Car Show: Phoenix “Hot Import Nights”

Odometer (Legend):  531,905

Odometer (ILX):  105,232

Hey, everyone.  Just about to set sail on a road trip to Utah for a long Thanksgiving weekend (is anyone surprised?), but have a few pics to share.  Last Saturday afternoon in Phoenix, I took advantage of the perfect weather by zooming up to South Mountain in the ILX (moonroof open, of course) for a quick loop around one of the overlooks.  Here’s a shot from westbound on Loop 202.

Rolling on Central Avenue in downtown Phoenix.

Scenic overlook with Phoenix in the background.

I also swung by one of the local “pick & pull” junkyards to see what kind of treasures I could dig up.  I didn’t end up finding much.  The second-generation Legend sedan inventory was plentiful, but this Granada Black 1994 LS was the only coupe in sight.  At only 170k miles, it was retired at a young age.

Later that night, I hit up this car show:

“HIN” is a well-known acronym in the import car enthusiast scene, particular among “tuner” types (think Fast & Furious).  This was my first time at a Hot Import Nights event.  There are a total of 19 HINs held annually, spanning from Seoul, Korea, to Honolulu Hawaii.  The Phoenix-based event is always one of the last of the year, and it’s held at the Phoenix Convention Center, starting at 5:00 p.m.  Here are just a few of the rides in attendance.  This super-clean 1991 Acura NSX was one of my personal faves.

On display with it were a die-cast model car and the factory hardbound sales brochure.

Interesting ‘rust’ finish on this Civic coupe.

This Eclipse was just a little over-the-top.

Clean Civic

And a really low Accord

Finally, just one TSX in this mix, this brown one on an airbag suspension

…. with curtains in the back windows.

This was a good one:  VW wagon with a (stocked!) grocery cart in matching white.

The plate?  “Grocery Getter.”

RSX

And a few shots I captured of the ILX as the sun was setting over central Phoenix that evening

Chase Field in the background:  Home of the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team since 1998.

Sayonara until next time!  Happy Thanksgiving.