Ultimate Car and Youth Culture Festival Kicks off 2006 Season in San Jose
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Hot new talent flocks to Hot Import Nights event to compete for top honors in categories including custom car design, video gaming, dancing, DJing, modeling and more
Irvine, CA - Feb. 10, 2006: Action Media premieres its all new 2006 XM Satellite Radio Hot Import Nights (HIN) season on Feb. 25, 2006 at the San Jose Convention Center from 5 p.m. to midnight. For 2006, HIN takes the ultimate custom car festival to a new level by creating a show that celebrates all elements of youth culture with competitions in several burgeoning youth lifestyle scenes including several types of dance competitions, a year long Miss HIN pageant with winners in 13 cities, video game tournaments, DJ competitions and of course the ultimate custom car contest.D1 Grand Prix USA will bring their elite fleet of sideways drift cars to San Jose before they hit the track on the Irwindale Speedway March 4, while returning sponsor Valvoline will present Super Street Cars on Tour with the BRS Time Attack FD, Tein Wide Body Civic and C West Carbon Fiber S2000. Show visitors can get up-close and personal with the hottest, trendiest cars in the customized world, straight from the pages of the top tuner magazines.
San Jose will be the first city to experience the all-new 2006 season format with three separate entertainment stages. The XM Satellite Radio Stage features DJ Lady Tribe and b-boy competitions, and the Mazda Nightclub welcomes back Miss Lisa at the turntable and local DJ John Magic from B93 Fresno. And, as a new 2006 addition, the Femme Fatale Fashion Stage highlights the trends of up-and-coming designers.
In addition to the top show cars from around the globe and never-before-seen designs coming from soon-to-be discovered local talent, the 2006 series will feature the new Rockstar National Glo-Go Dancer Competition where Glo-Go dancers show off their go-go skills in city-to-city competitions against local dance teams and the search for Miss HIN 2007. Miss HIN 2007 will truly be the "queen of the scene," as each city will crown their own queen who will then compete for the reigning title of Miss HIN 2007 against other local winners at the show finale in Miami. HIN International Spokesmodel Ursula Mayes, Miss HIN 2005, will host the Queen of the Scene competition. Ursula will be seen elsewhere this year as one of Maxim's "Sexiest 100" and on the new NBC program, "Deal or No Deal". Miss HIN 2006, Amber Lancaster, will make her first public appearance as Miss HIN 2006 in San Jose. A former Seattle Seahawk's Sea Gal, Amber was Miss Hawaiian Tropics and last year's Miss Makita.
"HIN has evolved into much more than a car show and competition," said Mike Munar, VP Marketing for Action Media. "We've created a forum for young talent to express themselves across almost all elements of youth culture from car design to modeling to dancing, and even video gaming. We've found that HIN has helped launch careers of models and tuners alike."
The Bombshell Models are also back in 2006 to challenge anyone willing to take them on at the poker tables for BombSearch, the poker-playing competition that will test the card skills of local ladies across the nation in the search for the next Bombshell Model.
In addition to Hot Import Nights, the 2006 season will feature two new show formats that take a deeper look into the exploding car scene with Nightshift and VIP Auto Fashion. Nightshift delivers more motorsports action including drifting, drag racing, sportbike competitions, manufacturer demo rides and more. VIP Auto Fashion presented by Meguiar's brings hundreds of world class luxury and European show cars to compete for prestigious awards in nearly 40 all-new judging categories ranging from Super-Car, Exotic and Luxury to Celebrity Car and even Best Superbike.
XM Satellite Radio's Hot Import Nights is presented by returning sponsor Valvoline Synpower, in addition to returning sponsors Dunlop Tires; Meguiar's; Mazda; Circuit City; Chevrolet; Subaru; NGK Sparkplugs; and media sponsors Modified Magazine, Modified Luxury & Exotics, Super Street; Import Tuner; Sport Compact Car; Rides; MPH; Performance Auto & Sound Magazine; Road and Track; and Car and Driver magazine. New 2006 sponsors include Rockstar Energy Drink; Shell V-Power; Atomic Loud Speakers; and the National Guard. More information on HIN can be found at www.hotimportnights.com.
About Action Media and Vision Entertainment
Action Media, parent company of Vision Entertainment, is the leading media and event company targeting the Gen X-Y audience, integrating lifestyle events including cars, music, video games and fashion. Producing more than 20 annual events in the top North American markets, Action Media and Vision Entertainment are now one of the leading communities for every positive aspect of youth culture. The current portfolio of Vision Entertainment events includes Hot Import Nights, VIP Auto Fashion Show, Nightshift, the RC Expo (RCX), Fresh Tracks Snow and Skate Expo and Holiday Havoc. Action Media's online assets now include partial ownership of IGN.com, as well as Online Showoff and Model Showoff.
2006 Hot Import Nights/Night Shift and VIP Schedule HIN San Jose San Jose Convention Center February 25 NS San Diego Qualcomm Stadium March 18 HIN Chicago McCormick Place March 25 HIN Washington DC Dulles Expo Center April 22 HIN Boston Bayside Expo Center April 29 HIN Charlotte Merchandise Mart May 13 HIN Indianapolis Indy Convention Center June 17 HIN Atlantic City AC Convention Center June 24 HIN Orlando OC Convention Center July 8 NS Chicago Soldier Field July 29 NS New York Shae Stadium August 12 HIN Los Angeles Los Angeles Convention Center August 19 NS Las Vegas Sam Boyd Stadium Sept 9 HIN Seattle Stadium Expo Sept 30 HIN Dallas Dallas Conv. Center October 7 NS San Mateo San Mateo Expo Center October 14 NS Phoenix Cardinals Stadium October 21 VIP Los Angeles LA Convention. Ctr Nov 18 HIN Honolulu Blaisdell Conv. Center Dec 2 HIN Miami Miami Beach Conv. Dec 16
