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First those of you who have never been to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), you're definitely missing out. CES is a cutting edge technology show that displays all the upcoming products for the following year and sometimes the future. Doesn't sound all that interesting? Well add in the fact that the show is held every year in Las Vegas at the same time as the Adult Entertainment Expo (as well as the AVN Awards) and the two combine to make a normal business trip turn into one hell of a party. CES is divided into two main areas of the Las Vegas Convention Center. On one side of the building, you have the Home stuff, (plasmas, home audio, big screens, etc…). On the other side is where most of the fun occurs with the Mobile Electronics area. Not only do the manufacturers show off all of their new product offerings, but also their latest creations as well. Most manufacturers use CES as a venue to exhibit their new show vehicles for the year. The atmosphere is much like a typical car show, with everyone claiming their vehicle as the best. Add in models signing autographs and you have everything you need; Girls, toys and cars. As with the past few years the industry seems to be headed in the tuner direction, with most vehicles being some form of import car.Out of all of the vehicles at the show, two stood out as best of show caliper cars. Most notably would be the vehicle from Alpine. In the past several years, Alpine has established itself as the company to beat when it comes to installation creativity. They continue to raise the bar for themselves, as this year's vehicle was no different. This year's vehicle of choice was a new style Mini Cooper. This was no ordinary Mini Cooper however; it was a Wide Body Mini Cooper with 20" rear wheels, shaved doors (not just handles, but the whole door) and a shaved roof. To top it all off, the Mini was converted into a center seat drive car with a motorized trunk lid that moves out several feet to allow the driver to get into the custom made Plexiglas driver seat. Visually, nothing at the show could compare to this vehicle. Interestingly enough though they may have spent a bit too much time on the cosmetics of the vehicle, and not enough attention to the functionality of it. While I was at the booth, the vehicle's system kept shutting on and off, while the motorized trunk would sputter and stop as it was coming in and out of the car.
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The other notable vehicle came from Metra in the form of a VW Beetle. This vehicle was designed in house by legendary installer Dave "The Fishman" Rivera. Gaining fame as the installer who incorporated a fish tank into his first major install, Fishman paid homage to that image by turning the headlights of the beetle into a fish tank with live beta fish floating around. On the interior of the vehicle everything was torn out and modified so that a central computer could control everything. This included the steering wheel itself!! Fishman removed the steering wheel from the car and instead steers the car using a touch panel monitor on the dash. Even the gas and brake where operated in this same fashion. After missing out on last year's CES I had high expectations for this year's show. They were all met and exceeded. This year's show set attendance records and introduced some of the most intriguing and interesting designs for both products and vehicles I have seen in quite some time. Add in the great after hours parties thrown on by the manufacturers and this year's show guarantees that I won't be missing any more CES shows in the followingyears.
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