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#1
02-10-2006, 11:21
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HIN Seattle 2006
Okay, for most of you who are on this board, it was said that I was to be attending Hot Import Nights (HIN) this year in Seattle on September 30th. I did attend and did enter my car into the show. I knew I wasnt going to win anything, but to get the car out into the public eye.
It was a great success and outreach for Club S12. Randy (ili_Randy_ili), Manuel (Falkhen) and I (Draconis) represented Club S12 with my baby, Draco. It opened at 5pm and ended at midnight. It was a little slow at the start at 5pm. But there was a packed line to get in, so after many made their way through payment, the crowds grew thick. Taking that into consideration, from about 5:45pm till approximately 9pm, it was constant talking for the three of us to the spectators. The three of us had to take turns after a while because our feet got tired from standing up and our throats got sore from the constant talking at a high level to be heard over the music. We met a lot of other fellow S12 owners, but most of them who havent been on the forums, who have seen the forums or were ex-S12 owners. The crowd around Draco was quite significant. I tried to get a picture, but I ran out of batteries on the camera I was using. I would say about 3-4 in the rear talking to one of us, while about 6 in the front looking in the engine bay while the other two of us talked to them all at once or in different groups. That is on average. Another way of realizing how many people we talked to, of the box of fliers (Axiom car shop), half were gone by the end of the night while of Randy's business cards, we all but ran out. Some people knew the car instantly upon seeing her. They were mainly from other forums (North West Nissan/Nissan Pacific/misc.). There were a few who had seen the car around and loved it but were shocked to actually see it in person and be able to check her out up close. Not to mention that she would be in a car show like HIN. One father and son actually came up to me and told me they had seen me driving around in July. That was the last time before she went into Axiom for her swap. They loved the body style and wanted one (the son). Then they were walking and saw Draco. They saw the profile and noticed she was black. They were shocked but not sure if it was the same car so they walked by it from behind. They instantly recongnized the reflective Nissan Silvia badge and my dragon decal thing. They walked over to the front and started talking to me while looking in surprise at the engine bay. Most people who walked by from the rear of the car saw the word Silvia or the muffler and were interested. They walked to the front while checking out the interior. Finally at the front they were surprised. Many thought it was a SR20DET in there based on the fact that it's a Silvia and everyone does the SR swap. Myself or the other two fellow S12ers had to correct them. Some people thought it was a AE86, saw Silvia and had to come and ask about it. Those who walked by from the front either heard one of us S12ers talking and would stop to listen and look. Some would walk, glance at the engine, contintue walking, stop, walk back, look again then walk around the car to the rear and look at the name badge. Those were the best. There were a lot of pictures taken from every angle you can think of. Rear for muffler or Silvia decal, profile of car or for K.Draco decal and of the engine bay. There were a bit who would take a video of the car and walk around it capturing what they could. At some point the three of us S12ers were approached by HIN-TV. For whatever reason they decided on doing an interview on the three of us and Draco. This took probably 10 minutes that ranged from who we were, the car industry/show, video games and what it was I/we had and what was unique about it. On the latter part, I had a bit to say with the help of Randy. We all had to sign release papers and if they choose to keep that segment, they will put it in the HIN:Seattle dvd in the upcoming months. Only a couple minutes later after the HIN-TV interview, CarDomain approached me. We talked a bit about custom decals for my car and possible sponsorship for the club. Besides that, not much else I can say but a lot of educating the public to the S12, showing other S12 owners/non-CS12ers what can be done and who to talk to, and allowing lots of photo time for Draco. It was a blast. It was great to see that much interest in a S12 and more than just the superficial, "I like it" comments. Lots of in depth ones and tons of serious questions of what the S12 is, how to get them, what does it take to maintain one and why them versus other Silvias or cars in general. 
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#3
02-10-2006, 23:11
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That has got to be one of the Best S12's I've seen! Awesome car!
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