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Sarah Forst posted on November 06, 2012 00:00
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| This was the craziest I'd ever seen Tuesday. Though by Friday, half of these folks had probably dropped dead as even my quest for Haggard Model Search on 2012 left me with empty booths... |
SEMA 2012 Wrapup
by Sarah Forst
SEMA 2012 invaded the Las Vegas Convention Center this past week. Every year, SEMA unveils the top cars, products, and trends to salivating auto enthusiasts. Follow MotoIQ around as we try to survive the hypermiler foot race during the day and the liver challenging networking at night. Get out your dirty socks - I'm about to recap SEMA for our MIQ readers.
First, the winners of Hottest 2012 'ish, basically a count of the greatest number of vehicles from each category.
SEMA 2012 Winners:
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| Hottest Car: Ford Mustang |
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| Hottest Sport Compact: Scion FR-S (MIQ's own) |
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| Hottest 4x4-SUV: Jeep Wrangler (you'd think there were no others...) |
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| Hottest Truck: Ford F-series |
Other MotoIQ winners:
Best Party: Falken/ProMotion party (pics on last page) Thursday night, Club Chateau at Paris. Gotta roll VIP to this one which MIQ did after some begging and pleading. We don't mind losing a little dignity in exchange for open air, free drinks, and couches.
Best Halloween costume: MIQ man, our superhero - so fast, we couldn't catch a pic!
Best late night munchie place: Secret Pizza at the Cosmo Hotel. You can't find it on the hotel map so I'll hint that you should enjoy a nice game of pool on the 2nd floor and look for a hallway littered with historic album covers. As a craft beer whore too, it was nice to see a Stone IPA on draft after drowning in a half a case of Heinekens at the club.
Best Music: the DJ at Haze nightclub at Aria had us booty shaking harder than the chicks on stage. It didn't hurt that the gold wristbands we were given by another club got us free drinks for a few hours until someone finally realized they weren't exactly the right color...
Tuesday, November 06, 2012 1:20 PM
Needs moar Mustang coverage! :-P
Tuesday, November 06, 2012 3:03 PM
You gots it: From the first page  "Boy Racer" by 3d Carbon: 6 piece body kit, 22" Forgiato wheels, Eibach springs and sway bars, Brembo brakes, and Dynomax axle back exhaust drenched in a condiment paint job.  Whiteline "Ringleader" Mustang by Kris Horton: I think Khiem is covering this a little in his nerds eye view out tomorrow. The Whiteline watts-linkage for the S197 was the Global Media Award winner. This 'Stang also has the TruFiber carbon fiber body, ProCharger intercooled centrifugal supercharger system, Baer 6-piston brake system, KW Variant 3 coilovers, Snow Performance water/methanol injection, and other Whiteline products including adjustable upper and lower control arms, sway bars and a strut tower brace.  Stitchcraft drop top Mustang: 3.7L V6 with Nitrous Express system, Flowmaster exhaust, Hotchkis coilovers, and Wilwood Brakes.  Sarah Burgess BMI Racing 2013 XDC Drift Mustang
Tuesday, November 06, 2012 7:40 PM
Haha, great coverage, pictures, comments, ALL of it! The Tanner Foust edition Focus sounds like it was run through the Motoiq project rounds! Was that HPD CR-Z the only one to be found?
Wednesday, November 07, 2012 3:11 PM
i was trying to practice my photobombing skillz in that one photo. Apparently I am still young grasshopper when it comes to learning the ways of photobombing epicness of Kerryann and Scott.
Wednesday, November 07, 2012 3:28 PM
@Bruce - the HPD team in the Honda booth had very little to say about that CR-Z. I think it was a surprise for them as well. A supercharged hybrid definitely got an eyebrow raise out of me so you'll have to forgive my ignorance about the car when I assume the engine must be directly connected to the transmission vs. other hybrids like the Prius whose engine simply recharges the batteries.
Wednesday, November 07, 2012 4:06 PM
@Bruce- yes, only one I saw. Mugen is making 300 versions of the RZ, a supercharged CR-Z, for Japan so it might share that design. I think production will start later this month. Like Aaron says, it uses a modified version of the IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) hybrid powerplant. The supercharger is attached to teh 1.5L Vtec engine and the electric motor can provide another 20hp.
Wednesday, November 07, 2012 11:13 PM
I am SOOOOO bummed that NO pictures of MotoIQ MAN have surfaced yet from the Halloween party!!! That was the greatest costume EVAR!! Those black pants where out of control (he was sexy and knew it)!! I wonder who was that masked marauder that screamed out in a loud STRONG authoritative voice " YOUR POKE STYLE WHEELS AND 45 DEGREES OF NEGATIVE CAMBER IS A COMPLETE HELLAFAIL!!!! " Oh, and great write up Sarah!! Thanks for all the CAR porn!!
Thursday, November 08, 2012 12:47 AM
Thanks for the info Aaron and Sarah! I'm just bummed that there's not much love for the CR-Z stateside. It's actually a fun, little underpowered car that gets phenom MPGs. I'd like to see if Braille had any improvements on the electric portion. The electric motor between the engine and tranny is kind of similar to KERS tech where it recharges batteries while engine braking. It's actually cool tech.
Thursday, November 08, 2012 4:03 PM
It is a pretty sweet car. If my commute sucked more, I might consider one! At this rate, I need another garage... Bruce, have you driven one? I haven't heard any seat impressions from anyone.
Friday, November 09, 2012 11:48 AM
I actually bought a CR-Z and it is one of THE funnest underpowered cars I've ever driven. I love when people try and say it's just not the same as the CRX of yore. I drove my cousin's around in the 90s and trust me, they're comparable. As for MPG, when I average at least 34mph around town I get between 36-37mpg. Down I-5, 40+/- depending on my speed! Driving impressions, a little bit of understeer and body roll as expected from the factory. The extra torque from the IMA is a pleasant suprise to help get up to those higher RPM that Hondas love. It could definitely use an extra oomph of power for the straights but placed in the right gear with the rev matched to the cars handling limit and corners are a blast!
Saturday, November 10, 2012 2:12 PM
Thanks Bruce- sounds like a fun car and pretty much what I'd expect. My impressions of a CRX come from experience with a 1st gen carbureted CRX so let's just say almost anything is an improvement! If you're getting 40+ mpg on I-5, you must live away from the traffic mess of LA ;).
 
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