when i started modding imports back in the early to mid 90's, the term clean came from the west coast. from what i understood, it meant adding parts that flowed with the vehicle. it meant no parts that stuck out like a sore thumb. no huge spoilers, no flourescent colored wheels, no tint, no chrome wheels, etc etc.

the whole purpose and idea around the term, clean, was to attract as much attention to your car without using specific parts that created the attention, but more, the whole picture is what created the attention. that was how i was taught back in the day and is still how i perceive the term, clean. however, alot of people, as already mentioned earlier in this thread, throw the term around as if it were equivalent to the term, cool.

you see, back in the day, the import scene actually had culture. it had its own sense of class and individulality. now, everything is played out in the blink of an eye. its all about fads now. people want to act like they are all individualistic, when in reality, they are just followers. they aren't doing anything that hasn't already been done 100 times and then some. now, im not hating on people and what they do, this is purely just an observation. in the end, do what makes you happy and fuck the rest.