The Crazy Cars of CES: A/V Bling, Custom Paint

— -- Video Where You Least Expect It

I started taking pictures of the cars decked out with obscenely huge and numerous stereo speakers, but was quickly distracted by the ones with weirdly placed video screens, such as this vehicle in the RCA booth. I mean, who's supposed to be watching a video that's practically on the bumper? (Report by Yardena Arar)

I don't know, but I'm pretty sure the vendor who brought this car (I'm not naming names here) was working on the answer. And what's with the video screens in the trunk, for heaven's sake?

This vehicle caught my attention because it was so purple--and because of the size of the screen in the trunk. It looks almost as big as my new 42-inch HDTV.

Sports Cars for the Rich and Richer

I suppose most of these cars would cost a small fortune, and I'm certain this Ford GT isn't cheap. But it's a supercar, and if you're shopping for something like this you probably aren't too worried about your bank account. Spotted at the Boss Audio booth, the GT was getting plenty of stares and "what is it?" comments from passersby.

Pimped-Up Vintage Cars

In addition to the ordinary and high-end cars that automotive audio/video vendors use to show off their wares, there is a contingent of vintage cars that have been restored to more-than-pristine condition and tricked out with lots of A/V bling. Here's one.

I wouldn't like to parallel park it, but this convertible made me nostalgic for the days of cheap gas and no worries about leg room. Even with the stereo gear, there's plenty of room for luggage in the trunk.

An Elegant Vintage Car

This one looks like something out of a 1930s movie. I could see Bogey or Gable at the wheel.

I could have filled this slide show with images of cars with flames and ribbons and the like. But I'll limit myself to my two favorites, including this oversize truck. (Even bigger trucks are displayed, but their paint jobs lack the quasi Calder-esque finesse of this one.)

Something about the way the yellow surges into purple makes this vintage vehicle and its bizarre paint job oddly beautiful.

Unlike most custom paint job creators, who stick with patterns and colorful abstract images, this artist went representational and monochrome. I found it quite impressive.

This one pretty much speaks for itself. But I did chuckle when I overheard a fellow gawker's observation to a friend. "This is Captain America's car," he said.