When Dodge released images of the new Challenger stock car a few weeks ago, I referred to the Avenger previously used in NASCAR as being "Ultra vanilla".  Evidently Ma Mopar took offense to my comment, as on the opening day of the 2009 SEMA Show the indoor Mopar display brought us the debut of the new Dodge Avenger pro stock body and this new car is anything but vanilla.

The car was displayed in the familiar Mopar team scheme with the giant blue M and blue/black/white finish, proudly sporting Allen Johnson's name on the sides of the car.  

However, I spoke last night with a contact within the Chrysler Corporation who told me that during the SEMA Show some other Mopar drivers such as V. Gaines stopped by to check out the new Avenger body.  My contact told me that it based on the initial reaction from the drivers, it looks like sometime during the 2010 season we will see a full shift from the Dodge Stratus body that has been used for the past 6 years to the new Avenger body.  This is all based on things going smoothly early on for the teams using the Dodge Avenger bodies, and there was no time frame from my contact as to when we can expect to see more teams using the new body.

The 2008 SEMA Show brought us the Dodge Ram R/T concept, a sexy sport truck finished in B5 Blue with wheels, a tonneau cover, exhaust, and a body kit to set it apart from a standard Dodge Ram and this year Dodge followed suit with the Dodge Ram Bianco.  The Bianco is intended to be a sporty luxury truck, but many of the styling cues are taken from the R/T concept.

Although this Ram is a quad cab, you see a similar body kit and tonneau on the Bianco and the wheels of the Bianco look suspectly like the same wheels on last year's Ram R/T.  Inside, the Bianco offers custom Katzkin leather seats finished in black and white, proudly showing off the Mopar logo.

I brought you all a few images of the radical Mopar Jeep Lower Forty right before SEMA (click here to read the original article), with this Hemi powered JK wearing a unique body and 40" tires with the stock suspension setup. 

Mopar did this to show off the capabilities of the Jeeps standard suspension with just a little work-so long as you consider hacking apart your Jeep to make room for 40" tires a little work.

Sure, the Lower Forty might not be the ideal commuter vehicle, but it does make for one bad ass concept and in the end, it is a great deal more realistic than the twin Hemi powered Hurricane concept. 

All the specialty and project Dodge vehicles you can imagine were at SEMA 2009. Here is a slideshow of the things we saw, including a Charger, a Challenger, a Viper, and some Dodge trucks.

I have an appreciation for all sorts of cars, but deep down I'm a Mopar man.  I've owned Fords and Chevys, but my favorite cars have been my 1983 Dodge Mirada 340 and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340, and when I get to events like SEMA I'm always very excited to see what Mopar has in store for me.

This year, I have to admit that the indoor Mopar display was a little bare, although cars like the Challenger 1320 (click here for more info) and the new Dodge Avenger pro stock car (more info coming soon!) made the display worth the time.  

But there was still Mopar Alley.  The area connecting the Central Hall and South Hall runs you through a parking lot and atop a busy overpass, but for years now Mopar has bridged the gap with a variety of new and vintage Mopars -  both privately owned and featured vehicles owned by Chrysler Corporation.