe here wearing MOPAR nameplate, for instance - and Mazdas under the Ford marque...) with goofy mods - like a beach towel rack on the decklid, and a batch of "Type R" tags all over (don't forget the coffee can exhaust tip, and cut springs are usually a dead giveaway - making it bounce more than a clown car.)
I don't have anything against a well-done modification - but I don't see a lot that are "well-done." The only "Low rider" I've liked, for instance, was the van in "Cheech and Chong's Next Movie." There was a concept that guided it, not just "how low can you go?" I don't limbo - neither will my car.
"Rice-burner" is just a generic term for any vehicle of Japanese manufacture - regardless of intent. A "rice-burner" can be any Toyota, Honda, Lexus, Acura, or whatever - Hell, we may as well throw in Hyundai and Daewoo (both Korean) and Kia (Pacific Rim somewhere...)
I agree with a "ricer" or "riced-out" being a vehicle that looks like a failed extre for "The Fast and the Furious," or that drove by the Sport Compact Tuner adverts section after being coated with Gorilla glue - most of them are just plain stupid.
And, I also agree that it's possible to "rice out" anything - I once saw a late-model Mustang with an automatic transmission that had a Monster Tach with shift light installed. What the Hell?!? Why for does one need a shift light (a functional shift light - I saw it light!?!) with an AOD transmission?
Ricers are like low riders - they can be done well, but they're more commonly done badly. One of the most decent low riders I saw around here was actually done on a Yugo GV (huh?) - nicely done paint without being gaudy, rather understated "pulse" graphics, window tint sans bubbles, and a sound system whose main point seemed to be sounding decent, not registering on the seismograph at Fordham. Nice job - pity he didn't do it on something a little better. You can't polish a turd, you know...
A "concept" low rider can be cool, but a classic with drop spindles, drop airbags, and "scratch plates" is somewhere well to the left of stupid. Any vehicle lowered to the point where it can't handle kerbs and speed bumps is stupid (I once saw a "compact truck" that had been lowered - came into the apartment complex and ripped out the fuel tank on a speed bump. First time I'd seen a private individual have to fill out an EIS...)
Oh - isn't the Dodge Stratus really made by Mitsubishi? Some Dodges are - take the Neon, for instance. It's a Mitsu wearing Dodge brass, no more or less...
5-90