Cool Caddy
The Orion Dragillac by Auto Core Customs of Phoenix greeted SEMA attendees when they entered into the North Hall—and stopped many dead in their tracks at the Directed Electronics booth where it sat. The slammed ’60 Cadillac sports a chopped convertible top, rear suicide doors and shaved cowl, front bumper, door handles and side moldings, all coated with a Candy Yellow Fade paint job. On the audio/video side, the cool Caddy houses five Orion amplifiers and pairs of 10- and 12-inch subwoofers, along with two Directed Electronics 17-inch LCD monitors hanging from the trunk lid and another 17-inch in the center of the dash.
Pickup Game
The other Caddy that caught our attention was a 2002 Escalade EXT pickup in the MTX booth. The interior was gutted to make room for two massive 22-inch subwoofers, and it also sports eight amplifiers that produce 18,000 watts of power. To supply enough current for all of those amps, the truck has five alternators under the hood—four that supply 1,800 amperes just to the amplifiers. A Windows-based computer accesses audio and video files mounted on a hard drive, all controlled via a 15-inch touch-screen in the middle of the dash.
Mad Max Mobile
As a fitting display for the company’s new Warhorse 10,000-watt amplifier, the folks at Kicker turned an ordinary 2006 GMC Savannah 3500 van into something straight out of Mad Max. Two Warhorse amplifiers bolted to the driver’s side wall of the van power four Kicker SoloX 18-inch subwoofers with an extraordinary 22,000 watts of power. It takes 10 Kinetik HC2400 Power Cell batteries housed in a diamond-plate aluminum box and two Powermasters XS Volt racing alternators just to keep the Warhorse amplifiers supplied with current, while the van’s electronic goodies consist of Clarion CD and DVD players, a 17-inch monitor and two backup cameras.
Pseudo Lambo
No one in the right mind would cut up a 2008 Lamborghini Murcielago Superleggera to install a bunch of car audio gear, so we were somewhat relieved to find that the one in the Sony booth was a replica. That would explain the 7-inch monitors installed in the pop-ups in the rear side scoops in each rear quarter panel and the 17-inch LCD monitor under the hood, along with a 10-inch subwoofer.
Pony Expressive
There’s no lack of cool pony cars at SEMA, but the one in the Metra booth had to be the coolest with a car audio system. The fiberglass dash holds a trio of 6.5-inch midranges and a pair of 1-inch tweeters, as well as a pair of 7-inch video monitors. Each door also got the fiberglass treatment and houses an 8-inch woofer, 6.5-inch midrange and 1-inch tweeter. The trunk has its own tricks and treats, including two JBL amplifier and four 12-inch subwoofers.
Center-Drive Scion
A stereo system’s “sweet spot” is typically right in the middle of the speakers, but the driver and passengers are usually sitting too close to the speakers on one side of a vehicle and too far away from the ones on the opposite side. Which is why Chris Roberts created his center-drive ’05 Scion xB, with a single front and rear seat in the front in the middle of the interior, and the steering wheel and pedals are positioned accordingly. On each side of the steering wheel is a teardrop-shaped panel with instrument cluster on the left and the shifter and air-suspension system on the right, while on the floor is real marble tile. Flanking the centered rear seat are four Alpine amplifiers, while four 10-inch subwoofers are arrayed behind the rear seat.
A Tiburon With Bite
It’s a drag when you work hard at getting a vehicle ready for SEMA only to have it damaged in transit. That’s what happened to Mike Edens of Colonial Heights, Virginia when he showed up to find the front bumper, hood and right front fender his ’04 Hyundai Tiburon smashed up. But luckily it didn’t affect the vehicle’s interior, which features a pair of Boston Acoustics 12-inch subwoofers in a hatch-mounted enclosure that’s connected to a custom center console that flows through to the front of the car. The center stack was also reconfigured to hold five gauges and a Pioneer AVIC-D3 head unit.
Not-so-Simple Civic
At first glance, Jason Syner’s 2005 Honda Civic looks like just another slick car stereo showcase for a half dozen amplifiers, a trio of 12-inch subwoofers, 24 other speakers and a total of 13 video screens. But look closer and you see details that make the car stand out. For example, while many cars sport a gauge cluster on the driver’s side A pillar, Syner’s Civic has one that runs down the middle of the windshield. The layout of the custom-built door panels forms the outline of a car, with speakers constituting the wheels and LEDs making up the headlights and taillights.
Super Supra
Jojo Pagulayan’s ’98 Toyota Supra would look hot even without all of the audio gear he installed. Under the hood is a turbo-charged engine that produces close to 500 horsepower. Audio firepower comes from two Phoenix Gold 12-inch subwoofers and other PG speakers scattered throughout the yellow-accented, carbon-fiber swathed ride, and all powered by a pair of Phoenix Gold amplifiers. Peeking out the rear side windows are two 6.5-inch video monitors.
Restrained RSZ
While Wayne Watkins’ 2003 Acura RSX can’t exactly be called subtle, it definitely had restrained sense of style compared to many of the other wild car audio creations at SEMA. The four JL Audio amplifiers and the two Focal 12-inch subwoofers were integrated into the hatch and rear seat with sleek silver-colored fiberglass, while the speakers are covered with stainless-steel grilles. The same cosmetic theme carries through to the door panels, and below the radio is a custom switch panel to activate many of the vehicle’s accessories.
More Images at: autoshow.autos.msn.com
