RED, WHITE AND BAD; The Big Three roll out some seriously hot iron for SEMA's annual festival of decadence.(News)

Byline: NATALIE NEFF

Forget about a featured marque. This year, the folks at SEMA have decided to focus on an entire class, with Ford, General Motors and DaimlerChrysler sharing the spotlight at the annual trade show in a celebration of American Muscle.

You'll still find plenty of modded Honda Civics and Scion xBs scattered across 2 million square feet of exhibit space in the sprawling Las Vegas Convention Center complex, but cars like the 2007 Ford Boss 302 Mustang should prove to be some of the bigger draws of the show.

Built by Galpin Ford, the Mustang is one of four cars to feature the all-new Ford Racing Boss 302 crate motor, named so because of the similarities it has with the legendary Boss engine Ford produced in 1969 and 1970. It uses four-bolt main caps and screw-in freeze plugs, signatures of the original, but it boasts a much more robust design, most obvious in the splayed main bolts, diesel-grade heat-treated iron block, single-piece rear main seal and Siamese bores with engineered cross drilling for more efficient cooling.

The 302-cid engine in the Galpin Mustang turns out 360 hp, but variations of the engine-versions are available with up to 363 cubic inches of displacement-can crank out up to 500 hp.

The engine isn't the whole story of the azure blue Mustang. Los Angeles super-dealer Galpin Ford gave the car an all-out performance makeover, stuffing it with a host of go-fast and handling bits from the Ford Racing parts catalog, including a Tremec TKO 600 transmission, 4:56 ring and pinion, axle girdle and handling pack. From its own parts book, Galpin threw on a shaker hood, sport accessory drive and custom headers, then rounded out the package with a McLeod clutch, flywheel and bellhousing, Hurst T-handle shifter, MSD ignition and a Bassani X-pipe and exhaust-as well as an original 1970 Boss 302 780-cfm carburetor.

Not to be outdone, GM is showing a wild one-off truck designed especially for Dale Earnhardt Jr. called Big Red. Based on the just-launched 2007 Silverado Crew Cab pickup, it takes its design cues straight from Earnhardt Jr.'s own modified off-road truck.