SEMA 2009 Worst of Show: This car stinks...

Stinks. You might think that we're talking about the overall design of this shockingly orange scissor-door/scissor-trunk Dodge Charger R/T. Or the build quality, what with panel gaps that you can insert your index finger into, wheels so large the tie-rods can't hold them and the world's saddest piece of vinyl covering the trunk's goofy hinge. You might even be under the impression that we're referring to the poor Charger's taillights, which set a new SEMA low. But you'd be mistaken. While this poor, 26-inch dubbed Charger has no doubt been beaten to death with the SEMA stick, we're actually talking about its odor. Quite literally, it smells like synthetic cat urine.

The why and the how of this particular example of aftermarket hubris and wretched, mindless – and let's not forget pointless – excess don't really matter now, as the poor thing will spend the next 15 years quietly rotting in the side yard of some shop in Joliet, Illinois waiting to either shrug off this mortal coil or get turned into a fine LeMons car right around 2025 – whichever comes first. Despite the poor design and execution, the pointy end of our query-arrow is pointed straight at the heart of where the offending aroma came from. Did they finish off the interior with a nice shellacking of formaldehyde? Or, is this rough, slouching-towards-Bethlehem beast already sleeping outside, doors scissored up with cats as tenants? Who knows. But it's easily the Worst of Show; a sad, unfortunate offering at an otherwise entertaining and action-packed event.