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Yesterday we recapped what the Big Three looked like at this year's SEMA aftermarket freakout, replete in all their Camaro and Challenger splendor. Today we offer glimpses at Japan's equivalent trio, plus what Toyota's youth-skewing brand Scion had to offer.
Despite the fact that technically SEMA is a convention for all things automotive aftermarket, it's the OEMs who dominate the show. SEMA is the place where auto manufacturers bring their latest and greatest rides - tricked out, of course - in the hopes that their new automobiles become the next "must have" whip. After all, billions of dollars are spent every year on aftermarket accessories... what better place to put these new parts than on a shiny new car?
HONDA
Honda's Civic single-handedly built the modern tuner industry, so it should be no surprise that the centerpiece at the Big H's booth was another Civic, this one a Honda Access-built HFP Civic Si sedan concept. Don't let its, uh, homely appearance fool you; you want this Civic. It was built using parts off the JDM Civic Type R and was then tuned by driving god Keiichi Tsuchiya. Should the car ever go on sale, you can just rip off the aero kit and throw on a new set of wheels.
Also making its debut at SEMA 2008 was the Mugen accessorized Honda Fit. Unfortunately, none of the goods seen on Mugen's 2008 Tokyo Auto Salon entry - the supercharged F154SC - will be available from dealers. Instead, Fit-owning Mugen collectors will have to make do with Mugen-branded accessories like wheels, a quick shifter, aero kit and other dress-up items.
NISSAN
Now that the GT-R is officially on sale in America, numerous tuners brought modified versions of Nissan's legendary supercar out to SEMA. But not Nissan. Oh, it brought out a GT-R, but in keeping with its "cannot be modified" mantra, the GT-R in the Nissan booth was bone stock. Bummer. (Seriously!!! - Ed.)
But there were plenty of other cars waving the tuner flag in the Nissan booth. National Guardsman Nick Ashby brought out his military-themed "Citizen Soldier" Nissan Altima Coupe. Stillen catered to the older crowd with its dad-approved two-tone Nissan Maxima. The Westside Group teamed up with Mine's - taking the parts of Mine's owner Niikura-san's personal car - to build a time attack 350Z. And Infiniti had a few rides on hand, including a Maziora-sprayed VIP-styled M45.
Knowing that the bulk of the SEMA crowd is gray-bearded hot rodders in Hawaiian shirts, Nissan made the centerpiece of its booth a 1932 Highboy Ford. No, Nissan didn't lose its mind; this classic Ford hot rod sports a drivetrain ripped right out of a Nissan 300ZX. Insert your own joke about this swap making the car reliable here.
TOYOTA
Toyota called upon the talents of two of the industry's top tuners to help introduce its Camry-based CUV, the Venza, to the 2008 SEMA show. Rolling on 24s, the Venza Sportlux by Street Image imagines the kid hauler as a ride more suitable for Snoop Dogg... for one of his runs to the Pee Wee football game. Car guru Troy Sumitomo and his Five Axis crew wanted create a new segment with its Venza AS V: the Active Sports Versatility vehicle. The Venza AS V's body modifications have that trademark Five Axis look, and the added utility racks allow this AS V to be ready for whatever outdoor adventure Venza owners like to imagine they'll get around to doing someday.
SCION
Scion's booth has always amazed SEMA goers with its collections of radically modified rides, and its booth at the 2008 show was no different. Save for the chop top car created by Jeremy Lookofsky and his Drag Cartel Industries, Scion's xD was all but ignored in '08.
Marketing guy John Pangilinan and Fatlace head Mark Arcenal brought two different, yet similar, widebody Scion tCs to the show. Pangilinan's blue turbocharged coupe was designed to look aggressive, yet its punch came via a massive in car entertainment system. The Fatlace car chose a TRD supercharger as its form of forced induction and was designed to be a USDM version of a DTM racecar. Both cars roll right with KW suspensions and Toyo tires.
While the aforementioned tCs are the epitome of 21st-century tuning, the Scion coupe that got the most attention took a few cues from the old school. And by that we mean your (great) grandpa's WWII fighter plane. Eddie Hahm's Neu-Vintage tC turned heads thanks to its riveted body, louvered hood and trunk, Rally America B52 McLean-style wire wheels and Tigershark livery. The WWII theme carried over to the cockpit of the car in the form of riveted steel seats. The engine got a mild bump in power via an AEM intake, Brian Crower Stage 3 cams and a custom one-off O2 Motorworks race header.
The xBs on hand this year were milder than those of SEMAs past - no lifted boxes with drumsets in the back, for example - but that doesn't mean that they weren't wild in their own way. Rouge Status' Killer Bee xB was the mildest of the bunch, but given the fact that it won this year's Gumball Rally, its spot in the show was well earned.
Chris Rado added a turbocharged and stroked 2.7-liter motor, a flaming paint job and widebody aero kit to his xB time attack concept. MV Designz took a cue from the first-gen JDM xB Open Deck and transformed its widebody yellow box into a pick-up truck. The box that drew the most stares was the chop-top Raging Bull. This House of Kolor metallic purple box combined old and new with its Five Axis body kit, carbon fiber intake trumpets, chopped roof and riveted sheetmetal interior. The rat rod brass knuckle shifter added a nice, yet meanacing, touch.
Our SEMA OEM wrap concludes in the next installment - c'mon back!
www.honda.com
www.nissanusa.com
www.toyota.com
www.scion.com
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