These Japanese Custom LED Headlights Can Spell

To the untrained eye, the vehicles at this gathering near Tokyo seem almost alien. However, we know what's going on with most of the projects. Even this little monster is familiar, but the lights aren't.

There are all sorts of LEDs crammed into that unit, flashing bright red and green. It's even able to spell things and is telling us the identity of the car: Aqua. We think the system is based on the same technology used for spinners. There's a strip of LEDs that's being spun around quickly. A computer flashes everything in a particular pattern so that your eyes perceive the residual image as moving letters.

They probably had to sacrifice the high beam function, but it's not like you get to use that very often anyway. The taillights have also been changed and are able to change colors freely.

The showing is nothing like as impressive as the Tokyo Lamborghini Midnight Run. But we do get to see a couple of cool Subarus.

As we've mentioned already, this is a familiar body kit. The Aqua, which is like the Japanese equivalent of the Prius c and Yaris Hybrid, received a full package from Rowen International a couple of years ago.

The Rowen package changes the front bumper with a very tricky gaping one made out of carbon fiber reinforced polymer. It also adds new side steps, a sportier rear bumper made out of the same material as well as LED illuminated emblems and smoked lights. Rowen also fitted a lower suspension system, which is not part of the original kit. A wing might not be necessary while going slow in a hybrid, but it's as cool as cutting bread with a samurai sword.