Is this really the best they could do?
Little did we know that when the SEMA Show was held in Las Vegas in 2019 we would be facing a new normal. Not only was the show not held in-person last year, all indications are the outrageous showmanship is now a thing of the past as a new normal has taken over. This is most evident in the final reveal of Mopar’s SEMA builds – truly they are an underwhelming lot to behold.
Check out what Ford let aftermarket builders do to the new Bronco for SEMA here.
Actually, calling most of these vehicles “builds” is insulting to everyone’s intelligence. The most egregious example is the Dodge Challenger Holy Guacamole concept. Mopar is probably hoping to get you laughing and disarmed with the silly name, but the reality is this car is just a 2020 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack Widebody 50th Anniversary with a custom green paint job. That hue is called “Rotten Avocado” and is paried with a custom-painted “Gold School” Shaker hood scoop, tone-on-tone side striping, staggered 20-inch Forgeline wheels, plus a Mopar coil-over suspension lowering kit. Oh, plus Mopar went so far as to bolt on a cold-air intake and throw in some wood panel trim for the interior along with some green and yellow seat inserts as a tribute to the 1970 Challenger. And that’s it, that’s the whole “build.” This is what’s become of the SEMA Show.
The Ram TRX is a pretty awesome truck, but we’ve seen aftermarket shops do some really cool things with it, so that sets a high bar of expectation. Mopar decided to make what they call the RexRunner. Modifications are all bolt-on and none affect performance, with such additions as a RamBar accessory bar, bed-mount spare tire carrier, bed extender, and custom skid plates.
The other Ram “build” is a 1500 called the Outdoorsman. It was designed for people who work hard and play hard – that’s actually in the press release, funny enough. Basically, they took a Big Horn Crew Cab 4x4, painted it gloss black, added blue graphics, bolted in an aluminum bed rack for carrying those ultra-rare 2x4s you have to hunt down to get jobs done as well as those ultra-rare kayaks you have to hunt down to have weekend fun. Oh, there are also some LED lights and an Expertec bed-slide system, which is nice but nothing you haven’t seen before. The only other really notable detail is the 2-inch lift and FOX shocks. Oh, and they put a RamVac onboard vacuum in the cab, like what you can get in the Chrysler minivan. How quaint.
I live in the land of customized Jeeps, so forgive me if the two Wrangler concepts don’t have me just wowed. The 4xe has some FOX shocks with a JPP 2-inch lift kit, beadlocks, lots of LEDs like underbody rock lights, Gorilla Glass windshield, tube doors, and a smattering of other bolt-ons you’ll see on many trails or in Trader Joe parking lots. But since this is a hybrid, you’re supposed to hyperventilate.
More creative is the Overlook, a Wrangler Sahara Unlimited which has been elongated and an extra row of seats added. The modular safari-style roof adds 5 inches of headroom and more windows. From there it’s just more bolt-on mods that aren’t anything to get overly excited about, even if you find some of them would be helpful on your rig. Sorry, but at SEMA we’ve come to expect over-the-top builds, not just product demonstrations.
Probably so everyone gets excited about the Jeep Grand Cherokee L, the three-row version of the crossover, Mopar made the Breckenridge concept. Named after the Colorado ski resort, one of the key components of this “build” is the cargo box on the roof, which is for hauling skis and snowboards. Other than that, Mopar added 21-inch wheels and a bunch of ritzy materials to the interior, making this the ultimate mall cruiser.
Admittedly, the Kaiser Jeep M725 concept is pretty cool, but out of 7 vehicles Mopar is displaying at SEMA, one good build is pretty crappy odds. The military ambulance has been transitioned into a trail support rig complete with 40 inch tires on 8-lug 20x12-inch wheels, a roof panel which can extend up another 16 inches, rock rials, LED lights, Mopar 392 crate Hemi, frame reinforcements, etc.
So this is what Mopar is bringing to SEMA to wow everyone. It’s so underwhelming I’m sad to have been looking forward to the “big” reveal, like finding out Malcom is really dead or poop makes potatoes grow on Mars.
