Event Coverage | 2014 HKS Premium Day

February 3, 2014

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

HKS (12 of 74)

One of the most biggest events after Tokyo Auto Salon is an event held by a very well-known tuning company called HKS. I'm pretty sure for those who have been in the scene for quite a long time know this company by its reputation of high-end performance. As always, their event was held at Fuji Speedway and a good amount of spectators and participants crowded the location.

This event is not like any other events that are held in the states. I would say the only event that reminds me of both displaying your car and actually driving it on the track was Sideway Sundays. Most of the events are only known for displaying and that pretty much sums up everything when it comes to a car event. However, HKS takes its event to another level. Not only do other prestigious aftermarket companies participate at this event, but they also get an opportunity to track their car on the track, competing with each other for the fastest lap. You can pretty much tell that it's not only about the looks of your car that matters in Japan, but everything is well modified internally and externally. To experience that feeling, HKS Premium Day is a must-to-attend event in Japan.

Event Coverage | Tokyo Auto Salon 2014 (Pt. I - Theme White)

January 14, 2014

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

TAS14 (29 of 77)

Hello everyone! Ok..I don't want to act like this is my first blog post.. WSUP GUYS!!!! Long time no see. I actually forgot to add coverage on an event in Japan that happened few months ago, so I'll postpone that one and start with a fresh one, actually, a first blog post for the year of 2014. I'm pretty sure many of you guys were looking forward to see NI's coverage on Tokyo Auto Salon, because we had a good amount of comments and feedback for our 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon coverage.

Like usual, our boy Charles in Japan participated at this year's TAS and he had a lot to say about it. According to Charles, the cars were phenomenal and the people were really awesome, other than what he had to say about the waiting in line haha. You guys will see what he had to say about the event in a bit, but before that, I want to share my thoughts about this year's TAS, even though I did not have the time to attend.

I've been keeping myself updated with almost every event that happens around the world. I can't say which event was the best because every event had its own taste of cars. Today's post is about TAS, so let's talk about that. Here in the States, the FRS and BRZ were the cars that got the most attention. It was the same in Japan, but a lot more kits and other parts were introduced for the Toyota 86 as well as for other make/models. If you guys know of SEMA, you can think of TAS being the Japan version of SEMA. It's all about modified cars and newly introduced car parts, such as wheels, coilovers, body kits, etc. being displayed for those who attend the event. I'm not only talking about FRSs and BRZs, but other JDM cars and even European cars that are also introduced/showcased with new parts. In a company's perspectives, they attend TAS to stock up JDM parts or make contracts with widely known companies such as Top Secret, Varis, Amuse, etc., but for bloggers like us, we capture the details of almost every modified cars that is in attendance. Here is what Charles had to say about the event. After you guys read it, we will start with the coverage.

By the way, we are going to do something different compared to all the other blogs that did a coverage on TAS 2014. Today, we will show you guys most of the spotted White cars by Charles.
2014 is here and I want to thank Night Import for one, bringing me up in this game, and two, for allowing me the opportunity to show my content here. Friday morning, I woke up at 6am to catch a bus from Yokohama Station to head to TAS Press DAY. Upon arrival, I was highly disappointed as it seemed they let every nut in the place who said they were "PRESS". I'm not special or anything but trying to provide you guys through Night Import is special enough for me. But the old weirdo's with video cameras and huge DSLR's pointed directly into the model faces and trying to get up-skirt photos is just not what press day is for me. But I hear there is a market to push photos like that. I myself don’t have the time and patience to sit there and battle for lead position to take a photo of a chick I don’t even know. Haha. However, the event itself was actually not bad. This year, I had a plan set out in the AM, but with the amount of people allowed in before the Public opening at 1pm I was limited to what I can shoot. I know I spread the word of Night Import and my own blog Allthatlow so I hope to do some shop visits and more event coverage. I appreciate everyone's support with both of our blogs. Please follow us for more content from across that big ocean. Japan. I'm out -Zee-

Nightlight | Amuse 370Z

March 28, 2013

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 | Memorable Rides of 2011

December 30, 2011

Night Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

The rides in SoCal's Finest Rides #1 deserved much more props because of the owner's activeness and their flawless rides. It's difficult to manage a show-car and on top of that, daily driving it or taking it out to meets. I'm much stoked to see how those cars will change next year!

Continuing on from where I left off yesterday, today's feature will be one of my favorites out of all. First off, let me mention that I've never been to other states to spectate a car show other than seeing coverage's done by other blogs and sites. My judgment and decisions were based off of seeing these cars in person, meaning most of them were located in Southern California and were scrutinized with my enthusiastic attention. Many of us already know Southern California is pretty much the heart of car shows so it's not such a surprise when one comes across a gorgeously modified car and then seeing it exposed worldwide.
The cars that will be shown today will be the ones I personally thought were the best from the many I've seen this year. I'm talking about exceptional and outrageously built cars that are now recognized by many enthusiasts around the world. It was very challenging to pick ten cars out of all the beautiful ones I've observed, but I think I made the right choices. You'll obviously recognize some of them, but for those who just stepped into the scene, get ready to be surprised and inspired.

*Order of cars shown below was not based off of ranking but by random.


Night Import Choice #1
RWBs
It was a dream-come-true when I actually got to see Nakai-san's work in person at SEMA. RAUH-Welt Begriff has been in the scene for years, but reading about this company as a blogger was not too long ago. After seeing the builds and video provided by Maiham Media, RWB Porsche 911s became one of my favorite modified cars. Who knows? I might buy a 911 in the near future and go with RWB (^-^)

Random NightLife | Memorable Car Shows and Meets of 2011

December 17, 2011

Night Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

JCCS-226
What a great year! Wow! I'm sitting down in front of my study table, typing this article while thinking about all the events and meets I've been to in 2011. Yea~ I know it sucks that the End of the World is coming soon, and because it is, it's time for me to choose the meets and car shows I've been to that were memorable and enjoyable. I've plugged in my external hard drive to see what's been done throughout this year and holy hell, the hard drive decided to shut down on me and all the saved files disappeared. Luckily, my brain had a back-up storage system that only saved automotive related events and not school or friends, which might make me sound like an ass, but for my blog and you guys, it's something to definitely appreciate. I took some time to think about how many I've been to and the amount really did exceed my expectations. If I counted correctly and only included the ones that were automotive related, I've been to 150+ car shows + meets. My aspirations were not to attend the most meets and become competitive with other bloggers, but it was that unexplainable force that pulled me into a world that I couldn't escape. No matter how much I tried, avoiding the temptations to drive my slammed Scion tC to anywhere in Southern California was not happening. That's how much I loved and still love what I do as a hobby and will continue on for myself and for all you fans out there that truly appreciate Night Import.

Special Coverage | Bulletproof's 11th Anniversary Car Meet

October 16, 2011

Night-Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

Bulletproof Meet-49
Managing my own personal blog for a year now led me to so many situations and through those situations, accomplishing goals within this scene. It might sound awkward to some of you guys when I say the word goal, but seeing so many different events occurring in a community, there are things you really want to see a change, such as improvements in certain fields of the automotive industry or giving some spotlight to those who deserve it. My intentions were straightforward when I created Night Import and so far, I have to say I've been doing a pretty darn good job. Naw, I don't think I'm being cocky at all because I still have a long way to go and lack the knowledge in many parts of this field, but looking through how I spent my past year in the car scene, there were times when I said to myself "Wow..serious?" because of feeling honored or just thrilled.

Few months ago when Bulletproof Automotive contacted me to be the main Media for their upcoming meet, I felt as if what I've been working for came to a point where it was all worth it.
Bulletproof is known for being a distributor of Japan aftermarket parts, but also for their blog, Real JDM. Unlike other companies, keeping things authentic is what this company is all about and if you read through their blog, you'll either see/read about their project cars or thoughts about the automotive industry, which is not doing so well today. You'll rarely come across blogs that talk about sensitive subjects and speak the truth, which is why I personally consider Bulletproof as one of the best companies and blogs out there today. Their 11th Anniversary meet held at K1 Speed in Torrance, CA yesterday was a day for those who followed Bulletproof for a long time or recent fans like me, knowing what was good and being supportive with originality . Although there weren't a crazy amount of cars like local night meets, this meet was more of quality than quantity.

Event Coverage | SpoCom 2011 (Pt. II)

August 8, 2011

Night-Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

SpoCom 2011-306
Back with the coverage on SpoCom! I know you guys were waiting for it! (if not...nvm). There are so many photos to share and like always, I don't want to dump them in a photo album for you guys to just click and check out, so you'll be seeing separate parts of my own coverage and also a few others done by our photographers as well.
I made a few mistakes in Part 1 and those are now fixed! Things got a bit hectic at the last minute and I had to leave without reading what I even wrote. Promise I'll be a bit more careful before I get threatened. (-_-)v
I'm starting Part 2 with a photo of MotorMavens and Wheel Flip's booth. Thanks again to Antonio from MotorMavens for helping us out. More photos will be shared later on.

Random Spotlight | 370 AmuZe

July 10, 2011

Night-Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

Powerhouse Amuse full body kit 370Z
Amongst the Z crowd, one model you rarely see being modified to its full potential or unique is a 370Z. During my visit to Fontana Nissan Meet today, I spotted this Red 370Z parked behind of another Z, which many didn’t realize. What caught my attention was the authentic full Powerhouse Amuse body kit and Volk TE37SLs.

Meet Coverage: BulletProof Automotive Meet & Greet

November 12, 2010

Night-Import: Photography by William Lee

Bullet -6

I love going to local meets and sometimes, meets that are a bit far but put together by good people.
Bulletproof Automotive/GT-RR/Bespoke Ventures started since 2000 and has been growing rapidly in the automotive community. The whole group being a family, they have a blog called "The Real JDM," updating automotive enthusiasts with various car related news and their own project cars. Having many fans checking their blog, they decided to create the first BulletProof Automotive meet & greet.
I was pretty surprised with the turn out.
100+ cars came to show and the company even brought their own cars including their project GT-R.