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The 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. more...

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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 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.

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