Event Coverage | SEMA 2013 (Pt. II)

Night Import: Photography by Kain Chau | Words by William Lee

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It's time to show you guys are Part 2 coverage on SEMA 2013. I've been really busy, so once again, my apology with the late update on my blog. I have a lot things to share with you guys throughout this month. But before I get to those articles, the second coverage on SEMA will be shared first :)

 If you guys didn't check out our Part 1 coverage, I've mentioned that SEMA is an event where you will see the finest modified cars around the world. Even cars out of the States come down to SEMA, just to get that special attention from spectators, aftermarket companies, and others that are strongly related to the automotive scene. One of the cars that got that attention was the car you guys see above; Job Design's Lexus. I'll get back to it pretty soon, so let's get on with the coverage.

Event Coverage | SEMA 2013 (Pt. I)

Night Import: Photos by Kain Chau | Words by William Lee and Kain Chau

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Every year in Sin City, also known as Las Vegas, a "premier automotive specialty products trade" event is held at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Only those who are involved in the automotive industry are allowed to enter and not only will you be surrounded by a bunch of people, but also with the best modified cars in the world. I don't know where to start with my story with SEMA. I think my first attendance to SEMA was....3 years ago? That time period was when I barley got into the car scene, but I was very active here in California. Probably that is one of the reasons why I got accepted to enter SEMA with a few buddies of mine. I remember how amazed I was when I saw the cars because it was nowhere near to the cars I have seen at shows or meets.

Although I haven't been to the SEMA show since then, I always expected SEMA to get better. I mean...the most issued car for every year gets the spotlight at SEMA. For example, last year, Scion FRS and Subaru BRZ was the car that got the spotlight. Hundreds of modified FRSs and BRZs were displayed, as well as other cars, but I don't remember :) This year, I was expecting the same as last year.

Because of my work schedule that has been getting hectic, I couldn't take a week off to attend SEMA and I was going CRAZY! Getting media credentials was not a problem, but because I couldn't attend, I needed someone from our staffs to cover the event. Luckily, my boy Kain (editor) took 2-3 days off from work, drove to Vegas with his beautiful FRS, and covered the event like a boss. He did not have a camera in hand, so the photos you are about to see was taken with a cellphone.

Event Coverage | Hellaflush Japan 2013

Night Import: Photography by All That Low (Charles Zee Zayas) | Words by William Lee

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Welcome back to Night Import everyone. It's been a while for me as well to log into my blog and write an actual event coverage haha. Hope everyone is doing well. A lot of shit happened here in the States and I have no idea what the hell is going on. Government shutdown, Obama, Chicken, etc. I know none of this is related to my coverage today, but I just hope everyone is safe and having a good life ya kno?

Few days ago, my boy Charles sent a bunch of photos that were taken at several places. He's been pretty dam busy heading to meets and even hosting his own one. He messaged me few days ago about his meet and told me it was a huge success. I remember back in the days when I had my own meet and more than 300 cars showed up! It was pretty much the same story for Charles. You'll be seeing some cars repping All That Low (Charles's site) throughout this coverage.

Charles covered Hellaflush Japan at Fuji Speedway. As many of you guys know, Fatlace started this event and every single year, the amount of cars that participated increased tremendously. Many of you guys were probably inspired by the flush scene in Japan, but what is pretty interesting is that many car owners in Japan follow the trend or style here in our country. Let's get on with the coverage so that you guys can see it for yourselves.

Random NightLife | CFD Productions

Night Import: Photography by CFD Productions | Words by William Lee

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Today, I felt like sharing some photos that were taken and edited by our contributing photographer Dan Pupura. He has been with us for a few years now and dedicated his work for my blog. Here are some unique edits and photos taken by Dan. Check them out :)

Nightlight | Bagged Golf

Night Import: Photography by Dan Purpura & Jim Davis | Words by William Lee

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Once in a while, I like to bring you guys something simple, yet surprising. I know there aren't many "stance" or "fitment" fans today in the scene, but for those who actually appreciate it, the support and love goes on forever. As a stance fan myself, I wanted to feature this clean Golf R shot by our contributors Dan Purpura and Jim Davis. This car comes all the way from Chicago and the story beings right now.

Event Coverage | Sessions Platinum VIP (Pt. I)

Night Import: Photography by All That Low (Charles Zayas) | Words by William Lee

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Being in the scene for more than 2 years now, I have encountered numerous "types" of cars; from track to fitted, almost everything in the scene today. Of course I appreciate every type ...except ones that have fake intercoolers and fake blow-off valves that make your car look like piece of shit :) One style I really loved from the beginning was VIP style cars. Many might think VIP cars are all about slamming them to the ground with extreme fitment, but let me tell you, there is much more to it.

The debate about VIP style has been going on forever. Personally, I don't think there is an exact definition of VIP style. If there was a standard for what a VIP style car should be, then I'm pretty dam sure almost every car out there that fixes up their car in a VIP style way would be all the same. I personally think the "details" make up a VIP style car.

Well today, this coverage post is not to discuss about what is VIP style or not, but to show you guys how strong the VIP community is in Japan by posting up a coverage of one of the biggest VIP car shows called Sessions Platinum VIP, a show that is hosted by a VIP shop called Sessions. Like always, the show was held at Fuji Speedway. You will encounter numerous cars here and will realize the people in this show have a passion for VIP style cars. I have looked through the pictures Charles sent me last week and was shocked to see some of these cars going over the limit of fitment and the details that were put into it.

NightLife | Anime Expo 2013 (Day 1)

Night Import: Photography by Kain Chau | Words by William Lee

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There will always be a group of fans for a certain field of entertainment. I'm sure some of you guys looking at my blog right now is a car fanatic, or should I say, just a fan of cars. But more than cars today, I want to share a coverage that is totally irrelevant to the automotive world. Actually, I wouldn't say "totally" because Itasha involve cars being dressed up with anime characters. Back to what I wanted to say, last week, I attended one of the biggest Anime conventions called Anime Expo with our editor Kain Chau. It was like 2 years ago when I first went to this event with Nick Schultz, Kain Chau, David Izrailov, and a few others. I was always a huge fan of Anime and wanted to attend Anime Expo. The only Anime I watch is Naruto and Bleach, so I was pretty stoked to see people dressed up as Ichigo, Naruto, Kakashi, etc. That was back then and for this year, I wanted to check out what was new to the Anime world.

This event goes on for 4 days and every single day, you'll be in a massive crowd of people doing cosplay. The weather was hot as fuk and it was even more hotter inside the convention because of the amount of people, but I tried to stay as long as possible to capture awesome moments with Kain. I attended on Thursday (July 4, 2013) and Saturday and took a lot of shots, but before I post my own photos, I will be sharing Kain's because he was with me throughout the whole time and what he captured was pretty much what I captured. Let's get on with the coverage.

Event Coverage | AutoCon 2013

Night Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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What a week of excitement. Since the day I met up with special people few weeks ago, I was looking forward to attend one of the biggest events in California; AutoCon. If you have been active in the car scene, then you know the history of AutoCon. This particular show started out at an underground parking structure few years ago. It was definitely a huge success, considering many shows not having a huge crowd of automotive enthusiasts. Since then, the show gradually moved its location to a bigger venue, having more than hundreds of people and cars in attendance.

As mentioned above, the special people were Justin and Nate, the hosts of AutoCon. We, including my friend John Zhang (1013mm), had a long discussion about the goal and purpose of AutoCon and I couldn't be more pleased with what they had to say. It wasn't all about the 'success' or 'money', but bringing together all the enthusiasts at one place to express their 'passion' for cars. If you check out AutoCon's official website, you will know that their next event will be at a different state. It's just a start for AutoCon and they might be hosting an event at your state in the near future.

Last Saturday, AutoCon's first event of this year was held at Santa Anita Park, California. I believe this was the same location where AutoCon was held last year, but because of my busy schedule that time, our contributor Nick Schultz attended to do a coverage for my blog. This year, I just had to make it, even though I had work early in the morning.

NightLife | What I Spotted

Night Import: Photos and words by William Lee

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Harro! So many events are coming up and I'm sure many of you guys planned out everything; either showing your car or attending an event. I've been so out of the scene, I don't know what is what these days. All I know is that Wekfest is this Saturday, Autocon will be on June 1st, and SpoCom, Motion Auto Show, etc. etc. will be happening soon. I will be attending a few, so spot me! Well today, I was looking through my facebook fanpage, checked out some blogs to see what was new in the scene, and browsed through my phone to see what kind of cars I spotted this year. If you follow me on Instagram (@wlee87), you probably saw most of the photos I'll be posting up today, but if not, then check it out! By the way, the photos were taken with my Galaxy Note II (Note ROCKS!), so don't expect crazy ass photos.

The car you see up there is a 1998 Benz S600 owned by my good friend Dino. It is rocking Brabus Monoblock IIIs and a full Wald kit. Windows are tinted (dark as fuk), trunk area was wrapped, as well as the sides, etc. Not sure what he will do next, but if you want to see it, just come to koreatown (^_^)v

NightLife | Fuji / Kawasaki / Autobacs ASM Yokohama

Night Import: Photography by Charles Zee Zayas (All That Low) | Words by William Lee

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How's it going everyone! It seems like the hot days are coming soon, because here in California, it's been hot as hell, so you know what that means~ car shows! I'll be making a separate post this week on upcoming car shows so stay tuned. Yeap yeap, you'll be seeing NI staffs and I at those shows, so don't forget to holla.

By the way, the blog itself has been quiet, so my apology once again. But every time I come back to post something on the blog, you know it's going to be good. Today, you will be going on a tour to very famous places in Japan. Our contributor Charles visited several places during this past 2 months, first being Fuji Speedway, ASM Yokohama, and Kawasaki, Japan. First off, let's check out Fuji Speedway.

Nightlight | Amuse 370Z

Night Import: Photography by Nick Schultz | Edit by Jim Davis | Words by William Lee

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In the automotive world today, especially in the modified car scene, there are not so many cars out there that are revealed to the public. Getting the opportunity to shoot such cars is a privilege for the photographer and also for the site that gets to feature it. A few months ago, my good friends from Bulletproof Automotive contacted me about a car that was built by their company, which was requested by the owner of the car, Oscar Morales. I have to give mad props to Oscar on deciding such a costly project. While many others go through a cheap route, it is those who support the original aftermarket companies that deserves recognition.  Already knowing Bulletproof Automotive being one of those companies that support authenticity and build flawless cars, I immediately accepted their request and asked one of our contributing photographers to go to their company to shoot the car. What you will be seeing today is a rare beauty. I'm not talking about an ordinary 370Z that you see on the streets. Get ready to be astonished.

Nightlight | Dial 911

Night Import: Photography by Jim Davis & Dan Purpura | Words by William Lee

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The passion for cars like you and I continue on until we die. It's not just brand new cars that attract us, but also used ones that are stock or once built with aftermarket parts. Obviously, the built ones are sold much less than its original value, but if it fits our taste, then we think about if it's worth the buy. Today, you will see a car that was bought used, but built, and was built even more to fulfill the owner's taste. Let me introduce you to this beautifully built 2002 Porsche 911 Turbo owned by Chris Cossey.

NightLife | Car Meet in Japan (Tokyo)

Night Import: Photography by Charles Zee Zayas (All That Low) | Words by William Lee

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Hello everyone! Welcome back to the official blog. If you're keeping yourselves updated with car news, I'm sure you guys were excited to see the cars revealed by several car manufactures, the main spotlights being Ferrari, Lamborghini, and McLaren. Pretty awesome eh? haha. Well other than that, just to give you guys a heads up with the blog, there will be 2 features coming up very very soon, so make sure you visit my facebook fanpage to see the update. Anyways, back to today's coverage, our contributor Charles took a trip to a meet in Tokyo. He actually visits this location pretty often because of the good amount of cars that show up. Like usual, there were pretty nicely modified cars and Charles took a quick tour to take a snap.

Event Coverage | Tokyo Auto Salon 2013 Pt. II

Night Import: Photography by Charles Zee Zayas | Words by William Lee

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If you've been following my blog for a long time, then you know when I do an event coverage, there will be more than 1 part to it. But that's just me, not how my blog's contributors do there event coverages. Charles was actually digging through his SD card to see if he had more photos from Tokyo Auto Salon 2013 and luckily, he found some that weren't posted in our part 1 coverage of TAS 2013. If part 1 was favored by many of you guys, then I guarantee you will enjoy part 2. To start it off, here are two powerful beauties from the kick off of D1GP.

Event Coverage | Tokyo Auto Salon 2013

Night Import: Photography by Charles Zee Zayas | Words by William Lee

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Here I am again! It's been a long time right? Well I brought you guys something good today, yes, something REALLY good. As many of you guys know, beginning of every year in Japan, a major car event goes on called Tokyo Auto Salon. If you are new to the car scene, imagine tons of modified cars and models at one place to please your eyes. I actually have not been to this event and need to apologize to you guys because of breaking my promise of attending this event this year (2013). Because of personal things I had to take care of, I couldn't make it (ㅠㅠ). However, my good friend in Japan, Charles Zee Zayas, was able to attend this event and took some awesome photos to share with you guys.

Tokyo Auto Salon 2013 started on January 11 to January 13 at Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall. Tons of aftermarket companies participated in this year's event and surprised many car lovers by introducing new products for various cars.

According to Charles, he was not able to take a lot of photos inside the convention hall because of being more interested in the outside area, as well as the opening of D1 Grand Prix. Don't be too disappointed because Charles spotted some awesome rides here and there. Let's just get on with the coverage.

NightLife | 2013

Night Import: Words by William Lee

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Wow! WOW! The blog is still alive!!!!!!!!! YAYYYYYYYYYYY~~~~~~~~~ haha how's it going guys. This is William, the owner of Night Import. Gawd dammit, I haven't updated my blog for 3 months or so. Shit...I feel really horrible and want to apologize to all of you Night Import fans because of the lack of work I've put into this site, other than the fanpage, which I do update almost every hour. The reason why I logged in today was to write down few of my goals for Night Import in 2013. 2011-2012 was a blast because that 1 year of hard work made my blog well-known in the automotive scene (my thought). So, what do I have in mind for 2013?

When I first started Night Import, I was active, very active. If you went to a car show or car meet, you would see me walking back and forth, taking multiple pictures of one car and going down every aisle, doing the same thing with every car. Many of you guys saw me so many times that you had to stop me from doing my work and ask if I worked for a blog. I think that's the reason why Night Import got known and how my work got appreciated by many in the scene today. That dedication I had in the past did stop for a while because of work, but I can guarantee you that dedication will continue on in 2013. After selling my tC, I got a new car and will get another car to fix up, so you'll be seeing me pretty dam soon. I have no idea what event is coming up, but if it's an event or meet that will make me excited, than I'll be there for sure.

Car features were not such a big part of Night Import. There were very exclusive cars that were featured here, but the total number of cars that had its own feature lacked tremendously compared to other blogs. Some of you guys might think I am VERY picky when it comes to a car that is feature worth, which is partly true, but it was mostly the lack of time I had to go out there, find a location, contact the owner, and etc. 2013 will be different. I will obviously make some time to shoot more cars, but look forward to see the cars that will be shot by our contributing photographers.

Other than the two I have mentioned at the top, I really don't have anything in mind. In my opinion, what makes a car blog popular or well-known, is honesty and the content. It doesn't matter how many cars were featured or how many events one has been to. There are definitely pros and cons when it comes to honesty (yes, I have been through them all), but it is what it is and if you can't take my honesty, then too bad. The honesty will continue on for 2013 and the contents will be top notch. I'll bring you guys fun, and you guys just enjoy it :)


Bye 2012, welcome 2013. Lego Night Import.