We see tribute vehicles come and go. Most of the lot are slaves to every last detail of the original, offering little more than a few engine upgrades to the mix. Then there are beasts like the one above. Built as an homage to Parnelli Jones' 1971 "Big Oly" Ford Bronco Baja 1,000 bruiser, this machine uses a modern trophy truck chassis wrapped in larger-than life fiberglass first-generation Bronco body. With 723 horsepower on tap, the truck is fully capable of bashing the desert into submission. Owner Marshall Mardruga originally built the machine to tackle the Baja 1,000, but decided to turn it into a show truck instead.
Every visible component was then plated in brass or nickel and protected with a clear powder coat in preparation for SEMA 2011. If you like what you see, this machine can be yours for a heady sum. Available in San Diego, California via eBay Motors, the street-legal tribute commands a $535,000 Buy It Now price. You can see the auction here or scroll below to check out a few videos.
Continue reading eBay Find of the Day: Parnelli Jones 1971 "Big Oly" Ford Bronco tribute [w/video]
We love SEMA. There's simply no better place to see the aftermarket go wild. Unfortunately, most of the cars, trucks, vans and other heathens that occupy the Las Vegas Convention Center each November are built to do little more than look pretty under the lights. We've always wanted to see the best of the best throw down on a track.
Fortunately for us, there's the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational. For four years now, the battery maker has invited the cream of the SEMA crop to show off just what all that aftermarket hardware is good for.
This year, SPEED tagged along to see what all the fuss was about, and brought along a host of HD cameras to capture the whole event. Hosted by Bill Goldberg, the show is a good chance to catch up on some of the more impressive cars that debuted at SEMA 2011 and watch them as they do battle for the top title.
Who won out this year? We won't spoil it for you. You'll just have to look for the Optima Ultimate Street Invitational on SPEED. The show debuted this weekend, but will re-air on March 11 at 2:30 PM EST. In the meantime, check out the teaser after the jump.
Continue reading Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational puts SEMA cars to the test
Every year in November, the Specialty Equipment Market Association hosts a trade show out in the desert. You know it as the SEMA Show in Las Vegas.
Held in the sprawling square footage of the Las Vegas Convention Center, the SEMA Show is where just about every automotive aftermarket company and supplier comes to share its wares. About 1,500 new products debut there each year, and even automakers brave the crowds to show off their most wild and custom concept and performance vehicles.
Despite being a trade-only event and technically not open to the public, we've included it on The List because so many enthusiasts have told us they want to attend and, based on our experience, many of them find a way in. We got Jessi and Patrick passes for this past year's SEMA Show to experience the chaos, and they filed this report.
Follow the jump to watch them check off "Attend SEMA" from The List.
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You can also click here to learn more about our hosts, Jessi and Patrick.
As writers, we're treated to an interesting view of the auto show circuit. We kick in the doors, cram in as many press conferences and interviews as possible, then bolt from the scene as fast as we can. In doing so, we often take for granted the incredible amount of work manufacturers put into their displays. Set up and tear down often takes days, with hundreds of hours of planning and design work leading up to both processes. Ford has released a time-lapse video from this year's SEMA show depicting the long build-up and tear-down slog.
Using a smattering of RePlay XD1080 cameras strewn all around the booth site, it's possible to get a look at the forklifts, lighting, carpeting and cars as they trickle in to create a seamless booth packed with drool-worthy customs. Hit the jump to check out the clip for yourself.
Continue reading The life and death of Ford's SEMA show booth
Now that the dust has begun to settle after the SEMA explosion, we're discovering a handful of awesome videos that shed a little more light on some of our favorite cars from the show. That includes the ID Agency Ford Focus worked up with professional fixed-gear bike rider Michael Chacon. The hatch wears some seriously sexy BASF paint, and with a body kit drawn up by design guru Jon Sibal and a Wraptivo carbon fiber roof, the Focus has some serious attitude. An AEM cold-air intake and a Magnaflow exhaust help bump up the power, while a Brembo big brake kit is responsible for bringing the machine down from speed.
Inside sits a set of some of the most beautiful seats we've ever laid eyes on. The Sportster thrones were worked up by Recaro and feature two-tone leather and plenty of custom stitching. Do want.
The video after the jump spends plenty of time speaking with Chacon about his inspirations and what it's like to see SEMA from the outside. The clip is set to some pretty snappy tunes, including M83's "Midnight City." Hit the jump to check it out for yourself.
Continue reading ID Agency and Michael Chacon show off Ford Focus build
Episode #255 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, with Chris, Dan and Zach this week. Topics include a wrap-up of what we saw at SEMA, changes to MyFord Touch, the role of natural disasters in slow sales of the 2012 Honda Civic, the Subaru Advanced Tourer Concept, and the Evo Magazine Car of the Year. Your questions and comments power the end of the 'cast, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. We've embedded our Q&A module after the jump for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #255:
SEMA wrap-up
Subaru Advanced Tourer
MyFord Touch overhaul
Slow Honda Civic sales due to weather?
Evo magazine car of the year
In the Autoblog Garage
2012 Dodge Grand Caravan R/T
2012 Chevrolet Volt
2011 Volkswagen Golf TDI
Hosts: Dan Roth, Chris Shunk, Zach Bowman
Runtime: 01:10:47
Get the podcast
[UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10PM Eastern at UStream
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes
[RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator
We record Episode #255 of the Autoblog Podcast tonight, and you can drop us your questions via our Q&A module below. Check out our discussion topics or chime in to help determine what else the crew chats about this evening. Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #255
SEMA wrap-up
Subaru Advanced Tourer
MyFord Touch overhaul
Slow Honda Civic sales due to weather?
Evo magazine car of the year
[UStream] Interact LIVE at UStream - 10PM Eastern on Monday, November 7, 2011
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes
[RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator
Every year at SEMA we enjoy seeing the latest creations from the talented Ring Brothers. Last year they debuted an incredible 1970 Mustang, and their latest project is this 1970 Camaro nicknamed "Diversion."
Ring Brothers specializes in producing unique cars, and "Diversion" is no exception. The Camaro sits on a custom-built chassis with a specially fabricated body featuring extended rockers painted with BASF Mineral Gray paint. We're always impressed with the unique billet details of their cars, and this Camaro has them in spades - hood hinges, door handles, taillight bezels and more. The car also features custom Forgeline three-piece wheels, Baer brakes and Flowmaster 44 Series mufflers. Under he hood is a GM LS7 massaged to over 650 horsepower running through a Tremec TKO-600 five-speed transmission.
You can see the Ring Brothers 1970 Camaro "Diversion" in detail in the high-res gallery above.
We have little interest in running into burning buildings, but we can imagine being a firefighter has its perks. For starters, those guys and girls get the chance to pilot some seriously incredible machinery. Superlift, Matchbox and Ford got together to create what could very possibly be the world's most bad-ass brush truck using a 2011 F-350 Super Duty as the base chassis. The truck wears an astonishing 10-inch lift and 41-inch Interko IROK tires. A full tube exo-cage helps protect the PPG "Oh So Orange" paint, and a smattering of lights and sirens ensure that everyone will see this emergency vehicle coming.
A full fire-fighting utility bed, complete with water tanks, pumps and hoses, sits ready to take on brush fires and the like, and a front-mounted water canon means that the Matchbox brush truck can tackle flames going and coming. We dig it.
The suspensions are lowered, the dubs are mounted and the votes are tabulated: with the SEMA show in full swing, organizers have announced their top pics for the show.
Rather than name the top tuned cars, the SEMA Awards name the best cars for tuning, in several categories. And so, the winners of the second annual SEMA Awards are...
The hottest car overall is awarded to the Chevrolet Camaro (like the Hot Wheels concept pictured above), the hottest sport-compact is the Fiat 500, the hottest SUV goes to the Jeep Wrangler, and the hottest truck has been named as the Ford F-Series.
All the award recipients are domestics, save for the Fiat 500, and even that is effectively a Chrysler product made in Mexico. So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Now crack open your aftermarket parts catalogs and have at 'em.
