SEMA

Caroline and I went to SEMA in Las Vegas last week. It is a huge car show for after market products, but most of the major manufactures bring custom cars too. One of the major events of the show was the North American debut of the 2010 Lexus LFA. I never thought I would see the day when lexus made a $375,000 sportscar with a V10.

Pirelli always brings something extra special. Last year it was the Lamborghini Reventon (there were only 20 made) and this year they brought a Pagani Zonda Cinque (there were only 5 made).

This is the 2010 Porsche Panamera, which is a very polarizing car. Porsches are supposed to be rear engine coupes and this beast (it's huge) is a front engine sedan. So far though, every hater who has actually driven one has changed their tune.

The 2010 Chevrolet Camaro was probably the most commonly tuned car at the show, which was great because I think they look awesome. There were all sorts of cool and crazy versions. I liked this one because it make me think of an evil KITT.

Honda's display was quite disappointing. A Civic is a tuner boy's best friend and yet they didn't bother to tune any cars. They debuted the 2010 Accord Crosstour (a very ugly crossover) and brought some classic cars, which were cool.

I love Bentleys. Did I ever mention that I love Bentleys. Not their limo sized sedans mind you, but their coupes. This one was fitted with an agressive looking body kit and it might have been my favorite car of the whole show.

This another Camaro that was brought by GM. It was styled similarly to the Lamborghini Reventon, which is a good thing.

Products of every kind were on display throughtout the conference center. Caroline saw this tire and thought we might get some for Rafa.
Three years ago Michelin invented an airless tire they called the tweel. They indicated that it would be ready for production in a couple years, but other than being on a NASA Rover Concept it has seen any action yet. This airless tire, which looks surprising similar, is manufactured by another company and being marketed as a good option for the military.

Ken Block, owner of DC Shoes and a Subaru rally race driver, took one of his Impreza rally cars and put it on tracks. It came complete with a tow kit and a sleigh. I think Rudolph might be out of a job.

If you are interested in seeing more cars from SEMA (or just more cars) go to www.carpictures.com and search SEMA.

Everything you can Imagine and More

As Caroline mentioned we went to a car show in Vegas last week, the SEMA Show to be exact. It is for aftermarket car jive, like rims, turbo chargers, body kits, etc. and is only open to those in the industry and the media (and spouses in Caroline's case). Despite this it is one of the largest car shows in the world, with tons of international attendees and everything you can imagine and more, from exotics and luxury cars, to offroaders and econo boxes, but all are decked out. With all those sweet cars everywhere it was amazing how quickly we were saying, oh just another Porsche, another GT-R, another Rolls. Here is a very small sampling of what there was there. I am curious to see if you can even figure out what some of them are. Post them in the comments, a point for each one...and no peaking. If you need to see a full-sized version click on the picture. Oh and that is a machine gun mounted on the fender of the second to last one.



















If you are still interested in seeing more I have been posting batches of them on www.motorcities.com

My name is Brad and I am an addict...

So as you may or may not know, I love cars, all kinds of cars, American, European, Asian, whatever. For me it is more about the car itself than the brand. I love to see the new styles, I love to learn who just surpassed who in the horse power race, and who has just come up with what cool new technology to make cars better. There is pretty much always some new and interesting to discover, from the amazing new Nissan GT-R to Lotus' amazing engine that can pretty much burn anything, including alcohol. Thus, it was to my utter amazement and Caroline's disbelief that one day I discovered that I could get paid to read about cars and pass along what I find. Thus began my current occupation as an automotive researcher extrodinaire.

Now I do my best to keep my car addiction in check, but I have been known to occassionally 'get going' in much the same way parents can about their kids or my dear wife sometimes does about schedule xy and revision b39 from the warehouse for Jimbo Inc. I suppose that is what happens when you spend a great deal of time involved in anything, like a flock of teens gaggling about...well whatever it is that holds their attention for a few days.

Anyway, I am just giving everyone a heads up that some of my excessive time with cars may spill out onto these posts. Such as how could Jaguar be so foolish as to turn their XF into a Dodge Intrepid clone when the more aggressive looking concept won such acclaim or how shameless Honda was in copying the Prius with their new rendition of the hybrid only Insight. I mean sure the hood and grill are taken almost straight off of their Clarity Fuel Cell car, but the rest is all Prius.

So for all you car lovers I am eager to hear about whatever makes you salivate or rant, and for the rest of you hopefully my life will be diverse enough to enthral and entertain you as well.