2007 SEMA - Fear and walking in Las Vegas

Author Hunter S. Thompson, who spent a certain amount of time in Las Vegas, once wrote that "when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." And folks, it doesn't get a whole lot weirder than Halloween in Las Vegas.

It's interesting that the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association, or SEMA, chooses Halloween in Vegas for their annual show. SEMA is scary big--it covers more than a million square feet, draws 2,000 exhibitors, and more than 100,000 people attend. (See our post on SEMA by the numbers.)

It is said to cover the whole thing would require something like 11 miles of walking past all manner of tires, wheels, electronic accessories, widgets, and custom cars. Something of a circus, SEMA draws thousands of surprisingly normal looking, clean-shaven guys in khaki slacks sporting corporate logos on their polo shirts. The shuttle bus from my hotel looked like the express ride to a convention of "normals."

As the hours pass today, we've noticed the human wreckage from the toils of working the show. Normals are stacking up like cord wood around the perimeter walls, resting and sometimes snoozing. It is clear that the exhibiters have invested countless hours in preparing their expanding product lines, SEMA booths, and over-the-top show cars. Let alone setting up, working the floor, late night schmoozing, and sampling Vegas' entertainment.

We're focused on unearthing the products and trends our readers should know about, or at least might find interesting. And I can tell you, I've already seen myriad products that I will begin to chronicle, next time I get to rest my feet. At this rate, it may be tonight, after dark. Then, it'll also be interesting to see what happens to the boys in the polo shirts once the sun goes down.

Happy Halloween!

—Jim Travers

Discuss SEMA in our Auto Show and Aftermarket forums.

2007 SEMA - Build-your-own new 1967 Mustang fastback

Rust never sleeps. In the old days of leaded gas, cars lacked the rust proofing of modern automobiles. That means that a lot of very desirable cars have either rusted back to the earth, or need a ton of costly work for restoration.

An example: I'm roaming the show this year with a friend and colleague of mine. His dad has five classic Ford Mustangs in a barn, including one he bought new. (And no, I'm not telling you where they are.) But, putting it charitably, they all need a good amount of work. Meanwhile, the price of concours-ready examples has skyrocketed in recent years.

But there is an alternative. Hanging above the Ford stand here at SEMA is an entire 1967 Mustang fastback unibody. Well, to be fair, it LOOKS like a '67 'Stang, but it's actually a brand-new body shell from Dynacorn Classic Bodies, Inc. Sitting underneath this is a complete "1967" fastback, built with 95 percent reproduction parts. Ford licenses the design to companies that build the components. It's not just Mustangs getting the everything-old-is-new-again treatment; sitting not far away is a '55 Chevy built basically new from the ground-up. For mail-order do-it-yourselfers, Dynacorn Classic Bodies also offers 1967 and 1969 Chevrolet Camaro coupe and convertible bodies.

This gets me wondering. Skip ahead 20-30 years. What bodies will companies reproduce for Gen X'ers to buy and rebuild? (Given the need for a thrifty yet fun cars, we could use a Honda CRX Si shell now.) Use the Comments function below and let us know. Who knows if there will still be a market for these classic Mustangs and Chevys when the original owners have also rusted back to earth.

--Tom Mutchler

Discuss SEMA in our Auto Show and Aftermarket forums.

2007 SEMA - Diesel diaries

The halls of SEMA have long featured aftermarket suppliers who make components to modify pickup truck diesel engines. Here, you can find parts to get more power out of your Cummins, Duramax, or Power Stroke, or even find wiring harnesses that allow you to slip that big Cummins inline six into a street rod.

But what caught my eye was a concept Suburban HD on the GM stand. (The Suburban looks pretty neat with the heavy-duty front end grafted on.) According to the handy information chart nearby, this Suburban has a 4.5-liter diesel producing 310 hp and 520 pound-feet of torque. This may be a sneak peek at the rumored diesel that will start showing up in light-duty GM trucks in the next year or two. (That said, I'd rather have the current "full-size" Duramax diesel in a large heavy-duty Suburban.)

This brings to mind what another journalist said to me this the morning here in Vegas. Pickup truck buyers already have the choice between a dizzying array of engines, axle ratios, and body styles. Soon you'll be able to add a hybrid engine and a diesel engine to that mix -- all in a light-duty truck, adding up to a lot of decisions for a consumer. We'll see what sifts out over the long haul though, given that both hybrids and diesels are relatively costly to build and both represent different means to a similar end.

Toyota showed a Tundra dualie with a Hino 8-liter diesel engine under the hood. Toyota and Nissan have both toyed with the idea of heavy-duty versions of their Tundra and Titan, respectively, but production versions of those seem more off than on right now. Regardless, the placard next to the concept said that the engine usually pulls around a 35,000-pound truck. (Trust me, this truck doesn't weigh that much.) I saw at least one showgoer track down a Toyota rep, begging them to build it, and overheard another aftermarket diesel modifier who was looking foward to getting even more power from such a beast. SEMA is the land of extremes, but you never know...

While making the rounds this morning, a dramatically different Chevy caught my eye. At the Bassani Xhaust booth sat a 1970 Chevelle with the 6.6-liter Duramax and its 6-speed Allison automatic transmission stuffed inside, claiming 1000 horsepower. Even more amazing--especially in the super-modified SEMA context--all of that monster motor fits under the stock hood, sans add-on hood scoop. However, no Chevelle diesels have been spotted, yet. Talk about being the torque of the town...

—Tom Mutchler

Discuss SEMA in our Auto Show and Aftermarket forums.

Consumers sign-up to drive fuel-cell cars for free

Last week, General Motors announced the names of first eight consumers in the country who will get to spend three months driving a fuel cell car: five individuals in Orange County, Calif., and three more in Westchester County, New York. Through an online application, GM is allowing other drivers register for a chance to live with a fuel-cell car and provide real-world feedback.

The selected drivers will be part of the largest public demonstration of fuel cell vehicles, which will eventually include 100 fuel-cell powered Chevrolet Equinox SUVs, in Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C. Through this program, General Motors hopes to demonstrate the technology, as well as gain feedback from consumers use  the vehicles in the real world.

The three cities were chosen because they have the only publicly accessible hydrogen fuel pumps that can fill the fuel-cell powered Chevrolet Equinoxes. So far there is only one hydrogen station in each of the three cities capable of filling the fuel-cell Equinox. The GM system requires hydrogen gas compressed to 10,000 psi--twice the pressure other, more common hydrogen pumps can handle. The Equinoxes can go about 150 miles on a tank when filled to 10,000 psi, and hold 4.2 kg of compressed hydrogen. GM says it takes 5-6 minutes to fill the tank. They could fill up at 5,000-psi pumps, but would have only a short range. So far no other hydrogen pumps are open to the general public. The company will pay for the fuel and insurance for all consumers chosen to be in the test.

To qualify, consumers have to fill out an online survey. But that doesn't guarantee access to one of the fuel-cell cars. Depending on their answers to the survey, some consumers may be invited to join a GM-sponsored online chat room to discuss hydrogen and fuel cell cars. The company monitors and participates in the chat room, and invites some users to spend up to three months driving the cars, based on their background, driving habits, and forum comments.

The most important qualifications are where you live or work, how long your commute is, and how far you usually drive. But beyond that, GM is interested in finding effective evangelists for fuel-cell cars, as much as anything else. That's because the company feels that the hydrogen refueling infrastructure has fallen behind the development of fuel-cell cars.

GM executives think even the word "hydrogen" has perhaps been stigmatized by images of the Hindenburg zeppelin burning in 1937. Today, the first question many people ask when hearing about hydrogen is whether it is safe.

Hydrogen storage has come a long way since the Hindenburg. In the Equinox, for example, hydrogen is stored in three thick-walled, carbon-fiber tanks whose development included tests in fires, severe vibration, being dropped, and even ballistic tests.

In the end, hydrogen may be far safer than gasoline, in part because it rises and dissipates quickly in the air, so it can't pool under the vehicle. "Gasoline is not the safest fuel, and if it were being introduced in the market for the first time today, it might not make it," says Keith Wipke, an engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado.

GM is looking for drivers who are enthusiastic about new technology and protecting the environment, and for opinion leaders who will be enthusiastic advocates of the technology to their friends and families. These drivers are expected to provide feedback on driving the cars (how they handle, how drivers like the brakes, etc.), fueling them, and what less-obvious insights come from truly living with them.

I drove one of the cars, and it feels remarkably well developed for a demonstration vehicle, with strong mid-range acceleration and the standard features of a conventional Equinox. The hydrogen tanks take up only a small portion of the cargo area. The electric regenerative brakes on this model were a little difficult to modulate. But other than that, and the hushed sound of the electric motor, and the KW gauge in place of a tachometer it's hard to distinguish it from a conventional car from behind the wheel.

The future sounds promising for fuel cell cars, but there are still lots of hurdles to be surmounted. For more detail on fuel-cell cars visit our Fuel Economy Guide.

If you'd like to participate, and you live in Orange County, Calif. or Westchester County, N.Y., visit the Project Driveway site.

- Eric Evarts

Discuss fuel-cell vehicles in the "Hybrids and alternative fuel vehicles" forum.

2007 SEMA - Give the Kia brand some Soul

Not so long ago, Kia was known for building some pretty crummy cars. The old Sportage, Sephia, and Spectra were crude and undesirable; they sold by virtue of a low, low price. But that's changed with the company's recent products. The Optima competes well against the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, the revised Sportage and Rio are competent, and the Sedona is a good minivan let down by so-so reliability.

This history tracks with what Len Hunt, Kia's executive vice president and chief operating officer, has been emphasizing at basically every recent press conference. He said that the company needs to build a reputation for building a car that's decent, and then they'll move on to building a car that's a car that's truly desirable and alluring.

There are some baby steps being taken here at SEMA, basically a Spectra5 "SX" that's lowered, has bigger wheels, and some body modifications. A similarly modified Rondo is parked next to it, looking a bit like a tricked-out Popemobile. More intriguing is the Kia Soul concept; we've seen it before at Detroit, but it's now actually approaching production. The Soul looks like a Scion xB but drawn with a finer-pen, giving it more flowing lines.

There was one note of discord: playing in the background during Hunt's speech was a showroom video (winding roads, smiling people, autumn leaf-lined drives) of a Kia Amanti. When we tested the Amanti, we said it was "the clumsiest-handling sedan we've tested recently..." (available to online subscribers) Recent revisions have improved handling considerably, but the Amanti still remains a Korean interpretation of combining the handling of a mid-1980s Buick interior crossed with the styling of a mid-1990s Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

Seeing that Amanti just goes to show that changing both a brand image and the product line takes time...

—Tom Mutchler

Discuss SEMA in our Auto Show and Aftermarket forums.

2007 SEMA - Ford Flexing its muscles

When you look at Ford's financials, there isn't any doubt that this is a company in trouble. So there is something affirming about seeing two modified Ford Flex crossovers parked next to Ford's new factory-built Mustang race car.

Despite having what seems to be a dozen overlapping SUVs in their line-up, Ford needs the roomy Flex to rival the GM Lambda crossover triplets (Buick Enclave/GMC Acadia/Saturn Outlook). Even though the 2009 Flex isn't out yet, Ford built two concepts to "help customers start dreaming" about these vehicles. Modifications are mostly limited to fancy paint, fancy leather, and fancy wheels. The press conference included the entertainingly redundant line "Here's the Funkmaster Flex Ford Flex." (We'll see if my colleague Jim Travers winds up using a production FMF as a kindler, gentler resting spot at later car shows.)

Moving from three-row people movers to single-seat race cars, the Mustang FR500S continues a lineage of limited-production Mustangs built for the track. What makes this car different is that it's built at the same Flat Rock, Michigan, factory as other Mustangs. But you're not likely to confuse it with the V6 convertible you rented in Florida last year. At $75,000, Ford has built 77 of them for this year with the intent of most of them competing in their own race series, the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge for the Miller Cup. (Not sure if the cup is full of Miller beer, though.) 

One thing was absent at the press conference: the mention of Ford's SVT division. From someone who loved the SVT Contour and Focus, it's a letdown. But Ford seems to be seeking performance in different ways.

So, Ford is showing that they're working on models they need (as evidenced by the Flex and nine 2008 Focuses here at the show), as well as the fun stuff. That's good for consumers and enthusiasts alike.

--Tom Mutchler

Discuss SEMA in our Auto Show and Aftermarket forums.

2007 SEMA - Chevrolet Cobalt SS

General Motors has 28 vehicles on display at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas, spanning from mildly modified to true fantasy machines. Amidst all the chromed flash is a production model heading to Chevrolet dealers next year: the Cobalt SS is making a comeback.

Developed by GM's Performance Division, the Cobalt SS is powered by a turbocharged, 260-hp, 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine. While the 5-speed manual transmission carries over (no 6-speed), it gets a 55 horsepower boost to 260. The SS has chassis enhancements similar to the Chevrolet HHR SS, but with larger Brembo brakes. It is fitted with a new FE5 sport suspension with specific stabilizer bars, spring rates, and damper tuning. GM boasts a 0-60 mph acceleration time of approximately 5.7 seconds, aided by the manual transmission's "no-lift shift" feature, which allows quick shifts without lifting the throttle. Our tested, supercharged 2005 Cobalt SS reached 60 mph in 7.3 seconds.

The exterior is dressed with a front fascia with an SS-specific grille, along with unique side trim and optional rear wing. The combined effect is rather mild, especially in Vegas context, compared against its claimed performance capabilities.

Safety features include standard ABS, electronic stability control, and side-impact air bags. Head-protecting curtain air bags are also standard on all Cobalts.

The Cobalt will go on sale in the second quarter of 2008. A sedan version will follow a few months later. We enjoyed driving the previous SS, and are happy that while this model "happened" in Vegas, it won't stay in Vegas.

--Liza Barth

2007 SEMA Aftermarket Show

While children across America may be preparing for Halloween, the big kids in the automotive industry are descending upon Las Vegas this week to attend the annual Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) event. Commonly referred to as the SEMA show, this mega event occupies several venues with shows targeting all facets of the automotive aftermarket industry. Closed to the public, SEMA will attract more than 100,000 automotive professionals to do business and see the mechanical treats.

Consumer Reports has sent a Cars contingent that includes editorial, product intelligence, research, and engineering staff to comb the event and discover the products and trends that will most impact our readers in the year(s) to come. As you’ll see from the trivia tidbits below, covering this event is no small task. The booths span miles of aisles, and the project cars number in the hundreds.

Our team will be focused on the latest products and models from the automakers, such as the Toyota Corolla and Matrix unveiling. In particular, Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors all have a legion of project cars that we’ll be looking at closely to determine what, if anything, is destined for production. We’ll also look at entertainment systems, including the latest advances in high-tech audio and satellite video. Several portable GPS manufacturers have new devices to show, including Dash, Garmin, Panasonic, and TomTom. As we scour the halls, we will also report on the latest developments in backup cameras, car care, and tires.

Over the next few days, the CR team will file blog reports to share their findings. Be sure to check back regularly, or subscribe to our RSS feed, to see the latest posts.

SEMA by the numbers:

Booths: 10,000
Attendees: 125,000
Exhibitors: 2,000
Exhibit size: 1 million square feet
New products unveiled: 1,200
Annual car aftermarket sales: $36.7 billion

Discuss SEMA in our Auto Show and Aftermarket forums.

--Jeff Bartlett

Helpful hints for new car owners

A couple of weeks after I bought CR's Mini Cooper S test car, I received a package from Mini in the mail. (Apparently everyone gets it.) Along with the roadside assistance wallet card, the care package contained a cute little notebook, a deck of Mini playing cards, and a card to fit in one of the two glove boxes titled "The Idiosyncrasies of Your New Mini."

That card's title is an understatement. As we've mentioned in our test results and our video for the Mini, its controls are a mess. Just a few examples: The volume knob floats around on its own in the center of the dashboard. It takes two actions - dock the key fob (logo up or down?) and push the start button - to start the car. (Unless you splurge for the transponder key.) The turn signal wand is electronic; you can even program how many times it will flash after a brief poke. All in all, the card covers ten areas of Minidom that might need further explanation.

Why would a car company send a card explaining this stuff long after you bought the car? I'm guessing it's so that owners don't kvetch about "unique" design features in various surveys. Many surveys don't ask solely about problems that require repair. Instead, their measurement of "quality" includes product design and performance issues. So, if the Mini's card clears up how something works and a buyer is no longer confused by the feature, they probably won't complain. Ta-da! No more problem in the survey's eyes.

No doubt, Mini isn't alone at this. Engineers told us that GM put a hang-tag on the neat one-lever release handle for the Saturn Outlook/GMC Acadia/Buick Enclave's second row seats so that customers would very easily figure out how to fold the back seats. This tag emphasizes the feature and reduces the likelihood of complaints. We've seen placards about run-flat tires and window decals about performance tires on newly-purchased Toyota and Lexus models. This is likely due to complaints of rapid tire wear; informing the buyer up front lessens the chance of an unpleasant surprise later.

It's not just written material, either. Although I waved off the full Mini preflight inspection when I picked up our test car at the dealer, the salesman was still very certain to point out the aforementioned volume knob. When we bought our Honda Fit, the dealer pointed out that the small release toggle on the front seat to slide it forward (needed to fold the rear seat flat) wasn't strong enough to use as a lever. Apparently these handles frequently broke on the Jazz, the Fit's European version.

Now, I'm far from arguing that the consumer should be less informed about their new car. These measures will improve customer satisfaction, especially since not many buyers ever crack the binding on their owners manual. (You should.) But I have to wonder if it would be simpler to just have a normal volume knob in a Mini rather than being told twice how to use it or Honda making that release a bit stronger.

--Tom Mutchler

Read more blogs about Mini. Discuss Mini in the forums.

U.S. gas prices--October 29, 2007

Gas prices continue rise across the country in response to high oil prices.

National retail fuel price averages

Price

Change from last week

Regular gasoline/gallon	$2.87	↑ .05
Diesel fuel/gallon	$3.16	↑ .06

Regional regular gasoline prices

Price

Change from last week

East Coast	$2.83	↑ .05
-New England	$2.83	↑ .06
-Central Atlantic	$2.84	↑ .05
-Lower Atlantic	$2.83	↑ .04
Midwest	$2.86	↑ .08
Gulf Coast	$2.74	↑ .03
Rocky Mountain	$2.87	↑ .03
West Coast	$3.09	↑ .03
-California	$3.16	↑ .02

Source: Energy Information Administration, 10/29/07