Some people like pain with pleasure — we call them Alfa Romeo owners. Others like their automotive experience to be as serene as an Ansel Adams print. For those, Nice Price or Crack Pipe suggests taking 1980 milligrams of Cressida.

The loathing and rabble rousing ran fast and thick yesterday for the hack-job 6.9 Mercedes, and in the end, it gained a 66% Crack Pipe vote for the loss of its roof and donktastic rims. That Benz would have looked right at home at the SEMA show, which is being held this week in Las Vegas. In fact, it's over the top orgy of chrome and toplessness could be slipped onto the floor today without anyone questioning its pedigree. SEMA is full of wretched excess as accessory makers pile on every oversized wheel, 10,000 watt stereo and metallic-goldfish fade paint job their demo vehicles can handle. Jalopnik is your prime source for all things weird and wonderful from the SEMA show, but you may go into overload with all the Scion-aminos and soulless-eyed Lingenfelter Trans-Am homages. So, as a public service - sort of an aperitif from the h