Imports/ Import racing scene or modified imported brand cars

Import scene or Import racing scene refers to the subculture that revolves around modifying imported brand cars (commonly referred to as imports), especially those of Japanese brands, for street racing in the United States. Thanks to movies like "The Fast and the Furious", it has become a mainstream phenomenon among youth of all races in the United States. Women who modify their cars have become a significant presence in the scene and commerce has responded with specific marketing campaigns geared toward women, such as NOPI (Number One Parts, Inc.) Chick.

History

There is significant evidence indicating that import drag racing first started in Southern California in the mid-1960s, with Volkswagen Beetles, including documentation of quarter-mile passes published in http://www.hotrod.com/ Hot Rod Magazine as early as August of 1965. The island of Puerto Rico also has a long history of pioneering import drag racing in the mid 1970s and 1980s, and it is still a huge sport on the island. In the early 1990s, front wheel drive vehicles, mostly Hondas, gained popularity in Southern California. There were huge drag racing events at Palmdale, California, that packed in over 10,000 spectators per day. Racers like Stephen Papadakis, Ed Bergenholtz, and Myles Bautista dominated the first import drag racing circuit IDRA (Battle of the Imports) in the mid 1990s. Show car clubs became a huge factor within the import scene: Southern California had Team Kosoku, Northern California had Z.Team Yossi. Car modifying has been very popular among youth in the United States, especially in Southern California, for decades since the days of hot rods in the 1950s and 1960s. In the early 1990s, enthusiasts in southern California began to modify compact Japanese cars, following similar trends in Japan. This Japanese racing scene can be seen in the anime series Initial D, which focuses mainly on drifting.

Car shows

The car show scene emerged with the pioneer event called Import Showoff and was the first of its kind. Modified cars are often exhibited at car shows, such as Hot Import Nights (HIN), Extreme Autofest and NOPI. Hot Import Nights is the largest of the car shows in this space with over 20 events across the US reaching over 250,000 enthusiasts. Endemic vendors sell various products at these car shows including sound equipment for cars and other car modification products. Non-endemic vendors and sponsors like XM Satelite Radio, Hanes, Pepsi and Rockstar Energy Drinks participate in these events to target the young, mostly male, demographics attracted to these shows. Frequently, models are present at these shows to pose in front of cars. These models are known as import models or "booth babes" and have gained massive popularity among those in the import scene. Increasingly, music (mostly hip-hop, urban and electronica) has become a large part of these events. Whether its DJ's spinning the latest tracks, up and coming recording stars or B-Boys and go-Go dancing, the lights, the sound and the movement have become a staple of these multi-faceted shows.

Check out photos and videos from car shows around the country at http://www.hincity.com/hintv HINcity TV & http://www.carandmodel.com Car and Model.

Motion pictures

The import scene has been portrayed in these mainstream movies:

• The Fast and the Furious
• 2 Fast 2 Furious
• The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
• Biker Boyz
• Initial D

Japanese products

Another aspect of the Import scene is Japanese products that either explores or details such racing, which often introduces new fans to the scene. These are usually found through DVD's and books.

DVDs

Some of the more well known DVDs about the Import scene include:

• 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) (first sequel)
• Best Motoring
• Street Fury
• Torque Video Magazine
• The Fast and the Furious (2001)
• The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) (second sequel)
• Video Option (alternatively known as JDM Option)
• Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000)

Anime and manga

Two Japanese Anime and manga have been attributed to the growing Import scene in some form or another. A common theme is that both characters are seen as complete underdogs with hidden and untapped talent, and drive what amounts to antiquated cars that many would deem either ready for the scrapheap or severely underpowered compared to much better tuned and modified cars.

The anime and manga Initial D stars Takumi Fujiwara as he is introduced to Touge racing after it is found that he has a natural ability to race in the Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno. This has spawned several arcade games, which utilizes cars from both the manga, plus other cars associated with touge racing. The cars are setup more to take the tight mountain passes and emphasis is placed more on driver ability rather than speed and power. The series at first gained popularity via fansubs and bootlegs, until TOKYOPOP translated both the anime and manga. However, some have criticized TOKYOPOP's translation of the property, with major changes to both the story and the content.

On the opposite spectrum, Wangan Midnight focuses on the vast and wide Shuto Expressway of Tokyo. Akio Asakura is an ambitious racer whom after an incident with Tatsuya Shima (aka Blackbird), acquires the Nissan 240Z known only as the Devil Z due to the reputation that all but one of its previous owners got killed trying to tame its power, and quickly makes a name for himself on the Wangan. The cars are designed for speed and power, and are based on the exploits of street racers whom used the Wangan as their own personal racetrack. The cars often were modified to attain high horsepower (this is reflected in the arcade game: it allows cars to attain horsepower to the 815 HP mark, at the cost of virtually no grip) with bodykits and other modifications to make the cars go fast. While not as well known as Initial D, the series gained a cult following after the arcade game Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune was ported to the US by Namco.

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