How's this for green tech? Coach Builders Ltd. created this bright green convertible Dodge Challenger for the 2008 SEMA Show. According to Coach Builders, it will cost you about $16,000 to lose the top of your Challenger, not including the price of the vehicle itself. Doing a little math, converting a Challenger SRT8 will cost as much as $60,975, if you opt for the uconnect GPS, Kicker stereo system, and six-speed manual tranny.
Adding a little go to the show, Coach Builders Ltd has also supercharged the 6.1-liter Hemi V8 producing 560HP and 510 pound-feet of torque. Video is below.
Just when you think you've seen everything, up pulls a Pink Bentley.
(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CNET Car Tech)The 2008 SEMA Show was packed to the gills with interesting announcements.
Chevrolet--hot on the tails of the freshly available Dodge Challenger--made a huge push for its upcoming Camaro, unveiling a few conceptual special editions.
Both Volkswagen and Honda showed us how they planned to combine eco-tech and performance-tech with their VW CC Eco Performance Concept and Honda Civic HFP Sedan Concept.
AT&T showed us how they planned to bring TV to the car with its CruiseCast satellite TV system. Conversely, GoPro showed us how to put your car on TV with its GoPro Hero camera system.
Aside from the manufacturers, there were hundreds of vehicles on display representing the full gamut of car-customizing culture. From muscle cars to import tuners to classic street rods to big ol' trucks, there was something for everyone who loves cars at SEMA. View the full 2008 SEMA wrap-up gallery.
This xB custom pickup truck is crazy, but believe it or not, it wasn't the wildest Scion at SEMA.
(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CNET Car Tech)Scion, Toyota's youth-oriented sub-brand, has made vehicle customization tantamount to the experience of purchasing and owning its vehicles. So at the world's largest aftermarket car parts show, SEMA is hot Las Vegas, you can bet that Scion had a big presence with some truly unique vehicles.
Models ranged from an xB pickup truck conversion to a wide-body tC. Oddly, we didn't see any examples of the xD.
The Honda Civic HFP Sedan Concept was unveiled alongside tuned vehicles by Mugen, Tjin, and Galpin. View them all by clicking here.
(Credit: Honda Motors)While Honda didn't roll out any new models or concepts at SEMA 2008, it did introduce a few new trim levels and accessory packages to some old favorites. The Civic Honda Factory Performance Concept sedan represents Honda's quest to bring the performance of its Type-R and Si models in line with its green initiatives.
Along with the HFP Civic, there were tuned Fits by Mugen and Tjin, tuned Pilots and Ridgelines, and a rather hot Accord Coupe. These vehicles represent the broad range of directions that owners take when customizing their Honda vehicles and the degree to which Honda has embraced the auto-enthusiast subculture.
The RKSport Genesis sedan is my favorite, but you can see them all by viewing the full gallery.
(Credit: Hyundai Motors America)Hyundai's Genesis is the new kid on the block and Hyundai's new jack of all trades, with a sedan taking aim at luxury buyers and a coupe that's pulling the double duty of targeting the tuner market with a 2-liter turbo model and the upmarket enthusiast with it's V-6 model. With a marquee aimed at such a wide gamut of buyers, it's no wonder that when the Korean automaker put a few Genesis models into the hands of master tuners--DUB, RK Sport, and Rhys Millen Racing, among others--the results varied so wildly.
My personal favorite of the Geneses on display at SEMA is the RKSport Genesis Sedan. Under the hood, you'll find a 4.6-liter Tau engine, which produces 460-horsepower, with the help of a supercharger for performance driving. It'll hit 60mph in just under 5 seconds and at just under 14 you'll have gone a quarter mile. With the help of cylinder-deactivation tech, it can do all of this while maintaining the stock estimated 18 city mpg and 27 highway mpg of the 3.8-liter V-6 model. Of course, to reach those fuel economy numbers, you'd have to keep the pedal off the metal.
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The GoPro camera allows you to record your high-speed exploits, but just remember to keep it on the track. You don't want your vids falling into the hands of Johnny Law.
(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CBS Interactive)Perhaps you're the owner of a fine driving machine capable of high-speed precision driving, the likes of which mere mortals can only dream. Or maybe you've got a beater that you take on the back roads every weekend. Either way, how do you share your driving experience with your pals on your favorite video-sharing site or car forum? GoPro may just have the solution for you in the way of its Wide Hero mountable camera.
GoPro's Lotus Exige was on hand to showcase the cameras. The vehicle was equipped with four cameras that I could see: one on the front bumper, one on the roof, a dashboard-mounted unit, and one facing rearward on the side.
The Wide Hero features a 170-degree wide-angle lens to capture all of the action at your local track day or back road. GoPro also offers a 54-degree standard lens on its Digital Hero 5.
I counted four cameras on GoPro's Exige.
(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CBS Interactive)The camera can shoot up to 56 minutes of continuous video at 512x384--that's about seven laps of the Nürburgring Nordschleife in your brand new Nissan GT-R, or Porsche 911. To get the full 56 minutes, you'll need a 2GB SD card, which isn't included. Users also have the option of capturing up to a 5-megapixel photo every two seconds for 64 minutes, totaling 1,920 still shots. The cameras feature a shockproof and waterproof housing. Its small size and 4.7-ounce featherweight open up a world of mounting options, including a helmet mount for you two-wheeled enthusiasts, suction-cup mounts for automobiles, and a wrist mount for extreme athletes.
The camera is also pretty cheap, starting at about $139 for the Digital Hero 5 with a wrist mount and topping out at $199 for the Motorsports Wide Hero with suction-cup vehicle mount. At that price, just about anyone can record themselves doing donuts in their neighbor's front lawn. Additional mounts and accessories can also be purchased to expand the unit's usefulness.
I've embedded a sample video below to demonstrate the quality of the system. Check out the GoPro Hero system on its Web site and see more videos and potential applications on the GoPro Vimeo page.
Motorsports HERO Wide from GoPro on Vimeo.
As if the stock CC wasn't sleek and sporty enough, VW unveiled this Performance Concept, which ups the ante. Click the photo to view the full gallery.
(Credit: Volkswagen of America, Inc.)Volkswagen rolled out some new high performance concepts with an eco twist at the 2008 SEMA Show. Among the models displayed were a hot-rod version of the Tiguan crossover SUV, the CC Gold Coast Edition, and the Jetta TDI Cup (the race-ready version of VW's clean diesel Jetta).
The main event was the unveiling of the CC Eco Performance Concept, a version of the CC that not only bests the stock model in raw power, but also in fuel economy.
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The CruiseCast's satellite receiver isn't much bigger than a bread box.
(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CBS Interactive)At 2008's SEMA Show, I took a spin in a Toyota Sienna with a rather unique feature designed and installed by AT&T: CruiseCast Satellite TV. I have to say after seeing the system, I'm impressed.
We here at CNET Car Tech have test driven vehicles equipped with satellite TV, such as the 2009 Dodge Ram and Durango Hybrid vehicles with their Sirius Backseat TV systems. These systems have two fatal flaws. First, the signal is poor even at its best. At its worst, it's unwatchable because of spotty reception. Secondly, the selection of channels is extremely limited.
The system consists of three parts: the satellite receiver, the set-top box, and an RF remote. Bring your own monitors.
The satellite receiver mounts on the top of the vehicle and is about the size of a popcorn bowl, unlike many of the mammoth satellite receivers of yesteryear. This system takes up much less space than older designs. The receiver needs exposure to the southern sky to pull down the signal. Sirius' system has an even smaller satellite receiver, but Sirius' system wasn't designed with TV in mind. More on this in a bit.
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The prototype 'set-top box' actually resided under the seat.
(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CBS Interactive)The next part of the system is the confusingly named set-top box. It doesn't sit on top of anything. Rather, it is tucked away in the vehicle. In the Sienna's case, AT&T's installers hid it under the back seat. This box operates just like the cable/satellite box in your living room, except in your car. It decodes the signal coming down from the satellite and outputs it to the vehicle's monitors. The unit in place in the SEMA test vehicle was a prototype model. AT&T's reps assured me that the final model would be even smaller. Not that it was huge to begin with.
The system's interface includes an onscreen display and a channel guide that shows a list of channels, shows and times. Users of digital cable and satellite services should be familiar.
The final piece of the puzzle is the RF remote which is used to change channels. It's not unlike any other remote you've ever used, except that by using radio frequencies instead of infrared light, the remote doesn't have to be in line-of-sight of the set-top box, which is good when your box is in your trunk or a wheel well.
AT&T has combated the spotty reception problem by using a redundant satellite signal with a two- to three-minute buffer and an algorithm to interleave the signals and the buffer. In plain English, this means that the system stores up to three minutes of video in its memory to be called upon when the satellite's signal drops out or is degraded due to tall buildings, bridges or tunnels. Of course this means that if you spend a long time sitting in parking garages, the signal will eventually drop, but in our run around the streets of Las Vegas, we never saw the image or audio cut out.
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While it's not the best video image I've ever seen, I was very impressed by the quality.
(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CBS Interactive)On the subject of image quality, the CruiseCast's image quality was also head and shoulders above any other in-vehicle satellite broadcast I'd ever seen, even on systems with the huge 3-foot dishes. AT&T's reps say that the signal is standard definition and is optimized for screens from 7 to 12 inches.
Where Sirius Backseat TV had a laughable three channels and the full Sirius lineup of audio channels, CruiseCast delivers 22 TV channels and 20 satellite radio channels. Channels include Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, the Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, three Disney Channels, Discovery, Animal Planet, and many more.
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Here's a look at the production shell for the set-top box.
(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CBS Interactive)The system will be able to be purchased in Spring 2009 from dealerships and 12-Volt retailers, and eventually ordered through AT&T Stores with third-party installation. It's expected to be priced at about $1,299 with installation running extra, after which a $28-per-month subscription fee is also required.
The Camaro Dale Earnhart Jr. Concept is one of four special edition Camaros unveiled at GM's SEMA keynote. Click here to see the full gallery.
(Credit: General Motors)The Chevrolet Camaro was unveiled over a year ago, yet it's still not on showroom floors. With the Camaro being named the official vehicle of the 2008 SEMA Show, what can GM do to make us pay attention to its interpretation of the muscle car? Unveil a slew of special editions, that's what.
In all, four special edition Camaro concepts were unveiled at the 2008 SEMA Show Keynote speech, ranging from the relatively mild Black Edition to the high horsepower Camaro LS7 Concept to the full blown Camaro GS Race Prototype.
Click here to view the 2008 SEMA Show: Chevrolet Camaro Keynote photos.
Click to view Mercedes' GLK concepts.
(Credit: Mercedes-Benz)Mercedes-Benz is bringing four very unconventional GLK concepts to Las Vegas for the 2008 SEMA Show. Four vehicles were given to four tuners from around the world, with instructions to go crazy with the mods. The results ranged from understated class to an over the top vehicle that is barely recognizable as a GLK.
Proceed to see just how different the four tuners' vehicles are from the baseline and from each other.
