2003 Import Showoff - Super Street Magazine

Watching the young crowd gaze absorbedly at every car at every corner of the Del Mar Fairgrounds really gave me a dose of nostalgia, as I remember being in their shoes nearly a decade ago, swept away by colorful cars and eardrum-popping music. Then, the culture was fairly new and every car seemed to evoke a feeling of awe and admiration; I don't even recall gawking at import models since there weren't any cute ones at the time. But now this import-car craze has blossomed into a full-fledged industry besieged with movies, tuning companies, and, yes, models.

One of the many pioneers behind this phenomenon is Ken Miyoshi and his Import Showoff. This car show extravaganza was the first of its kind, and we should all be thankful for Ken's genius behind it-because everything else is merely a carbon copy. In this latest edition, Ken took his show to San Diego, in a nighttime setting, and filled up three halls of the Del Mar Fairgrounds. The participants were definitely ready for the event, as most decorated their cars with Halloween motifs and some even dressed up in costumes. And the import models were in their usual sleaze mode, especially this one young girl who seemed like she was lost in her S&M outfit. "Can I take a picture of you?" I asked her nicely. "Where?" she replied. "Just stand right there," I instructed. Instead of listening to me, however, she calmly walked away toward a table and climbed on, positioning herself on all fours. I was taken aback by her bold action, but I had to do my job. As I looked through my viewfinder, I couldn't help but feel a little awkward and Peter North-like. But who am I to police this girl, especially when her outfit didn't house much of anything, particularly her library card, and she didn't even question the fact that I had no film in my camera. This is when I realized that things weren't what they used to be.

In another bold move, this magazine has decided to surpass all the judges and their judgments, as we opened up a new bag of goodies by featuring our own pick of the show. We chose Jay Shur's EK hatchback for being so damned clean-that and the fact it rolls on rare Mugen M7s.

Faster FactsOwner Jay ShurCar '97 Honda CivicHome Gardena, California

By Roel F. Concepcion

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