Best of SEMA 2012, Part III: Proud to Be ’Murican, Monster EV, and a Clowned-Out Dodge Avenger

As the 2012 SEMA show draws to a close, we set out to find the best of the best oddballs and standout customs for your viewing pleasure. We've already covered the OEM's SEMA efforts, as well as some of the show's slickest rides. But this collection of show cars is all about the pure, awe-inspiring wow factor, so we pulled out all of the stops, slept very little, and bring you these bundles of joy. The Heroes Truck Over five years, a claimed 50,000 man-hours—1200 for the airbrushed paint job alone—what once was a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado pickup is now this creation, dubbed the Heroes Truck. The rig is a rolling tribute to our service men and women, firefighters, and police, and it is unabashedly the most 'Murican thing we saw at SEMA this year. The body—which can hydraulically separate from the chromed-tube chassis—features painted scenes of troops throughout the ages fighting for our freedom, the September 11 terrorist attacks, bald eagles, ridiculously attractive and well-endowed female angels, and several U.S. Presidents. LCD screens festooned about the truck display images of heroes, though they're located in some unexpected places. (The shock towers and front bumper, for example.) If you like your patriotism loud, proud, and absurdly high above the ground, and support U.S. heroes, this probably is the zenith of automotive manifestations of such feelings. Legacy Dodge Power Wagon Conversion This modified 1949 Dodge Power Wagon may be slightly closer to the ground than the Heroes Truck, but it's awfully close to that rig's level of awesome. Built by Legacy Power Wagon Conversions, the old Power Wagon is powered by a modern 4.5-liter four-cylinder Cummins diesel engine and fully restored. Besides the up-to-date powertrain, Legacy also transformed the previously two-door body to a four-door crew-cab configuration. The Heroes truck may celebrate our troops, but Power Wagons actually moved them about during World War II. We so very much want one of these. Lamborghini Murciélago Wide-Body Yeah, we know we already have highlighted a Lamborghini Aventador in our SEMA coverage this year, but this outrageous Murciélago serves as that tastefully upgraded car's direct foil. Speaking of foil, the word's other definition–that of the metallic stuff you wrap your leftover pizza in—also applies here, sort of. That's because the Lambo is covered in a brushed metal–look wrap. Call it dirty chrome, if you will. Combined with the wide-body kit and skyscraping rear wing, the metallic treatment actually feels pitch-perfect for a Lamborghini. Especially the big, low, and wide Murciélago. Hummer Roadster No, the Hummer Roadster isn't a topless Hummer H2, but rather one with an extremely chopped roof and a ton of bizarre modifications. Up front, the Hummer's multi-slat grille and round headlights have been replaced by what looks to be a single giant fiberglass, er, creation that lacks any visible lighting. The roof is several inches lower than a stock H2's, and the rear doors have been integrated into the body, leaving the Roadster just two operable doors. Inside, the rear seats have been removed and a bunch of speakers and airbrushed plastic left in their wake. Is it just us, or does it not look like average-height humans with necks and heads could actually sit in the Hummer Roadster without leaning at least 45 degrees to one side or the other? Clown-tastic Dodge Avenger Let's face it: clowns are creepy. That Bozo guy? Horrifying. So when we try to think of what could possibly make a Dodge Avenger any worse of a car, we certainly never thought of adding clowns. Well, luckily, someone did think of just such an enhancement, because this airbrushed Avenger most assuredly exists. The exterior has painted, evil-looking clowns all over it, and the creator even added cutouts of more clowns to the side windows to make it look like a gaggle of the scariest entertainers around are riding shotgun. If there's a happy side to the story, it's this: Someone took the time and effort to rescue a Dodge Avenger from mediocrity. Excuse us while we go juggle some bowling pins and paint our faces. Holden 8R Camaro-Faced Ute GM may not ever revive the coveted El Camino car/truck for U.S. sales, even if its Australian Holden division cranks out the Monaro Ute, as the Aussies call them, but what about a Camaro pickup? Okay, chances are the product-planning offices of Chevrolet aren't aflutter with harried plans to build and sell a Camaro with a bed, but leave it to SEMA to fill just such a gap with this Holden 8R custom. Basically a Holden Monaro Ute with a Camaro face grafted on, this El Camaro looks super neat, and a whole heck of a lot better than the Camaro-faced Chrysler 300 we found at SEMA this year, too. 1968 Chevrolet G20 Half-Ton Cargo Van by Brian Mackey The folks over at eBay motors have been sponsoring custom-car build-offs (in which all project-car parts are purchased through eBay) for years, and the outfit put on another one for this year's SEMA show. Of the four project cars that resulted, this classic 1968 Chevy van with a World War II fighter-plane motif was by far the coolest. The body features a matte-finished metallic silver paint scheme, and stars and stripes are painted across the rear quarter-panels. There's a painted-on pinup girl on the front doors, and the taillights were pulled off of an unnamed aircraft. Inside, there are World War II bomber seats, and a pair of (presumably deactivated) grenades dangles from the rear-view mirror. Performance upgrades include a 350-cubic-inch Chevy small-block V-8 with an Edelbrock intake, high-performance headers, and a side-exit exhaust. The van's rear is lifted off of the ground, dragster-style, and there are KYB shocks front and rear. Oh, and the skinny front wheels and fat rears—complete with drag slicks—perfectly complement the van's classic hot-rod stance. Odyssey Batteries Bigfoot EV Admittedly, seeing a monster truck at SEMA is hardly surprising, which is why we nearly strolled right past this Bigfoot lookalike parked in Odyssey Batteries' booth. But seeing an electric monster truck anywhere is mighty interesting, which is why we're glad we caught a glimpse of Odyssey's booth signage that gave away this Bigfoot's battery power. Tucked underneath the truck's body within the tube-frame chassis are 30 Odyssey car batteries and an Electrified Motorsports DC motor. An additional six batteries are used to power the electric power steering—it's permeating even monster-truck steering racks!—and the electrically boosted brakes. Eat your heart out, Tesla. Read full story » from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com

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