If you’ve ever wondered what happens to SEMA Show cars long after they have fallen out of fashion, then today’s Nice Price or No Dice “Wicked Wagon” Accord may offer a clue. Let’s see if it’s priced to be a wicked good deal.
There’s an old joke that still makes its way around the medical community. It goes something like this: What do you call the person who finishes at the bottom of the class in medical school? The answer, of course, is “doctor.”
The point is that being last in any elite group is usually an issue only within that group. Case in point, the 1991 Toyota Supra Turbo we looked at yesterday is a model that appears to be neither old enough nor new enough to be cool. The thing is, it’s still a Supra — and that nameplate alone holds some sway in today’s market. At a $10,500 asking price, yesterday’s Supra didn’t sway enough, eventually swinging in the breeze with an underwhelming 70 percent No Dice loss.
There’s a mantra around these parts that you should never buy someone else’s project. While it’s generally accepted and is as sage a piece of advice as the warning against eating yellow snow, I think exceptions can be made.
One such exemption might be if the said project was professionally done, say a crazy custom for the annual performance industry trade show organized by SEMA. This 1991 Honda Accord wagon is apparently just such a car.
It was called the “Wicked Wagon” for SEMA and it seems to have been around for years since its Las Vegas debut. Its earliest internet appearance looks to have been in 2009. Since then, it’s been up for auction on Mecum and is now being offered by a Nashville specialty auto dealer with a clear title and 71,297 miles on the odometer. Despite all that history, there seems to be little to no sign of use since its show car days.
The custom work starts with the body. That has been completely denuded of all badging and has had the exterior door handles shaved. Custom grilles fill the front along with clear running lights and turn signals. The capper, however, is the faux wood trim that wraps the front fenders and continues down the flanks. That all rides on what look to be custom billet wheels and a modestly lowered suspension.
The fun doesn’t stop once you’ve figured out how to get inside this handle-less Honda either. Spoiler alert, it probably uses solenoid poppers. The entire interior has been gone through and massaged to make it just as fancy as the outside. That includes body-color blue throughout and custom fiberglass caps on the dash and down the center tunnel.
The rear bench has been replaced with a pair of buckets and everything that’s not blue has been reupholstered in a contrasting beige vinyl or cloth covering. Of course, there’s the expected aftermarket head unit in the dash and that’s paired with a major league amp and huge speakers in both the kick panels and cargo area. That all means that the only hauling this wagon will be doing is the fresh mix you’re about to drop.
More custom work can be seen under the hood, as well. There you’ll find the expected 2.2-liter four and four-speed automatic, but the whole drivetrain has been gussied up nicely. The engine is coated in the same blue as the body, and everything around it has either also been painted or polished to a mirror-like brightness. Based on the open-to-the-air breather on cam cover, it’s likely that this car will not pass any state’s emissions test that requires a visual inspection. The apparent absence of a catalytic converter as part of the updated stainless steel exhaust means it probably won’t pass the sniffer part either.
An emissions scofflaw it may be, but then this SEMA Accord isn’t here to save the planet. Instead, it’s here to bring badassery back to the wagon world. Has it accomplished that task? I guess we’ll have to consider it in full to make that determination, and that includes its $29,997 asking price. Do you think this custom Accord could claim that much? Or, is this a SEMA Show car that doesn’t justify showing up with that kind of cash?
You decide!
Duncan Imports & Classics out of Nashville, Tennessee, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to jimmyzzzzzzzzz for the hookup!
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