The most important thing to a custom car owner is "curb appeal," which simply means how good a car looks when it's sitting motionless. The more heads that turn as people walk by, the greater the "curb appeal." Such head turning attention is a show car owner's mantra, the one thing he needs if he plans to win cash and prizes when competing at car shows on the custom level.

Robert Robinson's 1994 Honda Accord has plenty of "curb appeal." You can tell that Robert swayed from the path of traditional import modifications, such as big wings and racing wheels, to a cleaner not-so-race-inspired look.

It's been a labor of love for Robert. He initially vowed to keep it simple, but eight years and $45,000 later; he had one killer import on his hands.

Robert started simply enough, with a DC Sports cat-back exhaust system and a cold air intake. The 2.2 liter Honda powerplant remains primarily stock, but Robert managed to work-in some eye candy. The engine bay is dotted in trick chrome parts any Honda fan would want to own.

Life was good for a while, as Robert drove his car without incident. Then one day, he decided to open up his wallet, and spend some cheddar.

The door handles, side mirrors, taillights, and body moldings were all shaved, and the body was augmented with a molded-in body kit. Once everything was sanded and ready for the paint booth, the car received a two-tone House of Kolor paint job, orange on white, with a Chevy Bel Air inspired graphic trim. Robert has named his ride the Bel-Cord which fits.

The interior was extensively reworked, too. Most obvious is the orange and tan upholstery scheme. Covering every square inch of the interior is orange and tan leather. The seats were chopped down, received a little tuck and roll, and were finished in orange and tan leather. Robert even had the stock steering wheel replaced with a billet version sporting the interior's two-tone leather scheme. Finishing up the interior mods, custom pillar pod gauges were installed, along with a billet shift knob, and an emergency brake handle.

As for the stereo, a DVD flip out LCD monitor head unit starts out the audio/visual enhancements. Three JL Audio 12-inch subs were installed in the rear deck of the car. Fitted in the trunk are JL Audio amps, electronic crossover, and twin capacitors. Monster Cable wiring connects all the components. All audio work was performed by Auto Extremes of Conyers, Georgia.

You may have noticed this "Bel-Cord" sits really low to the ground. You can thank the air suspension setup by Auto Extremes. This is achieved with a four air cylinder setup that includes a five-gallon tank and two compressors. Robert can adjust his ride height to on-the-ground undrivable to sky high in seconds. A Nintendo style controller retains all the switches needed to control the ride height. Supplementing the suspension is a set of 19-inch Nitch wheels wrapped in BFG 215/35/19 rubber.

Robert has no illusions as to his car's purpose in life which is that of a show car with a lot of "curb appeal." ESM couldn't agree more.

Shout Out: "Thanks to ESM for the feature!" -Robert Robinson