DANCING with Kaila Yu on stage left quite an impression on Mr Jeremy Wee.

'It was a highlight of my life,' he said.

Kaila is one of 10 American models who were here for Super Import Nights (SIN) last weekend.

Mr Wee is a fan of these models. They are inextricably linked to the import scene - the subculture of modifying cars. Ask him why and his answer is always the same: 'Have you looked at them?'

He is one of many. SIN project director Chris Ang expected 40 per cent of the visitors to be there for the 40 professional models rather than the autos on display. It turned out to be closer to 50 per cent, he said.

Last year, the ratio of photographers who were mostly interested in the girls to hardcore car enthusiasts and gadget browsers was 35 to 65.

The total number of visitors was estimated to be around 73,000, slightly up from 72,000 last year.

'They (the photographers) dig out information on who's coming,' Mr Ang said. They then post on forums and bring their shooter buddies with them.

He doubts the visitor response would have been as strong had the girls not been present.

Mr Wee, 28, who got fascinated by the scene after watching the Vin Diesel street racer flick The Fast And The Furious, says he is not an outgoing person.

One would never have guessed that from his behaviour at SIN, where he got on stage with the girls twice.

On Friday, when the host asked for volunteers for a dancing competition with the girls on stage, he quickly put his hand up. On Sunday, when the host asked who could name all 10 American models on stage, Mr Wee said he could. And he did.

Then, on stage, he gave Japanese-American model Eri Moriyama a gold orchid pendant, worth about $100, as a birthday present. Yeah, he even knew her birthday.

The photography enthusiast, who spent hours on Friday and Sunday at SIN, snapped 1,900 pictures.

Only 0.5 per cent of the shots were of cars, he said.

Mr Wee, who may be shooting models at the Singapore Motorshow, which ends today, before going to the F1 night race, said he would love to work as a glamour or even erotic photographer.

The recent graduate from Monash University says he isn't an automobile buff, although his interest is increasing after he started learning to drive earlier this month. Obviously, he didn't buy the car magazines in his room for the wheels.

Professional car models (L-R) Alie Layus, Nicolette Lacson, Brandi McLaren, Kaila Yu, Nina Kay, Helen Su, Lisa Kim Fleming, Sunisa Kim, Toni Leigh and Eri Moriyama.

Mr Wee even has the models linked as friends on his Myspace site. But do they remember him?

As a reply, he showed this reporter a message from Eri thanking him for giving her a gold pendant.

For a while, Eri even used one of his shots as her profile picture.

And no, Mr Wee, who lists comics, anime and gaming as his hobbies and lives with his parents in a large house, doesn't have a girlfriend to express disapproval.

Other enthusiasts

Mr Wee said the Import scene is small in Singapore but there are other enthusiasts.

One of them is Mr Vincent Carlo, an IT alliance manager, who was also the official photographer for SIN. He took 7,000 shots in all.

He's a frequent contributor on a local photography forum, and is known for his motorshow shoots all over the world. 'I love fast cars, and the babes complement the cars,' he said.

He finds shooting import models 'crazy fun' and knows many of the import models personally. He declined to give details of his encounters.

The crowd here is mild compared with what you get in places like the Tokyo AutoSalon, where one has to be 'commando trained' to get decent shots. 'I've had my foot stomped on by an elderly man in Tokyo,' he said.

He hopes more Import models will appear here with F1 and the increased emphasis on motorsports.

Another photography hobbyist who was at SIN, Mr Ronald Tan, 27, said he liked the cars but preferred to shoot the girls. 'Because they're beautiful.'

He sends his pictures to the models afterwards. It feels nice when they like the pictures, he said.

But not everyone is a fan of the models.

Mr Joseph Tan, 50, a technical manager, finds the girls a nuisance sometimes.

This is because he would be trying to frame a picture of, say, a Lamborghini, but when the models walk over, a horde of photographers would follow.

He loves it best when they are on stage. That's when the other photographers would follow them, leaving him free to go from car to car to snap.

This article was first published in The New Paper on Sep 28, 2008.