Anime Impulse (2023)

October 2, 2023

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


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Welcome back everyone. I know it's weird that I'm consecutively covering Anime related events, but this one will cover much more cars than Anime Expo, so some of you guys might like this coverage. I'm a huge fan of Anime and Cars and this event, Anime Impulse, had both. Anime Impulse was held in the Anaheim Convention Center back in September and I was lucky enough to cover this event with my friend Andy. The event was obviously smaller than Anime Expo, but we had a great time visiting every part of the event. What was pretty unique about this one was that two other conventions were happening on the same day at the same place, which was for Kpop and Sneakers. There were tons of people present, vibe was awesome, and we enjoyed taking photos, so let's start with the coverage.

Event Coverage | AutoCon 2011 (Pt. I)

December 12, 2011

Night Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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How should I start this..I have so many things to say about this event, but need to keep it as simple as possible so that I don't lose fans and kill the excitement I've been gradually building up for the wait on this coverage.
First off, I want to give mad props to my guys Justin and Nate for their effort and time to create this amazing event. I don't even clearly remember when I met Justin, but as we were talking throughout the months, I realized he was a humble guy and had a clear mind of how he wanted the automotive scene to go. His huge success on hosting AutoCon last year continued on this year and as expected, it was overwhelming. The same props go to Nate as well. He's been an awesome guy since he approached me regarding a major event he was a part of last year, and consistently was a help with all the curiosities I had in the scene. Once again, great job by these two guys and if you do have some time to give some feedback, make sure to visit AutoCon's homepage and e-mail them. I'm sure they're expecting something from those who participated, so it would be great to give them more ideas about the event or just your overall experience.

Now, to talk about my experience at AutoCon this year, let's just say I have to place AutoCon in my Top 3 Car Shows of 2011. This event was more than a typical car show. It was not all about bringing your modified car, park, show it, and get an award if you won. Nor was it a time to only walk around and take photos of cars and models and leave like every other event, complaining about the parking and entrance fees, and the ridiculous food prices. The meaning of "AutoCon" pretty much explains everything; Automotive Connection. Actually, I have to say it was both an Automotive and Lifestyle event. AutoCon was created to bring the whole automotive community together at one place and enjoy what we all truly loved. It was about talking with your friends and family or even better, making new friends through cars. You also can't forget about the collaboration with Toys for Tots and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to help those who are in need. While covering the event and looking around like I always do at events, the vibe I felt at AutoCon was different and rather pleasing. I knew the whole purpose of AutoCon and I have to say that purpose was met. I usually see the same cars at every car show or the ones that were built to only show at major ones, but AutoCon brought out almost everything. Although there were ones that I've seen numerous times, some new ones and fully built cars such as the ones from Auto Concept Elite, Heavy Hitters, etc. came out to support this event. The photos I'm about to share with you guys will lead to a better a storyline than my words. Do know that this coverage will be separated in parts, so make sure to come back later on or read the updates I make through my fanpage.

Event Coverage | SEMA 2011 (Pt. I)

November 3, 2011

Night-Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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I was waiting..waiting..being patient..and...waiting.. You guys know wsup! Yeap~ the long awaited SEMA finally opened on Tuesday at Las Vegas Convention Center. Last year was totally off the hook except that I had to cover everything in two days without attending any parties. Actually, the night time stuff didn't really matter because the cars at SEMA were enough. If you haven't been to SEMA, there are basically 3 halls, each hall presenting/introducing companies from all around the world. It's pretty complicated, so you should check out the official SEMA page to know the details. Let's just skip to the good part~ I don't want to talk about all the rules and stuff about this event because it's long and for enthusiast like us, it's all about the cars!
So this trip can be pretty costly. Staying for 4~5 days at Las Vegas means 15~20 meals in total, which equates to ~$700. Trust me, if you don't plan everything ahead of time, you are literally fuked! That's why always save up for like 2 months, so that you can have a good time at Vegas instead of saving money AT Vegas. I did sort of make a mistake beforehand because what I thought was going to happen didn't, but luckily, my friend Kelvin (owner of the Do-Luck Widebody Evo 9), thankfully invited me to stay with him and his friend which are also my friends, so big thanks to him.

After planning things out, I woke up at 2am on Tuesday and headed out with excitement. To be honest, it's been a long time since I've been this excited. I don't mind looking at cars that I've seen more than once, but checking out ones I've never seen before at an event is an opportunity I don't want to miss, especially at an event like SEMA which is known for being one of the biggest automotive/industrial automotive show in the US. There were so many cars scattered throughout the hallways and outside area, so I'll try to break things down while keeping the content fresh and original. To start it off, I'll take you guys from the inside hallway.

Special Coverage | Drive @ UC Riverside

September 29, 2011

Night-Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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Almost everyone in the world knows about University of California schools, but only a few know about certain clubs and organizations, such as the one I'm about to introduce to you guys today. This past week, I re-discovered an organization within the UC schools called Drive @ UC_ or Imports @ UC_, which its purpose is to gather automotive enthusiasts and have a weekly or monthly car meet for students. I remember our photographer Nick Schultz bringing us coverage on Imports @ UCI, but the crowd was not as big as expected.
Few days ago, I got invited to UC Riverside's first Car Meet of the year, Drive @ UCR, by a good friend of mine 1013mm. This organization/club started around 2.5 years ago, so it wasn't too new to those who went to this school. I wasn't expecting a massive turnout, but did want to attend this meet just because I heard only a few showed up. I think such meets that are organized by a school needs more attention because it's a great opportunity for students to do something else instead of studying 24/7. It has the potential to become a great meet or even an event if properly planned. Hohyung Lee is the president of this year's Drive @ UCR and he did an outstanding job, such as notifying the police stations near by, and going around talking with students to hear how they thought about the meet. Because my plan for this year is to promote grassroot car meets, I blasted the Facebook Event Page on our fanpage and profile as well.

Event Coverage | Modified Nationals 2011 (Pt. II)

June 10, 2011

Night-Import: Photography by Rich McKee, Words by William Lee

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Modified Nationals is the largest indoor and outdoor car show, but along with what goes on that's automotive related, this event has tons of side events and most importantly, models showing off their skills in... well you'll see what I mean if you read through our final coverage today. Looking through the photos our photographer and Fast-N-Modded staff Rich McKee took at this event showed the hype and excitement a show can have.
Continuing on from where we left off, our last coverage on Modified Nationals will cover the outdoor car show area and side events.

Special Interview: Vehicle Import Legality

March 3, 2011

Night-Import: Photography and Interview by William Lee,Rich McKee, and Andy Nguyen

*We are posting Skyline photos taken by Night-Import. The content is related to Skylines in general so please understand the use of the photos.
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One of the most debated and spreading news around automotive websites/blogs are the legalities of Skylines or Imports in general to the States. NicoClub brought us the detailed news about Skylines being seized by the U.S. Government and other sites were adding additional information. This was an opportunity for all automotive enthusiasts to understand more about importing such vehicles. After posting the news on our facebook fanpage, an active discussion was going on and there was one who was providing very detailed information regarding the news.
I spent some time with Rick Rosales, a staff for Right Hand Drive JAPAN, LTD., to ask some questions.

Event Coverage: Imports @ UCI

February 26, 2011

Night-Import: Photography by Nick Schultz

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There were several major events going on last week in California. Most of the people attended WEKFEST and those who didn't want to drive up to NorCal went to San Diego for Extreme Autofest/REMIX Edition Car Show.
On the other hand, there were those who wanted to support a local event in SoCal, called Imports @ UC Irvine. This group of automotive enthusiasts in UCI started this event since 2003 and continued on with great turnouts. I've personally heard about this event last year and was planning to go to this event this year, but because of a sudden decision to attend Extreme Autofest/REMIX Edition car show, I left up the coverage to our photographer Nick Schultz. As always, Nick impresses us with great photos, capturing those moments you don't want to miss at events.