Hot Import Nights was held outdoors this year, which I think was a great choice. There was plenty of heat, but the show still went on long after the sun started to set. I took around 200 pictures at the show and you can see them all here.

The first thing I noticed when I entered 2009's HIN was the sound of scorching tires. Racing within the Chicago city limits is pretty rare. So drifting is especially hard to catch. The drifting had local drivers running solo. There were plenty of Nissan 240's, but also a few other cars.

Hot Import Nights is really all about the car show though. Some of Chicago's sweetest imports were out, but there were also plenty of cars that came from around the country to compete. The detail that went into some of the cars was amazing.

I think the best looking Nissans of the day had some JDM flair. Whether it was headlights from a S15 Silvia or just having a real Skyline GT-R, they look amazing.

The BMWs had a very strong presence at the car show. There was one BMW drifting, but that ended the day not even being drivable. BMWs have a reputation for performance, but they also look great. The M3s and 3-series below all prove my point.

One of the coolest cars that I saw that day was a EK Civic hatchback with an Acura EL front. It was such a simple front end conversion, but it gave the car a really unique look even in a sea of Hondas. Another car that really grabbed me was an Acura RSX with a supercharged K24. The 2.4L engine alone would have done it for me, but Hot Import Nights is all about going above and beyond.