Event Coverage | Hot Import Nights 2012

Night Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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Ah yes! It felt great going to a car show again after 2 months of being MIA. Well, actually, I've been going through blogs, sites, etc. to keep myself updated with what was going around in the car scene today. I really didn't notice a new 'trend' thing, so it seemed like nothing has changed that much for this year. One thing for sure though, were new rides popping up here and there and of course, aftermarket companies and just car enthusiasts buying the all new Subaru BRZ or/and Scion FR-S. I was looking forward to see some modded BRZs and FR-Ss at the next car show I planned on attending, which was Hot Import Nights that happened last Saturday.

I'm sure many of you guys know about HIN (Hot Import Nights). As I've mentioned in my previous coverages on HIN, HIN was the first show I've ever attended and this was back in middle school. My friend's sister was actually modeling so a few friends and I got in for free. I think during this time period was when Tila Tequila was trying to be an import model or something. All I remember, were shit load of lights from every angle, bunch of cars with lambo doors, and neon lights and other things in and out of cars. I mean...I thought those things were cool back then because seeing any car that was other than its stock form was awesome to those who just got into the car scene. Anyways, things have changed tremendously throughout the years and as of today, comparing the attended show cars for this year to back then in middle school, it's absolutely shocking.

Nightlight | J's2k

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

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Light, small, superb handling, affordable... these terms or pros are just a few of the many that describes a Honda S2000. I'm sure there was at least one moment in your lifetime of wanting to purchase one, especially for you tuners. What I personally love about this model in the Honda line is that the aftermarket support is outstanding. There are so many companies making parts for this car and till this day, it continues on. However, there will be only a few that will get recognition in the scene because not too many S2000s out there 'stand out'. Today, you'll be seeing a gorgeous one, shot by our contributing photographer Jim Davis. The car was modified in the simplest form, yet with high-end and functional parts. Let me introduce you to Matt Musto's S2000, or what I like to call it starting from today, J's 2k.

Event Coverage | Motion Auto Show 2012 (Pt. I)

Night Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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Wow. It felt amazing last week to FINALLY attend a major car show here in SoCal. The last show I went to was the one in Puente Hills hosted by Prestige Marketing and that was like..2~3 months ago. If you are active in the car scene as a blogger, then you know exactly how it feels to rest for that long. Because of time conflicts and being so tired during my resting period, the only way to be updated with cars was to check out blogs and sites that update very frequently, such as Speedhunters, MotorMavens, StanceWorks, etc. I was particularly interested in SoCal car news because I live in SoCal and want to be updated with cars that have never came out or the ones I've seen before but with new setups for this year. Knowing how seeing cars in person and online have a difference and the fact that MAS was on a Sunday when I didn't work, I was really excited. Wait, let me exaggerate a bit more... I was extremely fu*king excited!

On Saturday when I usually stay up all night chilling with my homies, I actually came home early (around 3am...*cough*) to rest up, woke up at around 8am, got ready, and right when I was about to leave, I felt as if I needed to check my tires, so I started from the back checking the treads. Rears were fine considering it's on -8 camber and I was rolling on them for 7 months now, but the front passenger side tire was almost gone! I was like.. fu*k it..and just drove the tC slowly to Long Beach Convention Center. I arrived at around 11am, got my Media pass, and the coverage started from then on. I was debating on which photo to start with, and decided to give Michael Mao's NSX the spotlight. I'll get back to his car later on throughout the coverage. You guys ready? Because I am! LEGO!!!!

NightLife | Infest X Glendale Infiniti & Nissan Meet II

Night Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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The only time when I can actually go to a meet or an event early is on Sundays, and luckily, there was one meet going on that was actually really close to my town. It was hosted by a group of guys that I've known since last year, a crew called Infest. I promised to attend their meet when they made an announcement earlier this year, so after waking up, I dropped off my brother at Burbank and headed directly to Glendale Nissan & Infiniti Dealership where the meet was held.
Last year, our editor Edgar Lozoya attended Infest's first meet and did a coverage for us. It seemed as if the turnout wasn't bad at all. If ya'll don't know about Glendale though, it's not such a friendly city when it comes to cops, because living near that area for quite a long time, driving a modified car in that area is asking for trouble. Considering these circumstances, the amount of cars that did show up was good enough. Anyways, the turnout was pretty decent and I had a good time checking out rides and talking with peepz. Let's get on with the coverage.

NightLife | Puente Hills Car Meet 2012

Night Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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It's been a long time since I went to a car meet here in SoCal. Many of you guys already know I've been busy with work during these past few months, so my activity in the car scene has been diminishing. But as mentioned in my previous articles, Night Import is only a hobby, not a career, so don't be expecting too much this year because this actual blog will not be updated as it used to be.....actually...don't believe me because I tend to be more active when I say depressing things :)
So last week, I was busy having too much fun starting from Thursday to Saturday. When I mean "fun", I'm talking about going out at night time..and.. well.. I don't want to get too specific. I was way too tired on Sunday and decided to stay at home, but I got a call from JP, owner of the Cressida from BP VIP, asking if I wanted to come out to a meet at City of Industry. It was a car meet called Puente Hills Dealer Showcase hosted by Prestige Marketing. If you've been updated with my blog since last year, you should know Prestige has been hosting several meets at dealerships in City of Inudstry because of not worrying about the usual problems many face when hosting a meet. So far, I've been to almost every meet they've hosted except one or two. I forgot why I missed the others, but either way, when I told myself I would rest, I said to myself, "fuk it" and decided to head out after dropping off my brother.

Event Coverage | Hot Import Nights 2012

Night Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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As mentioned in my coverage, I attended Hot Import Nights right after LTBMW's 2012 meet. I was thinking about staying longer at LTBMW because cars were constantly coming in and the quality of cars were so much better compared to last year's meet, but realizing how much of a struggle I had at HIN 2011 when all the lights were off and tons of people walking back and forth in front of the cars I wanted to take photos of, I left at around 2:15pm to arrive a bit early and take an advantage of my media pass. The actual show started at 3pm, so going in at least 10 minutes earlier was good enough for me.

Now, many of you guys might not know this, but last week's HIN was supposed to happen at Irwindale Speedway along with XDC. What the hell happened? Irwindale Speedway filed bankruptcy, so the place is now gone! Well...not gone, but it's basically closed down. What HIN planned to do got fuked up and instead of cancelling the show, they decided to rent out a different place, which was at Fairplex in Pomona, CA. I'm just glad the show still happened because many enthusiasts missed out on HIN last year and wanted to attend this year's event. I enjoyed myself checking out some new rides when HIN was at Los Angeles, but what I really enjoyed was the overall mood of HIN because it brought back memories when I attended HIN back in middle school! Although I got into the scene last year, my first car show was HIN, so it was pretty dam epic to attend it again last year. I think I went right when the show started and left late because it was so fukin dark inside the convention center I had to wait until the lights were back on to do coverage.

So~ being excited while driving to Pomona, CA, I arrived, got in line to get my pass, and entered a building where HIN was taking place. What I usually like to do before I start a coverage is to walk around the whole area and check out the cars. After taking a quick glance, I walked around and took some snaps. While doing my coverage though, I don't know what the fuk happened, but I lost interest in the show within 40 minutes and this is when the show actually started. I'm not saying the car show sucked at all because it was actually dam good. Tons of models, cars, and people, but I think it was because most of the cars that did show were the ones I usually saw at other car meets/shows. I mean..I've been doing this for months now, so had no clue why this feeling struck me. Am I getting tired of this scene already? or is it because I want to see something new? Ah...fuk it..I don't know what the hell I'm talking about right now, so let's get on with the coverage. The lighting wasn't as bad as HIN in Los Angeles, CA but my camera has its limit, so I did have some difficulties taking shots here and there. Yeap~ the photos will be shitty! I tried to take photos of cars I've never seen before, but like I've just mentioned, most of the cars you will see today are the ones you guys have seen in the previous coverages.

Event Coverage | So You Think You Can STANCE? by It's JDM yO!

Night Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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Gawd dam it's been a long ass time since I updated my blog. I did attend a few meets, but didn't cover them because for this year, it's mostly going to be a chillaxing time with the homies rather than making myself busy with my camera like I did last year. Fyi, it has nothing to do with me being cocky because some of you guys think my blog gained popularity in some way and I'm using that as a backup source to slack off, but seriously, I missed out on all the good times just because of being busy covering events, going to companies, doing interviews, etc. last year. Don't get me wrong, I met a lot of people and the friendship is still there, but this year will be a time period to get to know them even more and have fun! One downside of being active last year though, is not being able to resist covering an event because I love shooting! So I was pretty dam excited to attend yesterday's It's JDM yO!'s competition event to meet some friends and hoping to see some cars that didn't come out last year. I did plan on going early but because of partying till like 3~4am almost every other day, I woke up at 12pm, got my ass ready in about 10 minutes, and rushed to the event with my messed up tC. The cover photo is when the competition was about to begin and the first runner-up was Milt's Z from Low N Slow. The story will continue so read along~

Event Coverage | AutoCon 2011 (Pt. III)

Night Import: Photography by Nick Schultz and William Lee | Words by William Lee

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It's coming to an end! This will be my last continuous coverage on AutoCon 2011. I've been getting a lot of positive feedbacks from Part 1 and Part 2, so I really appreciate you guys spending some time to check them out. I try to keep things entertaining and especially for those who couldn't make it, trying to make you feel as if you were at the event. That's what a coverage is supposed to be all about, right? If there were any unpleasant captions on photos, just go with it because that's pretty much how I like to write things (^-^) That was a douschebag move, but seriously, always know that Night Import is and will be a 'personal blog'. I'll definitely try to keep things professional as much as possible, but I don't dress myself up purposely to make this blog to have a certain reputation.
Anyways, back to the coverage, Part 3 will be a compilation of almost everything with an addition of photos taken by our photographer Nick Schultz. Nick was walking with me for at least 3 hours and while I was busy with cars, Nick took care of most of the models and a few cars as well. You'll be seeing his photos here. Matter of fact, the cover photo for Part 3 was taken by Nick. Ah! I have to make an announcement as well. The watermark you guys see on Nick's photos will be our NEW watermark and I'll be using it on my next batch of photos as well. The story behind it will be described on the fanpage later on.

Random NightLife | Visit to More Japan

Night Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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California weather was horrendous during these past few weeks. I know it's not even close to be compared with other countries, but California being known as having that sunny weather 24/7 was far too be seen during this past month. For those who don't live in CA, SoCal was literally beat up by the wind and most of the valley area to OC went on a blackout streak for a week and half! Luckily where I lived didn't get affected, but I felt horrible for all of those who had to live without electricity and hot water. During this past week when this was still happening, I had an appointment with More Japan, offering/selling Tanabe products and SSR wheels, to go through a product development session with the techs from Tanabe. I was a bit worried on the day of the appointment because the weather was still windy and I had to drive with a donut spare tire, but there you see it~ my car without any damages at More Japan.

I actually wanted to visit this company after finding out Tanabe and SSR wheels were their main products in store. It was a great opportunity to visit their facility to see how things were done.

Random Nightlight | RB S13

Night Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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I'm actually behind with a lot of features, so I'm very sorry with the ones I promised to post up on the day of announcement, but had to delay it for a few days. As many of you SoCal residents and my blog followers know, HIN (Hot Import Nights) was held at LA Convention Center yesterday night. The full coverage of the event will be up today or tomorrow, but before I get to it, I want to start it off with a small spotlight on a car I spotted and instantly fell in love with.

Event Coverage | The Pursuit III by Longo Lexus

Night-Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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Last Sunday was pretty hectic. I had to jump by a few places back and forth, do some quick errands, and then finally had some time to cover events. There were two major ones happening on the same day and time, but like always, I managed to take care of both v(^-^)v.
Most of the major ones that go on annually are definitely a must-to-attend and listed on my smartphone because no one has a clue on what cars will show up. This is true because when I attended Bulletproof's 11th Anniversary meet, I found out the Carbon Fiber NSX made its first appearance to the public. To some of you guys, it might not mean anything, but to a blogger who goes to events and meets almost every week and see the same cars more than twice, it's a pretty big deal and a moment not to forget. The Pursuit was one of those events I didn’t want to miss because of having an awesome time last year, but not having enough time to thoroughly look at the cars. This event is the largest Lexus based event here in SoCal, opening the drag strip for competition along with a car show, both held at Irwindale Speedway, CA, so missing such an event is a no no! The Pursuit III was somewhat the same as The Pursuit II, so I arrived at around 12pm, covered the event for about a good 3 hours, and headed toward Race Day Car Show in Burbank. That coverage will be up hopefully by tomorrow, but today, enjoy the beautiful Lexus and other make/models.

Special Coverage | Bulletproof's 11th Anniversary Car Meet

Night-Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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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.

Random Nightlight | RWB Inspired Dodge Challenger

Night-Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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Before truly understanding and loving the automotive scene, there were a few blogs and sites I was a fan of, checking almost every morning with a cup of coffee, and one blog I stacked my knowledge in cars was from a graphic designer and car render artist, Jon Sibal. I personally do not know Jon, but have been keeping myself updated with his new designs and contribution to the automotive community. One car I do remember seeing in person was the tC designed by Jon, taking 2nd place during Scion tC Tuner Challenge at SEMA 2010. Today, I want to feature a car Jon has been working on before I got into the scene, which is his 09 Dodge Challenger that was present at last week's Formula D Round 7 - Title Fight. This car has a history of taking 1st place at various contests and still being modified with a new look surprising Domestic and even non-Domestic car fans. My blog rarely features Domestic cars, but Jon Sibal's Dodge Challenger just became a turning point.

Special Coverage | G35 Sedan GTG III

Night-Import: Photography by Edgar Lozoya | Words by William Lee

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One event I missed out on few weeks ago was this meet I attended last year hosted by Marcus Cooke, a photographer for Canibeat and an owner of a sick G35. You'll probably be seeing a feature on his ride pretty soon, so I don't want to talk much about it, but Marcus started this meet few years ago after an idea of bringing all G35 owners together at one location to have a chillaxing time checking out other G35s and meeting new people. You might think this meet won't be too big because it is pretty much a model specific meet, but attending GTG II last year, I have to say this meet had the sickest G35s from California. Because I attended another event on this day, our editor Edgar Lozoya took my place and did an awesome job with coverage.

Event Coverage | Motion Auto Show 2011 (Pt. III)

Night-Import: Photography by Nick Schultz and William Lee | Words by William Lee

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A combination of cars and entertainment...something that's a bit different from how ordinary car shows happen here in Southern California. We've seen plenty of coverage on typical car events, but an event like Motion Auto Show brings in more people to not only enjoy watching cars and models, but to entertain themselves with other activities/entertainment, hence making the event less boring or tiring. There were a few dance crews performing live on stage, such as Booniez Crew, iDK, The Organization, and much more. NOS Energy Drinks had their own separate gaming section for all the spectators to participate in their own Super Street Fighter IV tournament. You'll be seeing some behind-the-scenes photos toward the end, so read along and enjoy my final coverage. v(^-^)v

Event Coverage | SpoCom 2011 (Pt. II)

Night-Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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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.

Nightlight | Stylish IS

Night-Import: Photography by William Lee

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Carl Zamuco is one of those guys who loves driving low and at the same time, keeping the ride clean as possible. Being a member of the well known VIP crew, BP VIP, I first saw Carl's Lexus IS at the OC Food Truck Meet parked with couple of his friends/crew members. There were tons of cars at the meet, but Carl's ride stood out from all the Lexus's that was present.

Event Coverage: Formula D/Fatlace 1of1: Title Fight (Part 1)

Probably the most intense and over-crowded event in California, Irwindale Speedway held the final round of Formula D with the top drifters all around the world. But before I get into depth about the drifting event, I want to share some amazing hellaflush/stance rides in California. For every Formula D, we can't forget about the collaborating crew, Fatlace.
The top cars are chosen to show their rides like every other FD event, but yesterday was more meaningful for all the participants because of the massive amount of spectators, well-known media blog photographers, and obviously, watching the final round of Formula D.

Event Coverage: S-Chassis Car Show

Night-Import: Photography by William Lee

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3 events were going on in one day...
and~~~~I managed to go to all 3 so good job to me :D

Old Civic but the sickest

Before I start this coverage for a sick 91 Honda Civic DX Sedan owned by Mike Bui, I want to give him mad props for what he did to his car from the beginning to today. Mike purchased this car in June of 2008 and reading his progress thread, I can see how much work and love he put into his ride. Seriously, I want to post his amazing work, BUT, because this is a coverage, i'll have to skip all of that, so check out the link at the top (click "progress thread"). From stock wheels to BBS to SSR's, his ride is currently sitting on 15x9 -2 4x100 SSR formula mesh with 195-45-15 toyo t1r's. Now don't under-estimate this car because it's an oldie. Interior, Exterior, Suspension...everything was swapped, painted, etc. to make it look like brand new. Words aren't enough, so check out the amazing pics.

Let me start with the pics of his old setup w/ BBS RS's

Suspension/Wheel Specs
Skunk2 front/rear camber kits
Skunk2 Pro-S coilovers
15x9 -2 4x100 SSR Formula Mesh
195/45R15 Toyo T1R
Rolled fenders
Modified aprons/top hats/spindle arms

Interior
Recaro LS-M (Irmscher edition for Opel circa mid-80's)
Wedge Engineering seat brackets
Recaro sliders
Mugen FG360
Mugen shift knob
Gathers rear 3-way speakers
Honda Access EF2 visors

Exterior
JDM front end
JDM HOP mirror covers

Here are some pics of how his car sits as of today. Seems like these were taken at the SpoCom show in Long Beach. Simply Clean + Quality + Stance = WIN!

Photo creidts go to Mike himself and wired-on-honda.com