Pinoy Petrolheads: SEMA 2011 Report Part 3

There should have been a warning at the gate: SEMA 2011, aka the Camaro Coming Out Party. Despite Ford's attempts to dominate the domestic scene (with a giant Ford Racing booth with celebrities galore and half the entire front parking lot for their Ford Racing demos), the day clearly belonged to their Chevrolet rivals.

While there were still more classic 'Stangs than there were Camaros, the Fords and Chevy's were pretty even in terms of population of the modern incarnations. However, where the Camaro had the upper hand was in the kind of cars that were on display.

Perhaps the most popular Camaro in the show was the metallic green chrome Hot Wheels car in the Chevrolet booth. Not only was the car visually stunning, but its backdrop - a lifesized version of the roller-caster track playset - was something out of every petrolhead child's dream. That's not to say it didn't have a Ford counterpart; there was a similar chrome red Mustang at the Ford booth. However in terms of style and presentation, the Hot Wheels car was not to be beaten.

Camaros mild to wild were on hand, in contrast to the Mustangs in the show, which were far more muted. This example, out of the famous builder West Coast Customs, had perhaps the most audacious, loudest color scheme (if you can even call it a color scheme) of any car in the show. The WCC Mustang, while handsome, was far less radical.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was the number of Camaro conversion kits available. The most common body kit pays homage to one of my all-time favorite American cars, the Pontiac Trans Am (aka the Firebird).

Several versions of the Trans Am conversion were available, but perhaps the most eye-catching Conversion kit wasn't a Trans Am kit. Trans Am Depot (yes, they also make Trans Am kits), offers what they call the 6T9 Goat package. This kit transforms the normal Camaro into a modern-day interpretation of the classic 1969 GTO, dubbed "The Judge."

"The Goat" even inspired a bike, also called "The Goat," built by Orange County Choppers, of Discovery Channel fame.

Another interesting feature of the car is the front headlights, which stay true to the original by having the lights hidden during the day, with the covers sliding away when called upon. Check out the video:

Now if only they would stop putting angel eyes on non-BMWs...

And for tonight's Top 5, here are my Top 5 Hot Rods. Apologies, since I don't know much about hot rods - I just pick them from their visual impact. Hope you enjoy anyway!

5. Double Trouble Ford Model T Roadster