Slang. Modern Eng. Origin: California.
Rice cooker is car slang for a 4 cylinder (V4).
Applies to: VW, Accura, Honda, Integra, Nissan, Toyota, Mazda, Rabbit,
Jetta, Vanagon, Isuzu, Miata, and generally any 4 or 6 cylinder Asian Import, sometimes applies to other cars made in other countries, like VW Jetta, based solely on the fact that it's a 4-cylinder and fast as shit. ""Rice cooker" is racially derogatory slang aimed at japanese imports. It's anachronistic to point it at german imports. It's be like calling a japanese person a "stupid Kraut" just cause they were the same height as a german."
Thanks for the heads-up, Ronin, but details, details.
Reason: Many new technologies in these compact sports and coupes can out-perform some of the leading American Muscle Cars factory(stock). Well, when a brand new 2-door Honda Accord V4 beats a 350 Camaro in the straight shoot, what will the Camaro driver say? Rice cooking piece of shit or something along those lines. The reason the newer engines out-perform bigger, older engines is the technical perfection in them. The new engines are near-perfectly balanced, and provide more horsepower and torque per valve and cylinder than do their big bulky counterparts.
Older engines tend to loose a lot of HP and T in the form of heat, and kinetic energy in the form of quaking, rumbling, and shaking. Plus+, the aftermarket options for newer engines, especially mass-produced, cheap V4 parts provide insane boosts to HP and T for half the price.
It's not the size of the engine that counts, it's the literal energetic output per valve and cylinder applied to the transmission in the form of torque and horsepower, which is in turn applied to the wheels in the form of kinetic centrifugal motion.