By Conor Twomey

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2004 SEMA Show Highlights by Marty Padgett (11/8/2004)
Manufacturer news from the aftermarket extravaganza.

This was my very first SEMA show and I figured the usual day and a half would be plenty of time to cover the event. Boy, was I wrong. I didn't get any time to wander around the custom hot-rods and 4x4 stuff, nor did I even have a chance to grab a proper lunch, but I did manage to get a look at the hottest commodities in the world of tuning this year - and the darling of the 2005 SEMA show was Ford's new Mustang.

There's always been a respectable range of aftermarket parts for the old-model Mustang, but it's clear that Ford wants to reposition its pony car as even more of tuner's car than before. This should not only improve the car's image but also attract a much larger youth customer base - complete with disposable income and appetite for speed.

Ford has obviously sent the specifications (as well as a few early production models) out to the tuning community because it seemed there was a Mustang on every tuner stand at the show. Of most interest, however, was the potential D1 car Falken had on display on its stand. Not only did it look mean in the company's green and blue colors, it also gives credence to Ford's claim that customers want the easily-swappable live rear axle. Sure, it keeps the price down on base models, but it's also 20 percent over-engineered, which should encourage new tuners to take the plunge. Saleem, Roush and Steeda also had fantastic 'Stangs on display while Paxton Automotive had a Novi supercharger kit capable of boosting the V-8's performance to around the 400-hp mark. Very sweet.

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I could be wrong, but it seemed to me that the second most common car at the show was the Bentley Continental - vastly outnumbering everything else except the Mustang. None had any significant modifications other than having big wheels fitted, most of which were no prettier than the standard items. Only the Silver Continental on 20" Giovannas looked better than the stock car. Still, I thought it curious that the quarter-million-dollar Bentley should appear on so many displays.

GTO and Cobalt star for GM

GM wheeled in a whole bevy of tuned machines to promote its own line of aftermarket parts, but only the new GTO and Cobalt SS caught my eye.

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The supercharged and intercooled 2.0-liter engine in the Cobalt SS 272 has been tuned to produce 270 horsepower using a hood-mounted air scoop, custom air intake box, cat-back exhaust, and recalibrated electronics. The LS2-powered Colorado SS concept looks like fun, too, if they decide to build it.