It’s been a long while since I attended a car show for fun, but as I recently bought a new camera lens and filter – and needed an excuse to use ‘em – I headed to Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo district for the annual Nisei Week Import Showoff.
Import Showoff literally built the sport compact and tuner movement as we know it today, and through the years it has been the one import show to consistently feature clean, high-quality builds. It’s also one of the few shows that still caters to the Honda crowd, and as I’m a guy who steadfastly refuses to give up my own 21-year-old H car, this is a show that directly caters to me. It’s also a show that continues to appeal to the current trendsetters of the scene, this year teaming up with the down-low and tucked guys from Stance Nation.
Stanced rides – cars with aggressive wheel offsets, stretched tires and crazy amounts of negative camber – comprised a large part of this year’s Showoff, and their inclusion prompted a rather surprising conversation between me and another media colleague.
Said colleague mentioned that he was tired of stance, and that the scene is played out. Granted, I understood where he was coming from as he attends similar shows almost every weekend, but I had to remark that, “Hey, things aren’t as bad as they used to be, right? I mean, a little negative camber is way better than those awful combat kits from back in the day.”
My comment elicited a look of bewilderment and confusion. I clarified, bringing up the trends from the first import boom – things like vinyl-wrapped interiors, Lambo doors, multi-winged knockoff VeilSide kits and Supra taillight conversions. My colleague still gave me a look of disbelief.
Then it dawned on me: this guy was probably five years old when these awful trends were running at their peak. I mean, my car is older than he is, and he only knows a world of authentic JDM parts, high-powered engine swaps and clean builds. It also dawned on me that I just gave this guy a “back in my day…” speech, leaving me feeling gutted, and old. I then tied an onion to my belt (which was the style of the time), yelled at a cloud asked the nearest passers by if they could exchange five bees for a quarter so that I could hop on the ferry to Shelbyville.
In seriousness, it’s amazing how far the import car scene has come in the past 15 years. I remember when things were all show and no go. Hell, Toyota even had a Celica ad campaign whose tagline was “Looks Fast.” Owners of said “all-show” cars popularized the fart can exhaust and insisted that that 10 pounds of vinyl decals and extra wings were all that was needed to beat a Ferrari. Now, though, if a car at Import Showoff looks fast, not only does it have the tuning to back up its looks, it likely has spent time at a real racetrack.
VIP styling and stance, on the other hand, proudly flaunts its “all-show” status. Who cares about going fast when one can look good? Though some may actively dislike this form of automotive styling, the builds are incredibly clean and respect the original factory lines. Unlike the import show cars of old – which were half Bondo – the only thing needed to return a modern-day stanced or VIP ride back to “normal” is a camber kit.
As one who remembers when the only acceptable show car was an Integra GS-R, it’s refreshing to see the old school scene continue to gain prominence. Old Toyotas and Nissans from the 1970s are the new classics of choice, with owners choosing to keep these cars looking period correct.
Since the iconic DC-chassis Integra GS-R will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year, the originators of the scene – Civics, CR-Xs and Integras – are now considered old-school rides and are being treated to very thoughtful builds. For every stanced Civic, one can find a track-focused one, with not one Mustang-headlight-swapped hatch to be found.
19-year-old me would have been pumped at the quality of cars at this year’s Nisei Week Import Showoff, and the 35-year-old me left the show thankful that the state of import tuning has risen to a truly respectable level. I understand that car-building trends come and go, but classic looks never go out of style, and a great number of these cars have a timeless look that will be just as appealing 15 years from now as they are today. Still, trends run in cycles, so let’s all pray that those god-awful combat kits and headlight conversions never come back.
You can see more stars of the show below.
