Gumball Machine Inventor Recreates Mustang Mach III Concept For SEMA

You can't make this SEMA stuff up sometimes. The guy who invented the big red gumball machine with the globe of gumballs at the top and the spiral ramp down the stand? Yeah, he's decided to try his hand at custom cars, producing a somewhat-faithful recreation of the 1993 Ford Mustang Mach III concept. The car is based on an early fourth-generation Mustang with custom bodywork to emulate the original concept, a Kenne Belle supercharger strapped to the factory 4.6-liter V8 and an interior to match the outside. To see more about what Modified Mustang magazine calls "The Mock Mach" head over to mustangconcept3.com. Just don't tell them we sent you. More »

Toyota Tundra Dually Returns To SEMA With Monster Diesel Mill

Toyota Tundra Dually concept debuted at the 2007 SEMA show but returns for an encore with its 8.0 liter Hino heavy truck inline-six diesel engine normally used in a 35,000 lb beasts, an Eaton five-speed manual transmission and a matching Hino rear end, and you've got a truck beefy enough to drag the entire SEMA show around. We would have loved to know more about the specifics of that powertrain, but Toyota tooted its horn about the "opulent interior" and “Road Warrior exterior," 22.5 inch Alcoa wheels, blah, blah, blah. Tell us how many fully loaded train cars it can pull. Incomplete details below. More »

"Big Daddy" Don Garlits' Dodge Challenger Drag Pack At SEMA

"Big Daddy" Don Garlits is kind of a big deal when it comes to drag racing, having birthed the rear-engine top fuel dragster, and being the first in the NHRA to cross the quarter-mile lights at 170, 180, 200, 240, 250, 260, and 270 MPH, so when he buys a Dodge Challenger Drag Pack, you know it's got to be good. This Drag Pack Challenger is the third off the production line and signed right on its composite hood by Garlits, claiming it as his own, along with everything else packed into the car like racing seats, polycarbonate door windows, manual rack-and-pinion steering, fuel cell and factory roll cage along with a stinky race-modified engine. We don't know if it's a 5.9-liter Magnum wedge, 5.7-liter Hemi or the nasty 6.1-liter Hemi, but at around 3100 pounds, we suspect it'll move — especially with Garlits at the helm. More »

Toyota Brings A Ducati To SEMA Via Big Red Custom Tundra

Toyota apparently wanted a little of that Italian passion mixed into its Toyota Tundra crew cab for SEMA. Engineers stretched the frame and dropped on an awesome 6.5-foot bed set-up with all kinds of storage for track day support, then slathered the whole thing in red paint. The truck actually looks pretty darn slick in Ducati livery matching the accompanying 2008 Ducati Desmosedici RR Motorcycle. Those dark, 22-inch Alcoa wheels do their part to set the paint off, but its the 500 HP supercharged V8 under hood that makes the 'go' match the 'show.' Full details on the truck and its modifications below. More »

Branew Nissan GT-R Is All Show And No More Go For SEMA

The new Nissan GT-R is just too hard to modify for performance, what with the tricky, unhackable computer system and the already Porsche-confounding performance. That's why Japanese tuners Branew brought their Branew GT-R to SEMA with only appearance upgrades. The car gets a revised front clip, side skirts, massive 23 inch wheels, a triple-tipped exhaust outlet, functional spoiler and rear splitter mounted on a very C5 Corvette-inspired tail end. The Branew GT-R will probably suffer from the classic tuner problem of being slower with all the extra pretty stuff on it — a characteristic most tuner car enthusiasts are able to ignore. More »

Tunerized SEMA Prius Makes Us Weep For Humanity

There's no good excuse for this customized Toyota Prius muddying up the floor at SEMA, and we couldn't love hating it more. Why the engine-turned light covers? The scissor doors? The triple-blade-razor inspired hood? We're not even going to get going on the paint job choice, interior fit-and-finish and those glorious wheels. Get that new Toyota Prius out ASAP — it can't possibly look this bad when it goes under the knife. We're experiencing a serious case of schadenSEMA with this one. More »

TLC Goes To SEMA With A Trio Of Upgraded ICON Toyota FJs

Back before they became the enormous and bloated choice of bugeye sunglass-wearing urban white trash, Toyota FJ Cruisers were compact, capable off-roading machines. We told you about TLC's plans build up some of their old-looking new trucks with a trio of FJ's for the floor of SEMA. They already build an FH40 version, but now they're adding FJ43 long-wheelbase and an FJ45 pick up with a long-travel coil suspension, Stoptech brakes and a 550 HP LS2 V8. Mighty fine figures for a vintage inspired truck even though they're purpose built off-roaders to begin with Take a look at some new pictures below — we'll bring you the trucks from the show floor this week. Also, hit the jump to see a video from the folks at Streetfire of the truck build in process. More »