Day three of the SEMA Show and we're totally delirious. Our cameras have never felt heavier, nor have our shoes ever felt more uncomfortable. We now appreciate those booths that spent the extra cash to have the super-cushy carpet - ooh, so nice.
It's been exciting to head back up to the Las Vegas Convention Center Media Center to recap the day. We've also been posting links to daily coverage on Facebook and our personal blogs (and we're all on FB, so don't try to deny it).
By day three, you totally have a grip of what's going on in the convention center, what's hot, what's not. This year's show really cut out the fat; the vendors present this year were diehards of the industry. With the economy effecting pretty much everyone, it was made obvious that there were a lot of companies that were trying to cut back on expenses, only taking what was absolutely necessary to live, like their matching luggage.
Check out coverage from day three, which includes some cool display concepts and some sick rides as well.
General Motors continued their tradition of recognizing some of the top builds that wield a GM logo at SEMA. The GM Design Awards are given to the top builder in a handful of classes to recognize their high level of achievement in a certain area of a build.
Working closely with GM over the past few years, Neil Tjin was awarded the best GM vehicle award for his super clean Chevy Camaro SS. As you already know, there was tough competition with so many Camaros being built this year. But Tjin also went up against all other classes, not just Camaros.
Tjin managed to stand out boldly with a simple build that had the big wigs from GM impressed. This is Tjin's second consecutive year being awarded with a high honor from GM; in 2008, Tjin took home a similar award for his Pontiac G8, which was a groundbreaking build for GM and the Tjin Edition crew.
Great work from Neil Tjin and the Tjin Edition crew!
Vaughn Gitten Jr. has definitely made a huge impact on the drifting scene with his Ford Mustang, proving that imports aren't the only cars worth playing with at the track. Gitten's most recent project, displayed in the Ford booth, was way more that meets the eye.
Gitten's 2010 Ford Mustang was sporting a full carbon-fiber body, and we aren't talking about an overlay here, boys and girls. Each panel on this Mustang was cut and replaced with a much lighter and sexier carbon version. Spectators were flicking and knocking on various body panels to confirm that this was true.
In traditional Gitten fashion, a set of HRE Monobloc wheels were fitted to the Mustang, as well as a set of custom Wilwood brakes. We hope to see more builds as clean as this one - all body panels were flush to the point you couldn't even notice that it's a 100 percent carbon body. Awesome build, JR!
KIA was pushing their newly designed Soul in hip fashion. KIA displayed three custom Souls, each designed by different builders. KIA collaborated with Antenna magazine, who put together a truly one-of-a-kind Soul that featured a motorized shelving display in the trunk area that showed off clothing and accessories from partners that work closely with Antenna Magazine.
In the days before SEMA officially opened its doors, we caught a glimpse of what Honda was rolling into its booth and we were taken aback by what they had set to display. Honda went with a throwback display, showing off some of their heavy hitters from back in the day. They also had a timeline hanging on the walls around the booth illustrating the company's roots. As a Honda guy, this was cool to see; it would be like seeing the Ultimate Warrior and Macho Man Randy Savage in a wrestling event, just without the steroids.
Among the rally and military tank like vehicles in the Subaru booth, there was one other jewel on display that was catching a lot of attention. With Subaru's newly redesigned Legacy launching, they wanted to show the public what kind of potential the Subie sedan had hidden behind the bulging fenders that are just begging for a set of low offset flush fitting wheels (thanks for rubbing it in our faces, Subaru). This Legacy stole the show for Subaru; spectators were confused at what they were looking at until they had a moment or two to let it sink in. This build fit in perfectly by not fitting in at all in the Subaru booth.
Mixed in with countless imports and muscle cars, this 1964 Ford Fairlane caught our attention. We aren't totally schooled on the hot rod-type builds; to tell you the truth, we didn't even know what kind of car we were looking at until we looked at the modification display. The fit and finish on this Ford is absolutely unbelievable.
The attention to detail in the engine compartment is stunning - every panel, nut, bolt and bracket was flush fitting and absolutely immaculate. Unfortunately our photos do this car no justice at all, but you'll have to settle for our sub-par pics.
Rick Bottom is another seasoned veteran car builder. Bottom has built more cars in his career than you have Britney Spears posters on your wall. Bottom's Camaro was sporting a full custom paint job, giant brakes and flush fitting wheels in the General Motors booth. Bottom had Razzo supply him with a full lip kit, wing, and a hood with a big bump in it. Under the hood Bottom had a Vortech supercharger installed on his fully built engine that should be producing some serious horses.
With GReddy's annual booth absent this year, it still had a presence in the Hyundai booth, and an impressive one at that. GReddy tried its hand at a Hyundai Genesis, fitting it with the company's bolt-on turbo kit, brakes, and a full GReddy vinyl wrap that covered the entire car. The Genesis was sitting low on a set of Volk Wheels wrapped in Toyo tires that supply the Hyundai with tons of grip. Hyundai displayed a great mix of cars in its booth.
Brian Fox has built a name for himself in the automotive industry for some quality projects. Last year he made his mark at SEMA with a twin-turbocharged Lexus IS F. This year he's done something similar, just without the roof.
Fox took on the task of building one of Lexus' new IS Cs, and he passed the test with flying colors. The convertible was treated with a full color change, iForged wheels, and a ProCharger supercharger under the hood. The eye-catching green paint definitely helped this IS C stand out from the pack of convertibles that the Lexus was surrounded by. More great stuff from Brian Fox and Fox Marekting!
With all the love for the new Camaro, we thought it would be nice to give some attention to the original gangsters. This throwback Chevy in the iForged booth was the archetype of the proper way to build a classic Camaro. DC shoes and iForged also got together to design a pair of sneakers which were also on display at the booth. Great work from both companies!
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