There’s always room for a little more of everything. That very well could be the theme of the 2005 SEMA Auto Show, as fabricators, customizers and auto manufacturers squeezed more of the good stuff into existing machines and rolled out their creations to the wonderment of an audience big enough to populate its very own island paradise.

Which really is what SEMA has come to – an island unto itself in the middle of the desert, filled with automotive connoisseurs agape at the creations built to do everything better. Here at SEMA, few things are about less. There was little fuss about hybrids, fuel economy or engine efficiency, unless you count wringing out 550 or more horses from a 3.2-liter, twin-turbo V6 engine a study of efficiency. If so, you would love the, ahem, efficiency of Volkswagen’s succulent new R GT concepts – picture a VW Touareg, Passat, or Jetta, built around that engine, with Brembo brakes and a racing suspension – among other delights…you get the idea. All three feature subtle design cues, with the Jetta the most overt racer. The Passat, on the other hand, is a study in understated design and refined interior appointments. Simply put, to fellow red-light loiterers, the Jetta dares them to a race…where the Passat will very likely give them a bad case of the “a dad just blew me away” blues.

For those who desire a more extreme example of aftermarket magnificence, there was a 400-horsepower Pontiac Solstice on display. If there is anything that defines auto enthusiasm better than a 6.0-liter V8 crate engine bolted into the lithe body of a Solstice, well, good luck finding it. Built by Mallett Cars Ltd., the custom Solstice also features modified shocks and a Corsa muffler – among other enhancements. There’s also the 550-horspower engine, but that’s, ahem, optional in the Mallet, which was just one of many Solstices parked on the show floor. Indeed, it’s fair to claim that the Solstice was this year’s SEMA darling, with a roadster dotting virtually every aisle of the mammoth trade show. Turn around, and you were confronted with a weekend racer in coupe form, courtesy of GM, another with two-tone paint, and yes, some with ridiculous powerplants. Solstice to flight control, we’re ready for the Miata comparison… The Solstice custom work made it seem as though SEMA was almost a GM custom car show, even though General Motors – for the first time in at least two years – didn’t hold an actual press conference. One wonders what kept the brain trust in Detroit from putting together a Solstice Seminar, given the number of roadsters on the floor – or, better yet, news about a Solstice Performance Pack.

By Brian Chee