Ouch. Today was the first Press Day so expectations were high. And did they hit the mark? ……Welcome, to the MORGUE.

Okay, maybe a morgue is a bit extreme, but there were some serious things missing. Namely, NISSAN. And with the Leaf coming soon, you have to ask… “WUT UP, NISSAN DOODS?” Now, I did get my fair share of automotive fixations, but I was left a little… dead. Ok, another mortality reference. Wups.

Follow the jump to see the COMPLETE highlights of the show. Not many, but some cool stuff. I decided to make it easy for y’all to understand how I felt about each one. I call it the “SHOCKSWEETSNORESUCK.” That’s the long version. Let’s just call it the “SHNUCK.” The LA Shnuck Show. Yea, I like it….

And here we go Shnucksters!!!

Welcome to the CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot, a feature in which we try and introduce you to muscle cars you may never have known about, as well as re-define what a muscle car can be. I received a message from a fan on my Facebook Page (Thanks Richard!) about two V-8 powered muscle cars of the ’70s that were manufactured by Ford and GM. Neither one of these machines were produced for the North American Market, nor were they made for our close cousins down under in Australia. These were locally produced in the country of South Africa, to be certified for racing in a local Production Car series. I will get to the Ford version at another time, but first, let’s discover the Chevrolet Firenza Can-Am 302!

The Chevrolet Can-Am was always referred to as ‘The Little Chev’ in local advertising campaigns. However, there was an American V8 power plant that put out massive amounts of power, which sat in one of the smallest cars ever. Results, an ultimate track winner that killed its competition. Before the car could be raced, one hundred had to be built to comply with the rules for the South African Argus Production Car series.

According to the South African Magazine Top Car, it is estimated that today only thirty of these scalding hot rods are still in existence. The Can Am owes its existence because of two very different reasons; One was the other South African great V8, the Ford Capri Perana (A feature on this car is forthcoming), and the other is due to the efforts of local racing legend Basil van Rooyen. Van Rooyen was a South African race driver, engineer and founder of tuning company Superformance at the time. This establishment oversaw the building of a couple of Firenza coupes (A British Vauxhall Design originally) with a 308 cubic inch Holden V8, Van Rooyen took the cars to Port Elizabeth to prove a point to General Motors management.

The project was giving the go ahead by GM, although funding only came from the Chevrolet Dealer Team, set up by Van Rooyen. The initiative established that for every Chev sold in the country, R5 (The Local Currency is the Rand, which was virtually equal to the American Dollar at that time) would be contributed to the competition budget.

The Argus Production Car regulations stipulated a maximum capacity of five liters. The V8 was therefore 45 cc over what was needed, a batch of 302 CI small block engines were sourced and imported from Michigan. These engines were prepared for the Camaro Z28s competing in the Trans-Am racing series, but after Chevy decided not to compete in the North American Series any longer, these engines were readily available. The big-valve engine had four-bolt main bearing blocks, ran a 11:1 compression ratio and with an 800 CFM Holley on top, it was rated at a conservative 290 hp and 300 foot pounds of torque.

Production took place in the latter part of 1972 and early 1973. Chassis numbers suggest the Can Am’s were built in relatively small numbers, with a team of specialists assembling the cars. Superformance provided GM all the kits comprising of; Personal branded 13 inch wheels, a Personal three spoke leather steering wheel, Koni shocks and vented hood slats. Added to the package was the trademark American Racing Equipment spoiler which could be adjusted. The wing was aluminum while the hood was fabricated using some rather crude fiberglass. This helped keep weight down to 1100 kg (2,425 Lbs.), helping the Can Am sprint from 0 – 100 km/h (Close to 0 – 62 MPH) in a very impressive 5.4 seconds, while top speed was an estimated 229 km/h (Over 140 MPH!). All cars were fitted with a Municie M21 four-speed manual box.

The ‘Little Chev’ is firmly embedded in South Africa’s motor sport history. The oil crisis hurt sales, although new examples were still being purchased in 1975 at a reduced price of R 5,800. The standard Firenza could be had for a little over R 2,600! Just like in America, if one had a crystal ball to see their future worth, more of these scalding cars would have been bought. But what I would like to know is this: Do you really care about South African Muscle Cars in this series? Sure they were fast, and they are rather obscure, but do they belong in the parking lot? They have American V-8 power, and a Muncie 4 Speed transmission, but is that enough for you? Let me know.

Ah, motorsports–it’s so much more than racing these days. The motorsports contingent is always huge at SEMA, and it’s one of those categories that can literally go from A to Z: there are so many variations on automotive competition that there’s no way you can expect to capture a representative cross-section. That’s okay–it just allows us to focus on what we find cool, with shameless subjectivity. In the interests of inclusiveness, we’ve tried to hit as many of the hottest motorsports series as our five entries will allow. NASCAR is represented by the new Nationwide Series Mustang, running Ford’s all-new Roush Yates FR9. Then there’s the 2010 Camaro’s debut entry in Formula Drift, which will definitely be on our radar in the coming season. Chris Rado’s insane Time Attack Scion carries the torch for that genre. SCCA is represented, albeit in vintage form, by Bob Boileau’s multiple-championship-winning Civic. And the Traxxas short-course race truck rounds out the motorsports fleet for off-road racing. Um, yeah, we totally skipped NHRA. And a bunch of other stuff. Oh well, time to hit the polls!

Why, Vertical Doors Inc., of course. The company had a lambo-doored Camaro and Charger in their booth at SEMA this year. As Nelson would say, Ha-ha!

Well, NASCAR’s Nationwide Series might not be getting a Camaro, but Formula Drift sure is! Check out Grunewald Racing’s new drift Camaro, which will be competing in the 2010 season. It’s running a GM LS-A crate motor with internal mods by Hennessey Performance. Carbon fiber front clip, decklid, and spoilers are by Seibon, and the carbon fiber driveshaft is by PST. Aeromotive handles the fuel delivery, AEM the engine management system. It’s also running Eibach MultiPro R-2 coilovers and front and rear sways. Rubber (you guessed it) by Hankook, and the beast will be piloted next year by Conrad Grunewald. Do you think it’ll have anything for the now-veteran drift Mustangs?

HoK has always been known for their eye-searing paint schemes, and for their SEMA booth this year, they chose a pretty awesome canvas. The late-70’s Monte Carlo is one of my favorite overlooked classics, and I’m glad we can count on the lowrider and high-riser cultures to make something incredible out of cars that would probably otherwise just be run into the ground as beaters. I loved the classic lowrider metal-flake treatment on this Monte, but there was so much sparkle that it confused the heck out of my camera, which didn’t know whether to barf or go blind–see pics in a variety of different flash modes below the jump!

There’s been a slew of 2010 Camaro pace cars in the last year at high-profile motorsports events like Indy and the Daytona 500. The Sprint Cup series ran the ultra-hot Cyber Grey Camaro in a number of the races this season, and it’s become a welcome part of race-day scenery. However, I haven’t seen a pace car at the as hot as this retro-styled SS, made over by KAO Auto Styling as an update of the 1969 Camaro SS that served as the Indy 500 pace car that year. While this one obviously isn’t a convertible, the tribute was pitch-perfect: I love the louvered rear window and the nostalgic fender badging. The graphics indicate it’s going to be the official pace car for next year’s 500 on May 31, but the “For Sale” sticker suggests it’s probably just a concept.

…Yeah, they’ve also got a Challenger widebody kit that extends the front fenders 3″  on either side, and parts that’ll dress up your plain-jane C6 Corvette as either a Z06 or a ZR1. And can you name any other booth at SEMA that has a new Camaro, Mustang, Challenger, and Corvette? Talk about covering all your bases. More pics below the jump!

When I was nine and we were visiting my grandparents in Phoenix, my dad went and did a weekend course at the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving instead of taking us kids to Disneyland. And now, after riding along for some hot laps with a Bondurant instructor in one of their c6 Corvettes, I kind of get why he did that. Bondurant had a nice little cone course set up at the Motor Trend Proving Grounds at SEMA. Comically, some Fiesta Movement rides were also running the course in amongst the burly Vettes. The Z51 coupe I rode in has a 430 hp Ls3 mated to a short-throw Tremec six speed–I can’t even imagine how rad it’d be to thrash one of their LS7 Z06’s out on the track. Click below the jump for videos of all the action!

Normally, I’m not a huge fan of slammed cars or trucks, but this Suburban is different. I found this creation over at the Goin’ Hard Wheel booth along with another cool ride I’ll talk about soon. See more…

The 1969 thru 1972 Suburban was produced as an answer to the International Travelall and the Jeep Wagoneer, but with one unique feature: It came with only 3 doors. As odd as that sounds, previous Surburbans were only 2 door Sedan Delivery vehicles with interiors and windows. When was the last time you saw one?

I have to say that the paint job is super, with a hint on metal flake in the deep burgundy color. However, it is spoiled with ghost images of the “Tap Out” Company Logo all over the car, which really spoils the understated image it otherwise projects.

Under the hood is a modified Chevy Big Block, and is otherwise sanitary. The only problem I can see is the missing inner fenders under the hood, which I believe was done to create that slammed appearance. The interior is very well done, with no over the top surfaces, with black leather covering both bench styled seats. Even the dash board is mostly stock. It’s actually a well done custom, but needs to be completed, as the AC isn’t quite functional yet.