Hot Import Nights (
HIN) is an auto show composed of mainly tuner
import carsThe Import Scene or Import Racing Scene or Tuner Scene refers to the subculture that revolves around modifying imported brand cars , especially those of Japanese brands, for street racing in foreign countries....
. The show originated in
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, but now tours various cities in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Sponsors include
Boost MobileBoost Mobile is a division of Sprint Nextel. It was originally launched in Australia in 2000 and in New Zealand in 2001.-History:Boost Mobile was founded in Australia and New Zealand in 2000 by Peter Adderton...
, The Army National Guard, Bridgestone Tires and NOS Energy Drinks.
Hot Import Nights and its original parent company, Vision Entertainment, were formed by show expo professionals based in and around Orange County, California.
Hot Import Nights (
HIN) is an auto show composed of mainly tuner
import carsThe Import Scene or Import Racing Scene or Tuner Scene refers to the subculture that revolves around modifying imported brand cars , especially those of Japanese brands, for street racing in foreign countries....
. The show originated in
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, but now tours various cities in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Sponsors include
Boost MobileBoost Mobile is a division of Sprint Nextel. It was originally launched in Australia in 2000 and in New Zealand in 2001.-History:Boost Mobile was founded in Australia and New Zealand in 2000 by Peter Adderton...
, The Army National Guard, Bridgestone Tires and NOS Energy Drinks.
The Company
Hot Import Nights and its original parent company, Vision Entertainment, were formed by show expo professionals based in and around Orange County, California. The original owners were Richard Goodwin, Todd Wallin and John Russell. Kevin Macdonald, Marc Wallin and Michael Munar were the original event staff. The company began its initial shows in significantly smaller fairground settings where they were able to test the market and create a general buzz about the show. During this time only a handful of companies (Goodtimes Motorsports and Mainstream Productions' Import Showoff being the most notable competitors) were venturing into this area. Hot Import Nights understood that they had a product that could be sold, but how to market and to capture an audience was a whole different story and a different market than they were used to targeting. A Nighttime Club Setting in which "Tuners" were able to showcase their cars and have fun doing it in front of large crowds and more importantly their peers.
Michael Munar initiated a Nationwide Grassroots Movement. They began by recruiting young and energetic individuals throughout their target cities and molding these individuals to become the show promoters and essentially the face of the show when it comes to a specific market. The results were beyond compare. In the years to come the import car show industry grew significantly. Yearly HIN show attendance has grown to number in the hundreds of thousands.
Hot Import Nights is currently owned by APG Media (www.apg-media.com) since being purchased in 2006.
Events
Hot Import Nights hosts single-night events in a number of different cities across the US, with an average of roughly two such events per month. The locales include standard metropolitan cities such as
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
,
BostonBoston is the capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is considered the economic and cultural center of the region and is sometimes regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England"...
, San Jose, Seattle,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Miami and
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
, as well as more exotic ones such as Honolulu.
The show is open to the public, with general admission ticket prices between $25 and $30. Individuals wishing to show off or exhibit their own vehicles pay a higher fee of around $30 per motorcycle or $55 per car.
Many noteworthy hip-hop and rap musicians also perform at this show. There have also been performances by noteworthy DJ's,
tranceTrance is a style of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s. Trance music is generally characterized by a tempo of between 130 and 155 BPM, short melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and down throughout a track. Trance can be understood as a combination of...
and
electronic dance musicElectronic dance music is electronic music that is produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
artists.
Unlike other auto shows, Hot Import Nights synthesizes a night club-like atmosphere with the nation's toughest and most rigorous "tuner" (automotive modification) competitions. It also highlights the growing subculture of import cars and racing, a billion-dollar industry dominated by Asian Americans.
Models
In addition to a large number of vehicles, Hot Import Nights events typically feature a number of
promotional modelA promotional model is a person hired to drive consumer demand for a product, service, brand, or concept by directly interacting with potential consumers. A promotional model can be female or male, and typically is intended to be attractive in physical appearance. They serve to provide information...
s. These models promote the products of individual companies/magazines/websites with booths at the event, exotic messages and some participate in fashion shows, and others dance on stage with a DJ playing the music selections. These car shows are typically set up with a night club atmosphere (dark with night club lighting & music), but are still geared towards people of all ages.
Although the show is open to all ages, somewhat revealing or risque outfits on the models are common. Typically they wear bikinis,
miniskirtA miniskirt, sometimes hyphenated as mini-skirt, is a skirt with a hemline well above the knees – generally no longer than below the buttocks...
s, cut t-shirts,
spaghetti stringA spaghetti strap is a very thin shoulder strap used in clothing, such as camisoles, cocktail dresses, and evening gowns, so-named for its resemblance to the thin pasta strings called spaghetti....
tank tops, etc... that are usually supplied by the company/magazine/website that they are representing.
The show's night club atmosphere serves to attract a larger male-dominated audience of anywhere from 13 to 30 to the event.
Media coverage
Limited portions of specific events have been shown on the
G4G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable- and satellite-television channel originally geared toward male viewers aged 12–28, devoted to the world of video games...
program,
Street FuryStreet Fury was a TV show on G4 that showcased women and cars. It was hosted by Carlton "Big C" Lewis. Along with Formula D and Fastlane, the show aired Sunday nights, as part of the "G4 Sunday Nights" block. It was at one time the main show for a G4 block called "The Whip Set", but the block name...
and on HINtv. During such segments, the host mingles with the owners of the cars, speaks with them about the modifications made to the vehicles, and takes the opportunity to interview show goers. These events are also frequently covered by automotive websites, automotive magazines, local or regional newspapers, freelance photographers and television shows from all over the world.
In 2008, Hot Import Nights was premiered on
Speed ChannelSpeed, sometimes still referred to as the Speed Channel, is a cable and satellite television channel broadcast to various parts of North America, but primarily the United States...
hosted by
Adrienne JanicAdrienne "AJ" Janic is an actress and former co-host of Discovery Channel's Overhaulin. Adrienne is half Yugoslavs and half Mexican. She is currently hosting Hot Import Nights on the Speed Channel. She is also credited as an extra in the 2006 movie National Lampoon Presents: Cattle Call...
.
External links