sema

LAS VEGAS--It's one of the world's largest gatherings of automakers, aftermarket part suppliers, customizers, tuners, and general car nuts all hanging around Las Vegas for a week, so you can be sure that there will be more than a few truly unique rides to be found in and around the 2010 SEMA Show. There are literally hundreds of cars on display, ranging from old-school muscle cars to modern sport compacts to big-wheeled cruisers to every sort of truck you can imagine. If it's on at least one wheel, you'll not only find it at SEMA, you'… Read more

Audi announced today at its first appearance at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas that it has developed and is bringing to market one of the first OEM applications of wireless device charging for its vehicles. With this charger, Audi claims that people will be able to charge their smartphones in their Audi vehicles without connecting a charging cable, cord, or adapter.

The system was developed in collaboration with Electronics Research Lab, Qualcomm Incorporated, and Peiker and works similarly to the inductive charging mats that we've seen enter the market over the last year or so (such as the … Read more

Someone at the Conversions and Accessories group at Toyota Motor in Japan must have spent way too long staring into the maw of the Lamborghini Reventon, because the C&A Prius concept debuted at the 2010 SEMA Show looks like the twisted offspring of the supercar and Toyota's powder blue hybrid sedan.

Built to minimize weight and aerodynamic drag, the better to maximize efficiency, the C&A Prius features a carbon fiber hood, rear hatch, side skirts, rear bumper, front fender flares, and rear spoiler. Speaking of the spoiler, this one is a low drag-style rear faring, … Read more

Toyota must be getting sick of people calling it dull, because for sheer absurdity, no vehicle we saw at the 2010 SEMA Show impressed like Toyota's Swagger Wagon Supreme concept. Based on the new 2011 Sienna, this stretched out concept takes moving people to the next level.

The Swagger Wagon Supreme features a wheelbase that's been stretched by 44 inches, creating much more room for people and gadgets, but essentially retaining its seven-seat configuration. From the front seats to about the tailgate, the Sienna's carpet has been replaced with wood flooring. The second row captain's chairs … Read more

eBay Motors gave us a sneak peek at its upcoming app for iPhone at the 2010 SEMA Show. While we expected the app to be capable of searching eBay auctions for parts and vehicles, the developers managed to think up a few features--such as VIN scanning and a virtual garage--that truly piqued our interest.

The app allows you to set up a custom home-screen search, which displays a sort of slideshow of the top results when the app opens. You can also simply perform individual searches for vehicles by make, model, year, etc. Once a vehicle is selected, the app … Read more

Today at the 2010 SEMA Show, Kia unveiled a pair of vehicles that, despite being cut from the same cloth, couldn't be more different. These two 2011 Kia Sportages--both customized by Antenna Magazine--pit work against play, Android against Apple, matte against glossy, and red against blue.

The matte red Antenna Play concept is designed for an active and playful lifestyle with a roof rack for extreme sports equipment. A working barbecue grill shares the rear hatch with a Mac Mini, a storage locker, and a flat-screen television. Molded into the center console is a cradle for an Apple iPod … Read more

Rounding the corner leading to Honda's booth at the 2010 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, I was a bit taken aback as I suddenly found myself confronted with the largest gathering of modified CR-Zs I'd ever seen, 12 in total. Heck, considering that the CR-Z has only been available for a handful of months, this was the largest gathering of any CR-Zs I'd ever seen. Most of these examples were built by third parties, but at the center of Honda's presentation was a trio of special compact hybrids built by Honda itself: a 2011 CR-Z equipped … Read more

Whether you're a fan of its vehicles or not (and we're pretty split here at Car Tech), Scion's booth at the SEMA Show is always a treat. With the automaker's support of the aftermarket and a veritable army of customizers putting their individual spins on their xBs, tCs, and xDs, the Scion booth is always home to crazy customs and tricked-out tuners. Scion sent us a preview of this year's show cars, which includes a nautical themed xB dubbed The Squid and an All Stretched Out xB that's been extended by 48 inches into … Read more

The 1,200 horsepower club has a new member. Hennessey Performance's 2011 Venom GT makes its first appearance at the 2010 SEMA show next week, the same aftermarket and tuner conference at which its prototype was revealed three years ago.

Since then, the Texas-based boutique carmaker has been busy producing what could be described as the Tesla Roadster's much dirtier evil twin. The Lotus Elise/Exige-based supercar has a 6.2 liter V-8 mid-engine that delivers 1,200 horsepower, a top speed of 267 mph, and a 0-60 mph time of 2.5 seconds. Getting to 200 mph … Read more