November 13-19, 2003

cover story

The Fast & The Furious

Crystal method: Sparkle Nguyen hawks her pin-up photos at the recent import car show at the Fort Washington Expo Center. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

Inside Philly's Growing Asian Import Car Scene.

by Helen i-lin Hwang

It's Saturday night. Tuned-up Japanese cars, suspiciously busty Asian-American women and booming urban music fill the Fort Washington Expo Center, the epicenter of the local import-car culture. Sparkle Nguyen stands at the perimeter of the models' tables as if she is in a cage. Wearing a very short black pleated miniskirt, stiletto heels and a flesh-colored half-top that shows off her flat midriff and petite waist, she looks sexy. A good thing too, since her job for the evening is to look as seductive as possible amidst the automobiles surrounding her.

A section of the convention-center floor is marked off as the Model Area, and the young Vietnamese-American college-scholarship student is part of the display at Hot Import Nights. Young men form a semicircle around Nguyen's table when she first arrives at her booth. On a black tablecloth, in front of a pink nametag with "SPARKLE" written in bubbly characters, Nguyen (pronounced NWEN) spreads out various glossy images of herself from a recent photo shoot. At first, no one approaches, intimidated by her glamorous looks and centerfold-worthy photos.

Weaving through the exhibitors' booths, visitors become audience members to a variety of sideshows. There are cars, of course, a few of which are outfitted with individual cylinders on each tire to make the rides "dance." Another young Asian woman, sporting a logo on her baby tee, giggles as a gyrating, battery-operated dog is strapped to her ass by a male photographer. On the other side of the room, a high-heeled female gives fake tattoos to prepubescent boys.

A bank of Sony PlayStation 2 video games is set up so visitors can play Need for Speed Underground with a true-to-life racing steering wheel. The video-game racetrack even takes you through Chinatown, a nod to the Asian domination of the import scene. Circuit City, there to sell stock stereos, gives out oval plastic pendants that emit a fluorescent blue hue like those of neon undercarriage lights. In a parking lot behind the building, BFGoodrich Tires has hired bored Skip Barber's Racing School instructors to sit in passenger seats while visitors race Mazda 6s on a slow track to compare their racing tires to the Yokohama brand.

Before people can enter the show, local police check purses and pat down both guys and girls for weapons and drugs. The show's organizer, Vision Entertainment based in Irvine, Calif., made a special request for these security checks, since their parties play host to a subculture sometimes tainted with Asian gangs, weapons, drugs and fights.

Multiple DJ stations are set up throughout to create a cacophony of house music. An Asian guy, wearing cornrows and a do-rag, is doing impressive b-boy break dancing to 5 Star Originals, a DJ collective arranged by David Taing, 23, founder of Hype Entertainment. Hype was the first to book local Asian DJs and set up nightclub parties specifically targeted for the Asian-American crowd.

Back in March, when Vision held its first expo at the Philadelphia Convention Center, Taing held the after-party that brought nearly 1,200 people to Transit. Until August, they still held monthly parties there. Nguyen makes appearances as the featured import model at a few of his parties. Nowadays, there are also regular Asian nights at several area nightclubs, including Egypt and Adrenaline.

While the import-car scene -- centered on Asian cars, Asian women and Asian nightlife -- is a relatively new phenomenon to Philly and the East Coast as a whole, it's been a raging, well-established trend in California since the early 1990s. The fad is quickly gaining die-hard followers. Its cultural impact will not only dominate the 25-and-under Asian set, but could easily spread across all races.

And as Nguyen rides that rising popularity wave, she'll have to choose whether to stick with her future plans for law school or get sucked into the potentially lucrative career as an import model.

The first time Nguyen went to a car show, her boyfriend took her. He was obsessed with checking out the latest modifications that can be made to a Japanese model car, like floating rims, noisy exhaust systems, neon undercarriage lights, towering spoilers called wings and booming stereo systems. Nguyen looked fetching with her long, golden-blond hair and blue contact lenses. As a joke, her boyfriend entered her in the modeling contest at that Atlantic City, N.J., event. Amateur photographers with high-end cameras snapped shots of her, as they do cars, with equal enthusiasm. Someone posted her pic on a website, which caught the eye of someone from www.importave.com, a site devoted to the "import lifestyle." She has long since broken up with her boyfriend and isn't dating anyone now.

Last March, Nguyen was asked to appear at the Philadelphia Convention Center show. The organizer, Import Revolution, is a division of Vision Entertainment, which holds 26 events around the country with a half-million attendees annually. "Why not?" she thought, and thus took on her third job while still a senior at an all-girls Catholic high school. (She was already working as a spa receptionist, and as a hostess at an Old City restaubar.)

Born Anh Nguyen in Nha Trang, Vietnam, a gorgeous laid-back beach town, she left her home at the age of 5 with her mother and three older siblings and moved to the Philippines for a year before settling in South Philly, a neighborhood with a significant Vietnamese community. Her father is a Japanese businessman who still resides in Japan. He does a lot of business in Nha Trang, which is how he met Nguyen's mother. Nguyen isn't shy about showing off her sultry modeling photos. "I show my mom pictures of me and she'll say, "That's a pretty picture.' She doesn't care as long as she knows I like it."

Easy rider: The interior of Steven Pengís Acura Integra NSX inludes a DVD player, Sony PlayStation 2 and a navigation system. Photo By Michael T. Regan

In different positions, she juts her hips out sexily and manages smoldering looks with her colored contacts. But the most striking pose is her in a doggie position, holding herself up on her knees and one hand, the other arm draped over her bare breasts, squeezing them for maximum cleavage effect.

Over coffee and an almond biscotti at Old City's Cosi, Nguyen promises, "I just wear a cute top and a pair of jeans." She vehemently quips that she would never take her clothes off because "my mom would kill me." She points to www.importeknika.com, where she is a featured model, and the photos show her in sexy shirts, and even a small bikini top. (According to her web bio, her measurements are 34C-23-35.)

With one photo showing her topless, though not completely exposed, her rule about clothing is slowly coming apart at the seams. Her photographs are selling well, though.

An 8-by-10 double-sided glossy sells for $22, an 8-by-12 for $12 and a 5-by-7 for $5. She autographs them with a light-gray-colored Sharpie; she knows the fans are more interested in her poses than her signature. Often the pimply-faced men, non-Asian and Asian, ask to take a picture with her. The guys stand close, touching side by side, with their arms familiarly reaching around her waist and their hands on her bare skin. The same guys also pour that sort of affection upon the other models they lust after.

The cost of the glossy reprints? Nothing. "I have a friend who does it for me for free," she says as she pulls another copy from a Ritz Camera envelope to replace the one she just sold.

The price of the photo shoot at David Bourne Photography, which typically costs $350-$500? "Oh, nothing. He did it for free." She puts on her best come-hither face in her poses against a professional white backdrop.

Everywhere Nguyen goes, she is accompanied by one or two non-Asian guys. During one interview, a man kept calling her on her cell phone, anxious for her to meet him. At the show, two white guys trailed her, making themselves comfortable at her table and settling in to sit with her for the next six hours. One of them tapped his knuckles on the table, pushily interrupting a conversation to obnoxiously ask if she wanted water. They acted as possessive as pimps but they are just friends, she says.

Nguyen is making a healthy profit, considering she didn't have to pay for the modeling session or prints. But she, like the dozens of mostly Asian-American women in the model area, isn't getting paid anything to stand in her stiletto heels and smile sweetly for several hours. Even the Korean-American model flown in from L.A. gets no stipend. The only money these women are going to make today is from the photos they sell.

The more provocative the poses, the more money they make.

"I've known Sparkle since she was 14. When I saw her pictures, I thought, dang. The bigger these models get, [the] more clothes they take off, the more provocative the pictures," says David Taing, whose ex-girlfriend was Nguyen's best friend. His eyes rove everywhere as he seemingly checks out all the girls walking by. He apologizes, explaining, "I like to keep an eye on things. Comes from being the oldest." He doesn't have a girlfriend now, though many of the flashy Asian women greet him.

Cute pickup: Poccacho sits below the Xtant amps and nitrous system in the trunk of Jenny Kwongís vehicle. Photo By Michael T. Regan

"I don't want to date an import model," he says. "Lots of drama."

Growing up, Taing was the oldest child of four extended families that lived together in a duplex. He, his sister and parents shared one bedroom for several years. He considers himself the "big brother" of all his cousins. He and his relatives own beer delis and the Dynasty Restaurant near the Franklin Mills Mall. Taing has been working since the age of 12. When the families were able to save enough money, each bought its own place.

After Taing's Chinese-Cambodian parents escaped from Pol Pot, they ended up as refugees in Canada. The rest of their extended family was resettled in Philadelphia. He was born in Ontario, but when he was 12, he and his family were finally able to join their relatives here. While running his business, he's also a part-time student at Penn State University majoring in marketing and public relations.

He got into the promotion business when he was asked to bring his friends to the Warehouse by their promoter. Through word of mouth, he got 300 people to show up and the club gave him $200. "Wow," he thought, "a pretty easy way to make money." Hence, Hype Entertainment was born.

At a typical Hype party, house music pumps throughout the main dancefloor. Lanky Asian guys swing their cell phones up and down to the music, keeping the luminescent blue screens lit up as though they were glowsticks. Some young men push their eyeglasses to the top of their heads like sunglasses. The girl-on-girl grinding action gets a lot of attention, as both guys and girls form circles around such displays. While the dancefloor is packed, the bar area is practically empty, suggesting the majority of the club-goers are under 21. Organizers often invite the models to appear at these parties as well. One of the most famous is Tila Nguyen (no relation to Sparkle), who started as an import model and went on to appear in Playboy. (Her provocative website can be found at www.tilashotspot.com. You have to be over 18 to check it out.) Back in August, Taing flew her in from L.A. for one of his Transit parties.

The scene at one recent event had all these elements and more. There, one doe-eyed Asian beauty with big hair stumbled drunkenly from the bar and practically fell against a creepy-looking Asian guy with spiky hair, who was looking detached against a wall. When she tumbled onto him, he took it as an opportunity to cop a feel -- not just a feel, but a virtual cavity search. She leaned her breasts on his chest for support and he grabbed her ass. Then he spun her around and stuck his hand up her tiny skirt. She flopped around like a doll with seemingly no muscle control to stop her harasser. At that point, she gathered any consciousness she had, turned and gave him an obsequious slap across his cheek. The bar bouncer, a 6-foot, heavily built black guy who stood only a couple of feet away with his back turned, noticed the commotion and yelled out, "Hey!" As she stood, startled like a deer in headlights, the security guy asked, "Is everything all right?" She nodded her head complacently and wandered out onto the dancefloor.

If Taing had seen the incident, he would’ve stopped it right away. He wants his parties clean and fun with no fights and everyone having a good time. Guests can’t wear hats or Timberland boots to his parties, since razors or drugs can be hidden in those accessories. Walking in, they have to step through a metal detector and get patted down. "If an ambulance comes out front, then it makes me look bad," he says.

Though the women seem to be a major attraction of the import car culture, the focal point is the cars. Though some import-car owners do modifications, most take their vehicles to specialty car shops. One of the most reputable in Philly is KS Autotek, according to Taing. He’s worked with the shop as a sponsor; they offer contest giveaways at his nightclub parties.

The four co-owners, Steve Sze, Steven Peng and brothers John and George Ng, are sweet, mild-mannered car enthusiasts. Cantonese is the language of choice on the shop floor. In May, Peng moved his business out of his Chinatown store on Ninth Street and expanded into a bigger car shop in West Philly with the other three guys. In their new location on Lancaster Avenue, the store garners more attention on a busy drag strip, and they finally have a mechanic’s shop in which they can do major work. People of all races constantly stream into the store to talk about the latest mod plans for their cars, based on the knowledgeable advice the guys give. The addicted hobbyists promise to come by again the very next day.

Taing stops by their store to advertise his parties and get work done on his own import car. Sze lived around the corner from Sparkle Nguyen for six years in South Philly though he doesn’t know her. His younger brother, Roger, 27, has met her: He was a friend of her ex-boyfriend, and says she was "homey" then, doing a lot of cooking and cleaning.

The most popular import car to enhance is a basic $12,000 Honda Civic. The shop has customers who have added $50,000 packages to what Peng calls "entry-level, grocery-getter econo-boxes." Besides the typical import modifications, they can install full in-car entertainment systems, which include interior flip TV screens, video-game monitors in the trunk and satellite stereo systems. It’s even possible to install a hidden camera in the back emblem with the monitor displayed in the driver’s view. They also hand-tint windows, add turbochargers and superchargers and set up nitrous systems, which boost a car’s takeoff from standstill. Why take a low-end Honda and convert it to a sports car? For Peng, to be able to improve a car’s performance so it’ll shave two seconds off its 0-to-60-mph time and still get 32 miles per gallon is an "accomplishment." The car still stays "functional. [And] in a Honda Civic, parts are cheap. It’s great!"

Their goal is to make automobiles simple and elegant. When a car gets "riced out," it means it’s getting too flashy and showy. For example, sticking a V-Tech sticker on the body panel when you don’t have a V-Tech engine is a poser move. Most people do the cars up for "bling-bling" value -- flash and money.

The enthusiasm is contagious. Peng’s girlfriend, Jenny Kwong, is immersed in the import hobby herself. She has souped up her BMW with a nitrous system, a hidden camera in the trunk and body kit, which involves adding skirt panels all around the car. It all started when she replaced a yellow-colored corner headlamp with clear plastic.

One of the few local women who shows the import cars they own, Kwong has been asked repeatedly to become an import model. "I don’t want to do that because then people will assume you know nothing about cars." At Fort Washington, she showed her car and even took photographs in front of it, but she was in line to race the Mazda 6s along with the rest of the guys. Her interest illustrates one of the most unusual anomalies from previous hot-rod trends: Women are now interested in turning their vehicles into performance street cars. Nationwide, 18 percent of the car customizers are women, according to Specialty Equipment Manufacturer’s Association (SEMA).

KS Autotek had three of its cars on display at the last show, and Peng’s red Acura Integra NSX was featured in last month’s issue of Import Tuner. There are dozens of major trade magazines devoted to the import culture, such as Sport Compact Car, Honda Tuning, Import Racer and Drag Sport.

Men in black: Co-owner Steve Sze (center) is flanked by his brother, Roger, and mechanic Jason Frey, who work at KS Autotek. Photo By Michael T. Regan

Though it’s rooted in the Asian culture, the import crowd is multicultural. "In the early stages of development of the compact performance market, the dominant ethnicity of participants was Asian American," according to SEMA, the country’s largest aftermarket trade organization. But in the latest survey regarding "enthusiast ethnicity," Caucasian Americans outnumbered Asians, 42 percent to 29 percent. However, the majority of the import models, suppliers and car owners at the shows are Asian.

The phenomenon here hasn’t quite reached the heightened popularity in other parts of the country. The import cars are even nicknamed "rice rockets" on the West Coast. The aftermarket industry is now worth $27 billion in annual domestic sales, increasing an average of 52 percent every year since 1997.

That growth, perhaps not coincidentally, burgeoned in the aftermath of stumping ad campaigns launched by America’s Big Three automakers -- General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. They took the patriotic "Buy American" tack when they were unable to compete in terms of quality with Honda, Toyota and Nissan.

Anti-Asian sentiment spread across the nation from the heartland. After the brutal 1982 murder of Vincent Chin, who was beaten to death with a baseball bat by two autoworkers in Detroit, Asian Americans fought back by taking pride in buying Japanese cars instead.

In Philly, the import-car business is becoming more and more lucrative. The number of registered import cars in the city is 109,441. That’s 46 percent of the total number of cars, higher than the national average of 39 percent, according to R.L. Polk & Co., a national automotive marketing research company. Since the number of import cars in Philly has increased over the last few years -- a trend that will very likely continue -- the import culture will become more and more visible.

Taing, the KS crew and Sparkle Nguyen are all betting on it, foreseeing the import scene becoming just as entrenched on the East Coast as it is on the West Coast.

But as the scene continues to grow, Nguyen has some tough life decisions to make. This year, she started as a freshman at Rosemont, a four-year women’s college, on a full scholarship with ambitions to become a constitutional lawyer.

"I like defending people’s rights Ö like freedom of speech," she says.

Though she is quite adamant about her future law career, she seems to be taking pragmatic steps to ensure her popularity as an import model. Since starting school, she has quit her job at Anjou in Old City to study. She still models on the weekends and studies on the weekdays. She’s the only breadwinner in her household: She lives with her mother, a retired hospital employee.

While her bio on one website declares that she "will not do Playboy-style nudes. The only nudes I will do is artistic and implied but only for payment," the main photograph shows her cupping her naked breasts, which seem to loom large in her small hands.

A lawyer in the making?

A woman slowly descending into borderline pornography?

Only time will tell.