1997 Acura Integra - Pure Innovation

Honda owners in the show scene definitely do not have it easy. Go to any import car show and the halls are flooded with almost every late- model Honda available.

Contestants drop, polish and paint their rides in an attempt to customize them. But most of the time, half of the cars end up looking the same and in order to stand apart from the crowd, a Honda has to be innovative. Innovation is defined as doing things that no one else has done, taking risks that go beyond the ordinary trends.

Michael Ly's 1997 Acura Integra is an example of innovation. As an employee of VIS Racing Sports in Alhambra, Calif., he is exposed to the latest show trends on a daily basis.

VIS specializes in importing body kits from Japan and also in fabricating many of its own.

The owner of VIS has a keen eye for what's in, taking styling cues from Japan and introducing them here. Many of the prize-winning cars competing in local shows can give credit for their success to VIS and the company's ideas.

With the advantage of working in a retail shop so involved in the scene, Ly was able to take the necessary steps into making his Integra as different as possible. One of the fundamental modifications to a car these days is a body kit, and his Integra went through no less than five different types.

Ly went through kit after kit, but it was after converting to Japanese-spec Type R headlights that he knew he was on to something.

The once-exclusive Type R conversion was now common and in order to stay innovative, attention was focused on the new Silvia in Japan.

The Silvia is the Japanese counterpart of what was once the 240SX here in the States. Although Nissan decided to discontinue the 240, a new model (S15) was introduced in Japan.