Ah, spring, that time of year when thoughts turn to?the Spring Break Nationals car show and competition in Daytona, Florida!

Daytona?s made its reputation for being a pleasure-seeker?s paradise and for its association with just about every kind of machine on wheels.

So it?s no wonder that a scant couple of weeks after the world-famous Bike Week and at the peak of college spring break season, Daytona?s Ocean Center expo space opens its doors to Spring Break Nationals.

The show is one of the biggest of the season: tens of thousands of fans enjoy the spectacle of show cars, custom installations, vendor booths, sound competitions, overall good-natured custom-car mayhem, and much, much more.

Enthusiastic Spring Break Nationals showgoers crowd in front of the SIRIUS Rhythm of the Road semi.

Of course, this year you don?t even need to get a ticket and go inside to catch the infectious vibe. SIRIUS, the headlining sponsor of the event, provided that right outside the venue with its Rhythm of the Road semi.

The facility features SIRIUS listening stations and displays of the broad range of SIRIUS-compatible products currently on the market. A live DJ entertains the crowds that gather around with samplings of SIRIUS music channel broadcasts. On top of that, there are always exciting giveaways.

This year, SIRIUS handed out plenty of gifts, including a ten-minute phone card, two weeks of free online streaming of SIRIUS music, keychains, t-shirts, mini footballs, drink coozies, and hats. And a few lucky winners went home with Audiovox plug-and-play tuners and boomboxes.

The folks at SIRIUS did a spectacular job getting the crowds that gathered in front of the semi fired up for the show. There was plenty of crowd interaction, tunes were pumping, and people were free to use the listening stations to get an earful of SIRIUS?s incredible channel lineup. SIRIUS representatives were also on hand to answer any service or equipment questions anyone might have had.

Surrounding the SIRIUS semi were a host of show cars sponsored by various vendors. MTX and Pioneer, notably, had several of their vehicles on display for everyone to see. It was a great way to get people ready for the spectacle inside!

As you walked into the show through the main gates, the first thing you noticed was the steady pounding of the bass from all the show cars that were on display in the main hall. The potent rumble simply enveloped you as you walked in, and let you know immediately that you and your senses were in for a treat.

In the lobby, t-shirts, hats, stickers, and other merchandise celebrating the show and lots of its participants were readily available. Business was certainly brisk from the word go.

Entering the main hall, however, simply took your breath away.

Up front and center as you walked in sat Alpine?s beyond-customized 2004 MINI Cooper, designed by Steve Brown and Mike Vu. It really looks like something?well, not of this earth. Check out our article on the design of the Alpine MINI Cooper, as well as our account of actually being able to climb inside for more information.

Alpine's over-the-top MINI Cooper caught the eye of everyone who attended the show.

The main exhibition hall was filled to the rafters with booths representing vendors of all shapes and sizes, and each booth featured at least one, if not several show cars that caused many a jaw to drop. Be sure to take a trip through our photo gallery for a comprehensive view of the sights and sounds of Spring Break Nationals 2004.

The capacity crowd gathers around the Spring Break Nationals main stage.

In addition to the Alpine MINI Cooper, demo cars that caught our eyes included:

• Dave ?Fishman? Rivera?s out-of-this-world Volkswagen Beetle (complete with real fish in the headlights) sponsored by Tsunami;
• Panasonic?s Range Rover Westminster and Jaguar XKR, both of which are rare, due to limited production in the U.S.;
• Sony?s four demo vehicles, including a Chevy pickup highlighted by its 25 monitors; a Honda Civic with seven monitors mounted ingeniously in the tail fin; a USACi Sound Quality-winning Mitsubishi Eclipse; and an off-road, all-purpose, sport-utility golf cart;
• Polk?s two Honda Civics;
• An RSP Supra sponsored by Kenwood;
• Phoenix Gold?s Pontiac Sunfire;
• Clarion?s Subaru WRX.

Throughout the show, attendees were entertained by a live DJ spinning on the main stage that had been set up at one end of the hall. Periodically, show emcee Lars from Mars took stage and held trivia contests; anyone with a correct answer earned prizes (t-shirts, most often).

And the highlight, for many, on Saturday and Sunday, was the world-famous Spring Break Nationals Bikini Contest. Crowds flocked to the main stage to cheer on the young ladies as they strutted their stuff for cash prizes.

By the end of the show, several lucky winners took home over $40,000 worth of prizes donated by the participating vendors; all one had to do to be eligible was to visit every booth at the show?something everyone would do anyway!

As it was outside, the vibe was positive inside. Everywhere you looked, you saw nothing but smiling faces, mouths open in astonishment, and unbridled enthusiasm. Most guests made a general circuit of the exhibit floor, then returned repeatedly to their favorite booths, everyone making sure to get plenty of pictures.

And there was still more to it all.

Over the course of the three days, USACi and IASCA held a series of competitions in the parking lots of the Ocean Center. Car owners competed in a wide range of categories, including sound quality and sound pressure levels.

In the sound quality competition, cars were judged on the integrity of their installations, their sound pressure levels, and, not surprisingly, the overall tonal and soundstage accuracy of their systems.

A judge rates the SPL portion of the USACi sound quality competition.

Here, you can read our account of following a pair of USACi judges as they judged Rodney Findley (sponsored by Sony) on his Eclipse?s system.

SPL competitions, including the famous db Drag, were exercises in brute force. Competitors went head to head to see whose amp-and-sub-heavy systems could generate the highest sound pressure levels; systems were inspected, microphones setup, and vehicles rumbled away. The competitor with the highest number won. It was just that simple.

The db Drag witnessed competitors trying to pump as much sound pressure out of their amps and subs as possible.

For a complete list of winners, be sure to check out the official Spring Break Nationals site.

Also outside, under a pair of tents, was the exciting Installer Challenge. Two teams of installers, one from the U.S. and one from the U.K., were given identical Saturn Ions, the same sets of A/V gear, and 48 hours to design and install the best system possible?and beat the other team, of course.

The U.S. team's Installer Challenge car during the competition.

The great fun in the Installer Challenge is watching the teams work for a while, visiting other areas of the show, and checking back in on them a few hours later; you notice just how much impressive progress they make in a very short period of time.

The U.S. team's final product, produced just 48 hours after the project started, was impressive.

Across the street, behind the Adam?s Mark Hotel, and just off the beach, you found the Spring Break Nationals Tuner Jam. Dozens of hot, modified cars were on display, their systems blasting, their chrome gleaming, their spinners spinning ? everything from SUVs to tuned imports to classic cars were there.

The Tuner Jam gave folks a chance to show off their rides with the beautiful Atlantic as background scenery.

Saturday night, StreetGlow sponsored a glow-off in Daytona?s Bandshell on the Beach, not far from the Ocean Center. With the Atlantic as a backdrop, StreetGlow fired up the crowd by throwing out glowing bracelets (always a crowd favorite) and glowsticks. Then the competitors provided their own fireworks. Competing vehicles were judged on the quality and artistic merit of their neon and LED installations. And they were hot.

Fans clamor for glowing bracelets at the StreetGlow glowoff.

All in all, there was something for everyone at the 2004 edition of Spring Break Nationals. Whether you preferred listening to incredible sound systems, or taking a look at unbelievably wild modified cars, you were guaranteed to find it here. It was a spectacular way to spend a weekend, and we?re grateful to SIRIUS for helping make it all happen. And we?re already excited for next year?s show!