|
The week is quickly coming to a close, and there is so much more to cover with so little time. We scoured the south hall looking for worthy content while also back tracking a bit through central to make sure we saw everything. We would need an extra week to really see everything, but our feet hurt, and we are running on only a few hours of sleep. Check out the action from Day 4.
The Toyota Yaris hatchback gains some major new upgrades for 2009, mostly in the form of the two extra doors added on that make for this new 2009 Toyota Yaris hatchback. Along with the obvious addition of swinging metal, you'll also notice that this Yaris has also gained a complete make over from its stock original form. Created from the minds at MV designs, this Yaris was transformed into a one off creation that started with the custom wide body aero kit, and went on to the custom suicide doors that open opposite at the rear of the Toyota. DPE Wheels fill in the flared fender wells while inside a full Pioneer audio system shakes the whole interior including the fully reupholstered seats. The five door Yaris is only new to us here in the states, they have been running rampant all over the world, and now for 2009 will be available to those MPG hungry drivers.
More impressive stuff from Toyota! This is our first glimpse of the new Toyota Venza, and what an amazing first impression. This concept vehicle had us crossing our fingers in hopes that Toyota would be nice and put this sucker into production so we can see stuff like this on the street. A TRD super charger provides potent power to the four cylinder engine that powers this coupe-esque people mover. Inside, the interior sports bright red leather accents all over the seats and door panels along with Eclipse audio components that are installed in a custom enclosure in the trunk area. Toyota's latest looks good, many of what looks good is coming in the form of a hatchback!
Mercedes ruined it all when they called their CLS the worlds first sedan coupe. And when we say ruin we really mean made it awesome! This is the latest from our German friends at Volkswagen in sedan coupe form and its just oozing potential for being a heavy hitter on the market. The Volkswagen CC "Eco Performance" is the best of both worlds. With three different performance levels, the 2.oL TSI in-line 4 cylinder engine at full power mode will get you to 311hp and 32mpg! WHAT!? That's an amazing power-to-MPG ratio! Adding to that, you also get fresh styling on the stock body that has potential to resemble this concept vehicle. Volkswagen looks as though they are taking some new steps in different directions, cant wait to see this thing on the street!
The North hall was filled with many booths that we had a hard time trying to figure out why they were in attendance. Maybe we are being a bit harsh but it's the truth. Mixed in with all the madness, we found a couple diamonds in the rough. For example, these two bad mother truckers in the Zenesis Car Security booth. These two JDM rides had a clean and simple look to them which really drew a crowd. The Infiniti G37S was equipped with a full Top Secret lip kit Advan RZ wheels, and of course a Zenesis security system. Next to the Infiniti a Lexus IS F was rocking Work wheels and was looking super clean. This dynamic duo was looking super sick, especially the Infiniti that really showed its potential.
Of course we knew that the Nissan GTR would be one of the many stars of the show. This was exactly the case, to the point where we weren't even excited to see them after the first day of the show. A handful of GTR's each had their own special features but we were really looking for one that had a little bit of everything. One of the most well rounded GTR's that we came across was this gunmetal GTR parked in the Status Racing seats booth. The first thing that caught our eyes were the HRE Competition wheels that had color matched centers, and a set of bad ass brushed lips. The body of the Nissan sat very low which gave it an aggressive look along with the Zele aero lip kit that was added into the mix. The stock seats were discarded for a set of full leather carbon fiber Status Racing seats that were also sporting a set of newly released Status racing harnesses, which made for the perfect accessories to really round out this Nissan. Thumbs up to this builder!
There were a series of Lexus IS F's that were given to a few builders all over the country, who were all to debut their own personal creations at SEMA. There were tons of blog posts and photo leaks as we counted down to SEMA 2008. Of course we remember last year's 5 Axis IS F that stole the show in the Lexus display, but this year it was someone else's turn to shine under the spotlights. 0-60 Magazine really did a number to their Lexus. This IS F had carbon fenders, and a carbon hood to start things off, then you'll take notice to the bright green brakes that draw your attention away from the Advan RZ wheels. A handful of other accessories make this IS F a real looker, but its what hides under the hood that makes this Lexus a star. A TRD super charger sits at the top of the engine blowing air into the already potent V8 engine. This build was definitely our pick for the best of the bunch from the Lexus competition.
Ken Gushi's rear wheel drive converted Scion tC was looking good. This Formula Drift race car was turned from front wheel drive with a naturally aspirated engine into a rear wheel drive turbo charged, tire burning, wide body, intercooled, Enkei wheel wearing, Sparco racing seated track terror. Now that we can take a breath, we can also tell you that Ken Gushi will be tearing up the track with this Mobil 1 Scion tC next year, keep an eye out!
The south hall, other wise known as the wheel and tire hall is always exciting for us. There are always tons of fresh looking cars and cool concepts that we look forward to checking out. One booth that never lets us down is the Falken Tire booth. It seems as though every year they come up with some kind of a new concept that ends up being the talk of the town all year. Surprise! Falken does it again! Check out this completely sick fender flared track edition Porsche. This Porsche, rocking the traditional Falken colors was treated to a set of polished center locking race wheels, a full race ready interior and a crazy fuel inake set up. Falken keeps bringing sexy back year after year keep up the good work!
HRE Wheels are synonomous with being associated with high end luxury cars. For years they have been known as the authority for manufacturing quality wheels. This year, HRE had on display their newest designs including their new carbon fiber barrels! HRE is now working hand-in-hand with Dymag who was one of the first companies to perfect using carbon barrels. HRE then uses their own centers added onto the carbon barrels which truly makes it their own. HRE claims that these new wheels will be 4Lbs lighter than their competition series wheels, which was their lightest model. Keep an eye out for these HRE wheels to be the next big thing.
|