July 18, 2010, Long Beach, CA – After first showing in Nor Cal, SpoCom finally arrived in So Cal, meaning we finally had a good car based event to go to! As usual, SpoCom does not disappoint with the variety of cars; import or domestic, new and old.  Eye candy was plentiful as well- in addition to the usual booth babes were plenty of hopefuls getting test shoots done on location, as well as the usual bikini and lingerie contests.  Also of importance was the abundance of free shwag, specifically from Scion (as usual) and Mobil 1! Nothing ever wrong with free shirts and baseball caps! Anyway, enough babbling, and on to the pics!

April 15-18, 2010. World Trade Center, Pasay City, Philippines – Madlightmedia.com is proud to present to you coverage from the 2010 Manila International Autoshow. Some of the highlights of the event were the new Mazda 2 and Mazda 6 and the Mercedes Benz Hybrid and C Class. More pictures of the cars and the promo girls after the jump.

March 20, 2010,  Irwindale, CA – Today marked the inaugural event of the Xtreme Drift Circuit, which was unique in its description as both an HIN-style lifestyle party, and a drifting competition. The main difference here is its circuit is based on the pro-am level, allowing both professionals and the self-funded “privateers” to compete on the same level. In addition to the drifting competition was the usual menagerie of vendors, display cars, and of course the most important part (at least for us), the babes!

Thanks again to Steve for bringing about this coverage!

November 26-29, 2009, Manila, Philippines – Madlightmedia is proud to present to you the 2009 Manila Auto Salon. Press release follows:

Organized by TradeShow International Inc., the premier motoring event will showcase local and international manufacturers, distributors and dealers of the automotive aftermarket industry with three exciting shows – 14th Custom Car show, 14th Sport Truck Show and the 3rd Mobile Electronics and Technology Show. The show is also a testament to the strength and unity of the Philippine automotive industry, as it continues to support the future trends, developments and requirements of modern-day car consumers.

One of the main features of the event is the annual IASCA (international Auto Sound Challenge Assn.) Sound-Off Competition sanctioned by IASCA Worldwide, Inc. (USA). This is the fourth year that TSI has been contracted to coordinate the IASCA event highlight. The event hopes to strengthen the mobile and electronics industry of the Philippines.

Other highlights of the 2009 Manila Auto Salon are the Ultimate Tuner Award; a Die Cast Scale Model Exhibit by the Diecast Car Collectors of the Philippines, “Zero to Hero” Automotive workshop by Speedlab; Celebrity Interview Sessions; and the search for the Manila Auto Salon Race Queens.

June 13 2009, Long Beach, CA - Much like it was advertised, this year’s Spocom was chock-full of some of the hottest models in the industry, as well as some of the cleanest cars on display. Fortunately, most of the modified cars consisted of clean and tasteful mods, and rice was pretty much non-existent. As if the cavalcade of models walking around wasn’t enough, showgoers were also treated to a dance contest, bikini contest, lingerie show, and Nicolette’s Lollime Bikinis show throughout the day as well! I was relieved to see that the bikini contest judges had the same tastes that I did and elected Bahara as the winner! In fact, you could say that it really was no contest at all! =P  There were also quite a few interesting moments, including lots of innuendo banter courtesy of Alexia Lei, a display of nunchaku mastery by Alicia Whitten (yes you read that right, she knows how to use nunchakus!) as well as a Super Bowl Janet Jackson-esque “slip” up during the lingerie show…  guess you had to be there!

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the show and look forward to going again. My favorite part of the show (other than the half naked ladies)- the Scion xD with the claw vending game installed in the trunk! I could have spent my whole day there trying to get myself free t-shirts! But I digress.. pics of the event as usual inside!

*06/19/09- Now updated with pics from the bikini contest, Lollime bikini show, and lingerie show!

Long Beach, CA – SpoCom, the Sport Compact Automotive Trade Event is coming to the Long Beach Convention Center in California on Sunday, June 14^th, 2009 from 11am-6pm. This year’s show is going to be bigger then ever! SpoCom has added an additional 76,000sq.ft. to accommodate more of what you love. SpoCom will feature over 100 of the industry’s top manufacturers like Falken, AEM, HKS, Eibach, Sparco, Skunk2, and more.

To keep you entertained all day, there will be over 100 Import Models booked for the event. This will include a huge bikini contest, eye popping lingerie show, urban dance competition and more! All under one air conditioned roof.

SpoCom also plays host to the nation’s most prestigious car show competition featuring 300 of the best prescreened vehicles on the planet. This is the one show you do not want to miss! Their website is updated daily so keep checking in for the latest news. For more information on competitor registration or to purchase tickets, visit SpoCom at www.SpoComUsa.com.

Phone: 626-333-1400

Email: info@spocomusa.com

Also remember, if purchasing tickets through the website you can get a special discount using coupon code “313” when making the order!

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May 02, 2009, Anaheim, CA – After a 2 year hiatus, the U.S. shores were finally treated again to some of Japan’s finest drifting talents.  A lot of anticipation built up around this event, as in its absence, many Americans jumped ship to the Formula D series to compete.  Fortunately, D1GP did not disappoint, hosting numerous entertaining events in addition to the drifting itself.  Among the highlights were a full on car show, as well as a surprise visit by the drivers of the Gumball 3000 (see previous article for coverage on the cars of Gumball).

The drift competition began with each driver doing 3 qualifying runs, which were judged based on speed, drift angle, and how close to each clipping point they were.  The top 16 would then compete in tandem drifting competition, which are scored based on subjective measures.  Unfortunately, Ken Nomura and his ever so awesome 4-door Skyline didn’t make the top 16 this time (why Nomuken, whyy!!!!!!).  Interestingly, the top drivers seemed to be split between about half non-Japanese drivers, which I felt made for some interesting matchups.

One of the most impressive U.S. drivers had to be Forrest Wang in his S14 240SX , who actually managed to beat out Team Orange’s Kazuhiro Tanaka (driving a GC8 Subaru Impreza) in the tandem competition, and moved on to the top 4.  In the end, he faced off against the other Team Orange favorite, Nobushige Kumakubo, which was probably the most intense part of the competition.  After two “one more time’s,” Kumakubo edged out Wang with constant pressure and consistent driving.  The final run went down between Kumakubo and Daigo Saito in his Toyota Chaser, who went on to win this first round of the D1GP.

Despite a few minor quirks, the return of D1GP was well received and as exciting and memorable as it used to be. Next time, let us photographers out on the track like you used to in Irwindale!!!

As usual, a gallery of cars and action after the jump!

May 02, 2009, Anaheim, CA – We decided (partly because our gallery program sucks ass) to just put the pictures of the ladies that showed at D1GP in this separate post. Although not the booty fest that HIN was, quite a few notable models came out, including Ursula Mayes, Misa Campo, and Alicia Whitten. Clicky for more