StanceNation Showoff: Nisei Edition 2015 [Gallery]

• August 17, 2015
• / Story By
  Jonathan Wong

Early August in Los Angeles means many things to local Angelenos: Dodgers games, making use of that Disney annual pass and that unescapable dry heat. This year, we got hit hard. For Japanese-Americans, this time of year also signifies the celebration of Nisei Week and to coincide with the festivities, the long-standing Import Showoff event (known best as Nisei Showoff) sets up shop in the heart of Little Tokyo to bring car enthusiasts together for a competition to see who'll land the bragging rights of having built the best car for that season. The show has evolved the past couple of years, teaming up with StanceNation, bringing two different camps of car enthusiasts together: those who follow a more traditional style of building a complete car and those who go low and bolt ultra wide wheels with thin tires on. Merging these two radically different car cultures has effectively created the StanceNation Showoff. Originating in Florida, some of Jade Motorsports' team members have relocated west, bringing with them their knack for crafting high caliber builds, such as Brian and Julia Duong's Evo X/240SX combo, and Henry Duong's (yes, he's the brother of the husband/wife duo) Project Mu-themed FR-S. Easily some of the cleanest cars of the weekend. This '92 Prelude is a rare gem: highly reminiscent of the mid '90s but with all the current mods to make it pop. Loved the TEs, custom-modded ARC bolt-ons and blue Recaro buckets. Slammed, tucked, stretched, poked... Empire's checked off all the boxes for a proper VIP ride. Modern-day artisan build in the form of this Dreamer77 240SX (a popular car as of late) with Rocket Bunny over-fendered aero and a Supra engine transplant. Vintage Toyota J-tin can always be found at Nisei, and I'm a sucker for a solid engine setup. Even domestic muscle/lowriders get love, too, and Team Kenshin took home Team Showoff by bringing out an army that represents every corner of the world: Japanese, Euro, American, even trucks! Though by the day's end anyone in the southland was drained by the sun, those willing to come and stick it out got a healthy dose of car culture, which makes those awful farmer's/sock tans easily forgettable.