Just got back from Las Vegas and SEMA. Had a ball handing out magazines at the booth, talking to readers, advertisers and just anybody interested enough to stop by. Literally wore out the camera taking pictures. I think it’s still under warranty…
We spent the majority of our time wandering among the show vehicles out front and the booths in the Racing and Performance/Restoration marketplace/Hot Rod Alley hall. Spent only an hour or so over in the hall housing all the wheels, tires and truck accessories – too much bling for these boys.
The theme this year was muscle cars, specifically celebrating 40 years of American muscle, but the typical over-the-top modified cars filled the halls as well. A sampling:
That, by the way, is the Freakshow. It started out as a 1964 Chevrolet pickup. ESPN (why were they at SEMA, again?) has an outsider’s view on it.
Over in Ford’s space, this cool Volvo wagon led the Swedish section. Converted to a two-door, stuffed with a late-model turbocharged Volvo straight-six.
This is the Dynamat car that participated in the Driven Dirty Tour, which we followed earlier. It’s brand-new – the engine had almost no miles on it before they started the tour – and all the weathered look came from judiciously applied muriatic acid.
Fenical’s Driven Dirty car. Lentinello had the chance to sit in it and said it was tight. Then again, he’s 6’4″.
Ashley Webb’s modified, built by her father, Dan. The car debuted at SEMA last year and remains one of the best rods I’ve ever seen. Getting to study it in person made my week.
Dynacorn’s new 1967 Mustang fastback body.
Ab Jenkins’s Mormon Meteor III. For all its grandeur and provenance, nobody paid attention to it at SEMA. (UPDATE: It got a little love from John at CarDomain.)
An interesting concept: What if Chevrolet made a Z/28 Nova? The builder included a lot of nice touches – not just the Grabber Orange paint and the cowl-induction hood, but also a narrowed spoiler, a cross-ram intake and Camaro houndstooth interior. The aftermarket wheels, gauges and billet shifter were the only concessions to SEMA overindulgence.
More on the above Chrysler concept car, from the firehouse.biz:
To launch the new 392 HEMI® crate motor, the Chrysler Group unveiled a first at SEMA – a concept car tricked out just for the annual automotive parts show. Chrysler took the wraps off the Dodge Challenger Super Stock Concept with 392 HEMI by Mopar at a press event late Tuesday at the SEMA show.
Hemi-powered Challengers tore up drag strips shortly after the muscle car debuted in 1969. The all-new Challenger will debut next year as a 2008 model year vehicle. The 1970s inspiration is obvious on the Challenger concept car.
“It harkens back directly to the heyday of the Hemi, and the Challenger, and the Cuda,” Ralph Gilles, Vice President Jeep, Truck and Component Studio Design.
