"Ricing" as used here comes from a pejorative which fundamentally comes from using "rice" as a race-based slur for people buying a (cheap) Japanese vehicle like a Honda Civic and then modifying it for looks rather than power or efficiency.<p>See <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_burner" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_burner</a> and the many comments on the term in the Talk page.