A Necessary Part of the SEMA Show: Booth Babes   Should I bother to write anything? Just enjoy the pictures. Click on any image to see them in their full beauty!   These lovely ladies, at first glance were buck nekkid! In Vegas? Yea, maybe!! But no, they weren't completely, but that didn't stop an enthusiastic crowd of folks stopping by for a pic and a closer look. (it was worth it, don'tcha think??)     Just like last year's SEMA Show, and most likely every year, Giovanna brings talent and suede wrapped exotics. Both suit me just fine!   Follow Joselyn Cano on Instagram here. (you'll be glad you did)   Not to be outdone... (help with a link if you know it)   Like classic Ford Muscle? Got a booth babe for ya...     Or you prefer import models? Kawaii desu ne? Harajuku ni isshoni ikimasenka? I gave her my cheesiest Japanese pickup line: Asa kohi isshoni nomimasen ka?     Rockin' the house!!   I saved some of the best for last... from CB Model your first (or possibly wisest) choice for models at your next...

Top 10 Tips to Survive SEMA   by Karma Carlson of Chaotic Customs We live in Kansas. That’s a long haul to Las Vegas! 1,262 miles to be exact which equals out to 17 hours and 50 minutes of driving. Pull a trailer and travel with two women and that time increases by a good six hours. We installed a 75 gallon fuel tank in the bed of the truck. It’s great because you don’t have to fill up as often. It’s not great because we don’t stop as often. In order to make it from one stop to the next, I forgo all liquids for two days before we travel. Arriving in Vegas dehydrated is never a good idea. (Have you seen that 100 ounce margarita at MargaritaVille? Not the best idea when you are thirsty and dehydrated!)   SEMA is a great place to network, see all the latest products and get new ideas. You can see what other people in the industry are doing and showcase your own workmanship. The best part is seeing the talented builders and innovative ideas that keep the hot rod market fresh...

OPTIMA Invitational Qualifier Lynda Jacobs   It's been my pleasure to work with Optima for their after-SEMA race called the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational. What is it? Well, check this out to catch up... Basically, it's a race of the best cars from the SEMA Show floor and qualifying races all over the country.   One racer happens to drive a road hugging, original appearing 1966 Chevelle SS 396 convertible and SHE is every bit the muscle car enthusiast and race car driver you'd ever imagine!  Qualifying at LS Fest, she's the real deal. Meet Lynda Jacobs.     Lynda kindly told us her story of racing and her first muscle car, this black-plate 1966 Chevelle.   Words and Pictures from Lynda...   My husband Chris and I have been married for 15 years. We both had cars and racing in our lives and that also played into our meeting as well. A mutual friend who had a body shop helped make the introduction and the rest was history. We went to Great Lakes Dragway on our second date. Chris has been into Chevelles his whole life. First car was...

Unlimited Everything SEMA Show Pantera   Concept Art Provided by Problem Child Kustoms   Just your standard 1971 De Tomaso Pantera. Well, not quite. Add a combined 10 ka-jillion hours of design study, meetings to select from the many bitch'n ideas presented here, then a ridiculous amount of skill, passion and labor by the Ring Brothers to make this Pantera happen.   This is ADRNLN.   Now that the "cats out of the bag" (sorry, couldn't resist) my good buddy Brian Stupski from over at Problem Child Kustoms shared these design sketches. I guess before we get too far into those... better review what a Pantera  looks like like uncut:     Now compare that to the beast shown at SEMA Show 2013:     Fantastic execution like this doesn't happen by accident! So... light a candle, grab a beer or take 2 minutes to meditate on the best looking Pantera ever. Finished? What design cues would you choose? Scroll down these never seen before sketches that led to the final design. As you can see, Brian's got skills.   Need more info? Let us know? Brian can be reached...

Who's Coming and What Radical Race Car are they bringing?   2013 OPTIMA® Ultimate Street Car Invitational: Second Group of Finalists Revealed If you can't find a car to like in this group... you don't like cars! From a BMW M3 wagon to classic Camaros and Mustangs, the OUSCI has you covered. All of these race cars will be seen at SEMA, many of them inside as part of vendor displays. Then on Friday, they'll take to the streets and make the parade lap leaving SEMA followed by a rally-style out to Pahrump, NV and the Spring Mountain Ranch race track where they'll kick things off on Saturday morning. Check out more details below.   The Upcoming Sixth Annual OPTIMA® Ultimate Street Car Invitational to Showcase a Strong Mix of Imported and Domestic Vehicles   OPTIMA Batteries, the global leader in high-performance automotive and marine batteries, gears up for the sixth annual OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational, presented by K&N Filters and Royal Purple, by revealing the initial list of drivers and vehicles that have been invited to compete in the event. OPTIMA Batteries has long been the battery of choice for many automotive enthusiasts looking for better...

OPTIMA Shootout Qualifiers at Road America Premiere of OPTIMA’s Search for the Ultimate Street Car: Faceoff at Road America Qualifier Event to Air on MAV TV Network   OPTIMA’s Faceoff at Road America Qualifying Event Episode Premieres Thursday, October 31 with more high intensity performance vehicles and nail-biting action Oct. 17, 2012 (MILWAUKEE) – OPTIMA® Batteries, the global leader in high-performance automotive and marine AGM batteries and chargers, is proud to announce the premiere of the OPTIMA’s Search for the Ultimate Street Car series to air on Thursday, October 31 at 6 p.m. EDT and 9 p.m. EDT on MAV TV.   In the premiere, viewers will get a behind-the-scenes look at the action during the OPTIMA Faceoff at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. This regional qualifying event introduces a diverse range of performance vehicles and the stories behind the passionate drivers as they compete on one of the most historic race tracks in America.   “This episode captures the passion of the automotive community with a great cast of entertaining characters. If you’re looking for fast beautiful cars, then this is your show,” said Cam Douglass director of product development and marketing for OPTIMA Batteries....

Chaotic Customs SEMA Build - 1940 Ford Pickup   Pictures and words by Karma Carlson   Want to see the finished truck at SEMA 2013? 1940 Ford Hot Rod Pickup at SEMA   It all started with a hole in the hood of a 1929 Model A roadster. Mike Young brought his roadster to Chris & Karma Carlson at Chaotic Customs in Mulvane, KS, to have the hole in his hood repaired after removing a blower motor. The repair turned into a complete rebuild of the car and a friendship was formed between the Youngs and the Carlsons. After driving the roadster, Mike discovered his wife, Glenna, was not a roadster chick. Roadsters in the Kansas heat and wind were not her cup of tea. They decided to build an enclosed car so that Glenna would enjoy riding longer distances to car shows. Mike knew Chaotic Customs was the shop for the job.   Learn more about Chaotic Customs painting skills in this Metal Flake on a budget Painting How-to   Mike had his eye on 1949-1951 Chevy Fleetlines but Chris had a line on a 1940 Ford pickup....

Top 25 and Can Tow the Other Cars! (Click to see any picture full size) I give you a bitch'n five-pack of race inspired (ok, they're pretty much full on race cars except for the Blazer) of 70s Chevy C10 trucks! As I said, the Optima Invitational was a diverse event, filled with the coolest and fastest cars from SEMA, and not just late model Camaros and Mustangs. I've seen some great looking C10's bagged and laying frame in Arizona, but I haven't seen any that could hold their own at the local SCCA autocross! In a social media experiment (or maybe I just don't have much info) I'll try and get the owners to fill-in the details on their trucks. I've got some Facebook or email contacts, so wish me luck! -UPDATE! Got info from Rob MacGregor and Curt Hill. Pictured up top and right here is Phil Gerber's 1970 Chevrolet C10: Phil yank'n and bank'n on the autocross Phil drove to a #12 finish and was the "Top Truck" in the competition. Congratulations on some skilled driving and a great looking truck! Next, pictured above and with his...

1966 Mustang Fastback - Pro-Touring on a Budget   One of the hightlights of the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational (aka OUSCI) was meeting Ron Schwarz, the owner of this extremely well done - homebuilt - 1966 Ford Mustang fastback. Sporting all the pro-touring trim, MyRideisMe.com featured this car long ago as part of a how-to story: Build A Pro-touring Mustang for $5000   The key point was, as you can imagine, "Do it yourself".   With a few stickers, new wheels and a new, budget blowing LS motor, Ron's Schwarz's Mustang now cracks the wallet closer to $15,000, but I'd guess is still many thousands on-the-cheap compared to the other competitors at the Optima Invitational. Unbelievably, Ron finished 33rd in the Design challenge. I don't know what those cats are looking for, but this was a ground up car featuring only what's needed to go fast. Other than that, Ron finished just outside the top 20 on the Hot Lap Challenge and the Speed Stop Challenge, but did bring home a top 20 in the Autocross.   At least he can say he tied with the Lamborghini!  ...

More than just Camaros and Mustangs at the OUSCI (Click to see any picture full size) If you're in the corporate world, you've heard about diversity. You've probably had some training on it so you can be more sensitive or some other nonsense like that.  The way I see it, different strokes for different folks and that's never been more true than in the rides we choose. Am I right? At the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational (damn that's a long name!) the race car diversity was on overload! Shown above, all racing in the same event: 3rd place finishing 2003 Mitsubishi Evo (yellow one barely visible), 1967 Pontiac, 2013 GTR, , a 2012 Audi RS5, 2012 Fiat Abarth, 1986 Porsche Carrera, and some others you'll see in another photo. Right up front and a great example of diversity is the Pontiac. How often do you see this motor at an SCCA race? This blown 1967 Pontiac Firebird owned by Mike Ardito made hot laps on the track, did the autocross, the road race... and I think held it's own in the performance and design competition! Todd Faust's 1966 Mustang leads the...

At Speed and Sideways at the OUSCI Your guide to all that was GREAT at the 2012 Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational. (Click to see any picture full size) Well... drowning in too many pictures of great looking and performing rides, I've spent too much time trying to make a great summary of the post-SEMA Optima race aka the OUSCI. So rather than attempt to dazzle you with my witty, yet descriptive account of the race, I'll let my photos speak for me. Let me summarize: Great racing, I'll be back! I'll list all the stories about the race here as I write them, so check back and please share with other fans. Dream Ride - Optima Invitational Raced Twin Turbo Lamborghini Road Racing and Autocross Diversity Training Thanks to Optima Back and Still under budget Pro-touring 1966 Mustang Fastback Top 25 Finishing, Pro-touring Styled Chevy Trucks Drifting a 10,000 lb Freightliner  For the pictures here, shown above, in his GM performance packed 1967 Camaro is event winner Mark Steilow. I'm planning a more detailed story about Mark and his ripping fast Camaro, so for now, enjoy the hard-chargin,...

My Ride in an Lamborghini Superleggara Ever been to SEMA? Then you've dreamed. When I stumbled upon this stunning orange Lamborghini in the Optima Batteries booth, was I dreaming to ride in it? Nah, probably not. There'd be no way... how could I make that happen? It's more of a fantasy... not something that'd happen to me. Well it did! So what did I see in the booth? Allow me to elaborate: This is a 2011 Lamborghini Gallardo. To be more specific, it's the Superleggera version.  Superleggera refers to the special lightweight construction thanks to carbon fiber used all over the place. (you'll see it in every picture... click to see any pic full size) Let me say a little more... this is no ordinary Lamborghini Superleggera (like they could ever be ordinary!) This one's had the 5.2L V10 it normally runs (only 562 HP and 0-62mph in 3.4s... phffft!) replaced by a twin turbo setup by Underground Racing. When the driver tunes the ECU to the highest setting of, "Are you kidding me" this potent supercar rocks 1500 HP on 116 octane. Yes. Details from Underground Racing here....