WELCOME! "THE CAR NUT" --- AWARD-WINNING AUTOMOTIVE JOURNALIST STEVE PARKER'S WEBSITE

SAY YOU LOVE CARS? BET NOT AS MUCH AS THIS GUY ...

We found this story on one of our favorite websites, "The Smoking Gun", and it's one of the strangest we've ever read, specifically when it comes to people who say they 'love' their cars. Here's the story's lead:

"A Canadian man with a bizarre sexual fetish involving classic cars was sentenced last week for several acts of public indecency. Sandy Wong, 45, was arrested three separate times earlier this year for masturbating on the hoods of autos, including a Mini Cooper and a $50,000 BMW sedan, which was on display at an auto show. During an interview with a court-appointed psychiatrist, Wong explained that he is sexually aroused 'by a certain type of car...like a '67 Camaro, '55 Chevy Bel Air.'"

Like we said, it's pretty weird ... and we know you just need to know "the rest of the story", as that decrepit old museum-piece Paul Harvey would say, if he could still speak. To read the entire story (including several pages of this guy's psychiatric hospital records), just click anywhere on this line ... And you might want to check this all out after the kids have gone to bed ... You don't want them getting any ideas ... But if one of your sons does start expressing a somewhat sudden, uh, inordinate interest in old cars, make sure to keep a close eye on him at that Concours d'Elegance you two were planning to attend ... Some angry owner might want you to pay for the stains on his car's headliner ... We say if someone is going to masturbate on top of a car, any car, he should have a good reason for it ... and we can think of no better encouragement than Paris Hilton, seen in that now-infamous TV spot eating a Carl's Jr. hamburger while rubbing herself on a Bentley ...

CASH REWARD! "CAR NUT" CAMERA GOES MISSING IN SEMA MEDIA ROOM; SONY DSC P-200 7.2megs; NO QUESTIONS ASKED AND CASH REWARD IF RETURNED!

On Thursday of the SEMA Show, we visited the SEMA Media Room at about 4pm. We sat at a table in the Media Room which was to the left of the registration booths (as one faces them) and next to a water bottle stand. About 5-10 minutes after we left the Media Room, we realized we didn't have one of our cameras with us, a Sony DSC P-200 7.2meg cute little digital shooting unit (shown in photos).

Naturally, we headed back to the Media Room quickly, but not terribly worried, because we figured no professional journalist would actually keep a camera which wasn't his or hers, and, also, there was Convention Center security posted at the Media Room area entrance. We returned to find the camera "missing". We asked around and one of the SEMA people at the registration desk told us that someone had been asking about "a lost camera", but she had no other information. THE CAMERA WENT MISSING IN A TIME SPAN OF NO MORE THAN 10 MINUTES from the time we left the Media Room to our return! In my mind, at this point, our camera had been stolen.

The camera is just over two years old, still in near-perfect condition, has been to Japan with us twice and is just a neat little (and dependable) unit which we've enjoyed using. Thankfully, there were no critically-important photos on the Sony Memory Stick in the camera; we had copied all our Tokyo Motor Show photos onto our office computer hard drives before leaving for Las Vegas and SEMA.

We know that many media members visit this site, so if anyone, media or not, has any information whatsoever on this missing/stolen camera which leads to its return to us in good condition, we will pay that person a suitable CASH REWARD ... WITH NO QUESTIONS ASKED! Please e-mail us at sparker@dc.rr.com with any info you may have --- It will be greatly appreciated ... And it'll earn you some good karma, too!

DIGITAL MISHAP DELAYS SEMA COVERAGE; SEMA SHOW A "WINNER", SAY PARTICIPANTS; "TREASURE ISLAND" HOTEL A RIP-OFF; MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER TEST VEHICLE A SAVING GRACE

A digital mishap --- Actually, one of our cameras went missing --- Means a slight delay in our SEMA Show coverage. And the camera (a Sony P200 7.2-meg model ...REWARD IF FOUND, NO QUESTIONS ASKED [e-mail us through this site]!) went astray in the SEMA Media Room, no less, supposedly off-limits to the more nefarious elements who might attend the show. So much for honest journalists and/or the security in SEMA's Media Room, where Convention Center security personnel are stationed.

Next, getting there: We were one couple in need of comfort. And from where we live, the time and hassle it takes to fly to Las Vegas just isn't worth it when driving there is only about a four-hour slog (and the I-15 can be a fun road, at the right time of day). The 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander we drove from the Los Angeles area to Las Vegas and the SEMA Show came through like a champ. After more than a week in Japan and the TOKYO MOTOR SHOW, including schlepping (look it up), at times, two roller suitcases, each weighing-in at over 75 pounds, through rush hour in the Tokyo subway system (and yes, gray-uniformed and white-gloved train personnel do physically shove people into the cars to allow the doors to close), coming home and getting over jet lag and then needing to get to Las Vegas for SEMA after only a few days of recovery, we were very happy with this all-new Outlander. We'll have a full road test on this sporty little crossover/SUV in short order on this site. But Outlander's new styling, which features a 2 inch improvement in wheelbase (for better handling and a smoother ride) and a 3 inch lengthening in overall length (for more cabin and rear stowage room and an optional third-row seat), a 3 liter V6 "Mivec" engine producing 260 horsepower (replacing the tepid 4-banger in 2003-2006 models which pumped out a measly 160hp) and a six-speed automatic tranny which also allows manual-type shifting all impressed us.

Seeing the new Mitsu Lancer Evolution X at the TOKYO MOTOR SHOW only a few days earlier has us thinking: This might be one car company, which has received only tepid attention in the US, that might be ready for a renaissance of sorts with American buyers at all pricing levels. With a full load of luggage and camera/video equipment and a driver and passenger looking for a comfortable, hassle-free ride, Outlander delivered. I didn't have to use the manual-shift feature at all to climb the brutal Cajon Pass coming or going, and my wife didn't need to use the small pillow which she usually needs in the small of her back in almost every SUV we're in, even the crossovers which generally offer a smoother ride than those still built on truck chassis. Mitsu encourages drivers to make use of the unique All-Wheel Drive system on the new Outlander by leaving it in full-time AWD, and the small dial on the center tunnel which allows switching between front-wheel drive, four-wheel 50/50 lock and full-time AWD is elegant in appearance and ease of use. Complaints? Too much cabin wind noise at freeway speeds and a relatively high lift-over when putting luggage (or anything heavy) into or taking it out off the rear storage area, and a system check and sound system read-out which are almost impossible to read in daylight, at least on non-GPS equipped models like ours. GPS models have large, bright screens which might cure that particular problem. Most impressive, though, is the $27,285 price tag on our fully-turned-out test vehicle, a topline LS AWD model.

The show itself was bigger and, said every single show exhibitor we asked, better than ever business-wise (and we asked every one we talked with, probably more than 50 exhibitors, ranging from giants like Ford Motor Company, displaying everything from single parts to entire vehicles such as complete, turn-key race cars, to the many smaller, even mom-and-pop-sized companies, which specialize in producing or marketing just one or two specific products). While concerns about fuel prices and state and national emissions laws (and those of foreign countries, such as Australia and the entire EU) have SEMA member companies more worried about their future than ever before, the reality belied expected problems at the show concerning sales numbers. Company executives reported to us that the show was "good", "fantastic", and even "wonderfully unexpected" for them. The automotive aftermarket business seems healthier than ever, and if there were any major downturns for any manufacturing and/or marketing companies, we didn't see it or hear about it at this 2007 edition of the SEMA Show.

Our photos and stories this year will include plenty about the products and exhibits from the perennial giants (Toyota was the the featured Original Equipment Manufacturer of the show), and we'll also focus on some of the smaller, single-booth companies, some of which displayed many of the best new products of the show. Any run-of-the-mill million- or even billion-dollar company should be displaying what we call "Oh My Gods!" at the show every year; but developing that kind of product for smaller companies is a tremendous challenge, yet several of them came through with flying colors. You'll be reading about and seeing these products in the days to come on this site.

Keep visiting this site as we update it daily starting Sunday with SEMA news and photos, also the story of how a huge outfit like the one which owns Las Vegas' "Treasure Island" hotel apparently needs to engage in classic "bait and switch" to fill their rooms on a weeknight and how the Las Vegas Hilton came through in a pinch ... and how that hotel's Benihana Restaurant has become a quaint but pleasant anachronism in today's fast-moving world.