Everything gets tricked out

Most car shows are geared to one thing and one thing only: looking at the automobiles. Whether they are chromed-out hot rods, classic hydraulically powered lowriders or late-model carbon-fiber-bedecked tuner cars, it is usually the same deal. Pay your money, look at the cars and go home.

Like a great mash-up DJ, Hot Import Nights, now in its fourth year at the Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles, tries to subvert what has become a stale genre and comes up with something wholly new.

“In a nutshell, Hot Import Nights is a car show in a nightclub atmosphere. We turn out the lights, bring in our sound system and build stages. We have dancers and a lot of DJ culture,” says John Russell of Vision Entertainment, the company that produces the show.

Hot Import Nights began as an outdoor event in downtown Long Beach in 1998. It has grown in size and scope, with attendance topping 400,000 in 2004. This year, the tour will visit 20 cities across the United States and stage two events in the United Kingdom.

The L.A. show starts off the 2005 tour with more than 600 show cars, a car competition and two stages featuring live music acts, dancers, models, MC competitions and DJs. Music is an essential part of Hot Import Nights, and the show’s diversity cuts a wide swath through urban youth culture.

Whether it’s the electronica of DJ Miss Lisa or the hip-hop turntablism of DJ Lady Tribe, there is something for even the most jaded club kid. The event, which is for all ages, draws an eclectic and vibrant multicultural crowd of men and women. Though some of the revelers come mainly to look at the cars, others dress to the nines and dance to the DJs.

“It is a club atmosphere which involves cars. If you are a die-hard automobile enthusiast or you just want to check out the show, it’s a great time. The lines go for a mile or so just to get in,” says Noel Rollon of Cerritos, a three-year attendee. “You get to see what’s new in the automotive industry and the latest in car design. Also, if you are a guy, you get to see all the girls.”

Hot Import Nights is an extension of the tuner car scene, which has deep roots in Southern California car culture. With their dizzying array of engine and body modifications, tuner cars, which are mostly late-model Japanese subcompact automobiles like Honda Civics, look as though they have been designed by anime artists with a penchant for speed.

The subculture has been growing every year and is slowly becoming a part of mainstream consciousness. In 1998, the tuner market was a several hundred million dollar industry; in 2005, it stands at $4 billion, according to the Specialty Equipment Market Assn.

“It was like a lot of trends that started in Southern California; it fit with the culture and the weather,” says Peter MacGillivray, the association’s vice president of marketing and communications.

“These tuners really are the new generation of car enthusiasts, and they are best defined by the sport compact cars.

“Car culture comes in cycles. After World War II, when traditional hot rodding first took off, it was a grassroots and youth market. This wave of sport compacts is different because of the way they fix up their cars.... Traditional hot rodders tune their cars with wrenches and screwdrivers, and this new breed of tuners does it with a laptop.”

The tuner culture, mostly male and largely composed of those ages 16 to 24, is also affecting the automotive marketplace.

The tuner craze has become so popular that you can walk into almost any car dealer in America and have it trick out your car in a variety of ways right off the showroom floor. Whether it’s 22-inch rims or a high-output supercharger, the accessories can be folded into the price.

Aside from the loud music, the go-go dancers and the light show at Hot Import Nights, it still comes down to the cars.

Individuals, car clubs or small automotive shops that customize vehicles are eligible for the competition, which costs $55 to enter. It isn’t open to the deep-pocketed automakers, though they do have show cars on display.

Though some of the tuners may have a sponsor or two, a large portion of the money it takes to build the cars comes out of their own pockets. It isn’t cheap: Some of the more over-the-top customs top out in the low six-figure range.

All of the vehicles must adhere to rigorous standards. They must meet a minimal amount of modifications, such as suspension, rims, external body modifications and interior and audiovisual upgrades. They also must be in a completed, show-quality state.

The prizes range from 6-foot-tall trophies up to $1,500 for the best in show. New this year is a people’s choice award, chosen by the crowd using cellphone text-message voting.

“What we tried to do is create the playground and let the fans come in and do their deal,” Russell says. “We want to create an event that replicates the fabric of the culture and a lifestyle that is based around cars, to be a grassroots show and still have that feeling.”

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Hot Import Nights

Where: Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 S. Figueroa St., L.A.

When: 5 p.m. to midnight Saturday

Price: $25

Contact: hotimportnights.com