Hot Import Nights: Technology, Games, Women... with some Cars too

[Ming]

Hot Import Nights: Technology, Games, Women... with some Cars too.
Humphrey Cheung
www.tomshardware.com

Westlake Village, CA - Hot Import Nights is not your average car show. This traveling show stops in 21 cities this year and it is a mix of car show, LAN party, and model fest. All the cars are modified to the hilt, with thousands of dollars of installed electronics, engine modifications and paint jobs. THG interviewed Mike Munar, manager of Vision Entertainment, to get the inside scoop on what makes Hot Import Nights a must attend event.

Hot Import Nights is not your average car show. This traveling show stops in 21 cities this year and it is a mix of car show, LAN party, and model fest. All the cars are modified to the hilt, with thousands of dollars of installed electronics, engine modifications and paint jobs. THG interviewed Mike Munar, manager of Vision Entertainment, to get the inside scoop on what makes Hot Import Nights a must attend event.

Munar says, "We started Hot Import Nights in 1998, with a single show. It soon grew to two shows a year, then four. Now we have a twenty city tour each year. Our show is a bit different from the usual auto show. Those shows are spread out over several days, but Hot Import Nights crams all that into six hours. At our latest show in Los Angeles, there were about 24,000 to 30,000 attendees. You can only fit so many people in the convention hall, and there is a limit to how many people you can stream through the door. Some people were lining up at noon to get at five."

Competitors enter their souped-up vehicles in various categories. Tech-minded enthusiasts will want to see the cars entered in the ICE, or In Car Entertainment, category. Competitors install the latest electronic gear from video screens, game consoles, and computer systems. Cars are judged by installation, cleanliness and creativity. Munar says, "We have people installing touch screens and Xboxes. One guy put a video camera pointing out of the trunk, for an electronic rear view mirror. Others are putting satellite dishes on their cars."

At the recent Los Angeles show, 600 cars were entered into the competition. According to Munar, that was the practical limit of what the convention center could hold. "We turned away a couple hundred vehicles. We select the entrants by picking what we think will be the top competitors. We let many of the past winners in."

Some people are putting their life savings into fixing up their cars. According to Munar, some have spent 150,000 dollars on a car. He says, "The die hard car competitors save up for years. The average seems to be 25 to 30 grand for a competition car. It's easy to drop five to ten thousand, just a set a nice rims can be a few thousand dollars. Competitors find a balance between engine, speed and entertainment. The exterior is also important."

I asked Munar if there were any specific challenges to installing electronics in cars. You would think that power would be a big concern. Munar says, "Power really isn't a limitation anymore. There are alternative backup battery packs, so the power problem has been solved. The real challenge is just the limitation of what they want to do. People are putting wireless networks in their cars. Installation is getting more creative in placement, where do you put this or that. Many people are installing laptops, but you are seeing different keyboards that pull out from the dash. You can put almost anything in the cars."

Car shows have evolved from showing off brute force horsepower, cars with huge engines to elegant electronics in small spaces. "In the past, cars were big, meant for the open road, driven by rebels who wanted to go fast. Now, it has switched, to cars with smaller engines and star-trekkie type gadgets. Gaming and entertainment has been fused into the automobile. The cars are considered to be personal fashion."



Computer gamers won't feel out of place at Hot Import Nights. Within the main show is a LAN party run by GameRiot. You can even match wits against PMS Clan member Venus, one of the top female gamers around. Munar says, "Gamers and cars are a good mix. Many cars have video screens with a Playstation or Xbox installed."



What would a car show be without women? Hot Import Nights definitely has plenty of women. From top name models, to fresh faces looking to be discovered. The main stage has go-go dancers, cavorting to loud, eardrum splitting music.

If Hot Import Nights seems to a giant party, you would be right. Munar summed it up, "I like to think of Hot Import Nights as Studio 54 meets an auto show."

http://www.tomshardware.com/hardnews...26_025217.html

[gmsickofan]

Some people are putting their life savings into fixing up their cars. According to Munar, some have spent 150,000 dollars on a car.

That is insane. You know they will regret that when they are living off of social security checks in their 60's. Some customization, yes, but not 150K...

[Dgrocho]

If you must spend that kind of money on a car, wouldn't you spend it on a car that will eventually appreciate instead of electronics that will be out of date next year?

I wish I was the guy that thought of this...I am going to combine cars, women, and video games, one of those is bound to bring in any young male, who by the way, has an income and no bills.....Brilliant! {swigs from Guiness bottle** Brilliant!