McTaggart: For this year’s SEMA show, Lohnes and I took a “divide and conquer” approach to covering our bases. The area the show covers is monstrous, the crowds take a toll on everybody trying to shoot, and by the time we managed to get back to our hotel, all we wanted to do was to process photos, write a few stories, and hit the sack. This meant that we generally saw each other three times a day during any particular day: between wakeup and when we split off at the show, sometime around lunch to check notes and make plans, and when we finally left the Convention Center. For the most part, we only shared opinions on what we saw in short form, but because we didn’t have time to pour over every single possible car that was out on the floor, and because you might want a little insight into what goes on in our brains, we decided to put up some of the cars from the show and dissect them. Like what we have to say? Disagree? The comment section is open! Now, with no further ado…

Lohnes: This guy speaks the truth, mostly. See we did manage to party a little at places like the 2016 Gran Turismo Awards where BangShift actually picked the winning car of the contest. That was a fun night from what we remember of it. Hey, all work and no play makes us a bunch of dullards, right? Wait, we are a bunch of dullards. Never mind. Bryan was correct that we attacked the show as a two man SWAT unit and he’s not kidding that we thrash pretty hard to bring you as much of the good stuff as we can. We’re certainly not looking for your sympathy here but he definitely nailed our daily rituals. We did our best to bring the fastball. Now it is time to throw some knuckles.

1. Radically Chopped Hurst/Olds

McTaggart: Full race, good. Full race Oldsmobile G-body, very good. I like the idea of a very wild Hurst/Olds…it makes me think of Warren Johnson’s cars. But that’s about where my joy over this car ends. In person, it was almost cartoony in it’s dimensions. The roof chop is massive, and every panel dimension seems really, really off. And no 1980s Oldsmobile looks good with tailfins.

Lohnes: So this is a one-off creation that will eventually be chasing Jeff Lutz, Larry Larson, Tom Bailey, and Andy Frost for “quickest street legal car” honors. It is pretty jarring to look at but the motor is a massive twin turbocharged piece and the look to us reminds us of an early 1990s pro mod with the crazy roofline and other modifications. Frankly, this thing is so flipping nasty that we can get past any of the styling weirdness and just going on the mechanical scorecard alone, this car could be a player in the chase for the title of the quickest street legal car in the world.

2. Bumpside Ford at Dynamat

McTaggart: Resto-custom…I love it. The paint is gorgeous, the colors are dead-on, the hubcaps are minty-fresh. I could’ve done with a wheel about a size, maybe two smaller, but done the same way, with more tire sidewall…and leave the whitewalls. One of my favorites from the show.

Lohnes: Lots of people really, really hate this look and to be honest I believe that their opinion is wrong. The thing I think that really makes this truck is the fact that the body is nicely aged, dinged, and covered in faded paint and trim that is not perfect. Yeah, the wheels could be a little smaller but I am a freak for the smoothie/stock hubcap look that this truck has going for it. RideTech changed the world with their stuff decades ago and it is still making stuff like this truck look fantastic.

3. Imperial Convertible

McTaggart: I don’t know what it was about this year, but it’s not everyday I see a pre-1955 Mopar that I desperately want…and there were two at this show calling my name. I already fawned over the Town and Country drop-top woody HERE, and this Imperial convertible deserves just about everything I said there. Beautiful paint, beautiful chrome, whitewalls in the correct style, and a gorgeous interior. Yes, please.

Lohnes: This was certainly one of the most stunning cars of the show. The best of both worlds here. A concours level restoration powered by a late model engine that will move this glorious beast down the road in fine fashion. The best part of this car is how respectful the engine swap is to the rest of the car. So often we see machines like this done so that the engine is a highlight of the car. The truck highlight of this car is the amazing styling and beauty of the design and thankfully that was 100% preserved and not detracted from in any way. A stunner on every level.

4. Phantom 1960s Chevrolet SUV

McTaggart: I’m not 100% what the goal was here: was it to shrink up a Suburban or build a phantom Blazer? Why am I asking this question when I don’t really care? This Chevy looks so damn good that I’m not too bothered about the “why”. This is one of the few cars I got to see with Lohnes nearby, and you should’ve heard the noise he made when he laid eyes on it. Don’t blame him, either…this one is goooood.

Lohnes: Yeah, guilty as charged. The metal work, the fabrication, the seamless changes made to this classic body style….it is really, really classy. This is what a Chevy Blazer would have looked like about 15 years before they existed. Again, many people hate the static “hovercraft” look of a truck like this but I was able to see to the thing at ride height on load in day and it was even better looking in a driving stance. What’s weird is that I see trucks like this and love them and sometimes when I see cars done like this they strike me as trying too hard.

We’ll be back with more and you can’t stop us!