Special thanks first and foremost to everyone at PRIME NYC for being able to host Street Icons in 2020 despite all the turmoil that is going on globally. The original event was first held in October of 2016. The event is special because no one in New York City within the Japanese automotive tuning community has ever done an event where there is a festival for like-minded tuners to gather and commemorate right here in New York City with a run in Times Square. It has been an event I always wanted to personally experience. Fast forward four years later and here we are. 

This event particularly brought back a lot of nostalgic memories for kids that grew up in the 90s and 2000s tuner car culture where the most dominant forms of information we consumed were through video games such as Need For Speed, Gran Turismo, Tokyo Xtreme Racer and Forza or it was through magazines such as Super Street, Import Tuner or Sports Compact Car. It was jiggy to see a Tommy Makinen Evo in attendance next to a Hachi Roku in Soho. I would have never been able to think this aesthetic was ever possible, but it happened. 

If you are a fan of trying to educate yourself on Japanese car culture, look no further than attending any of the events that PRIME NYC curates and hosts. Their goal is “to promote and curate a car community that values individuality and authenticity while using car knowledge to execute builds that represent a wide range of tuning cultures.”  Cars in attendance are not just limited to the Japanese market but embody quality and craftsmanship with an ode to tradition in the modern era. Flashes and hints that take us back to why a lot of us fell in love with cars in the first place. It is never about getting to the destination from point A to point B but the car is the point.