I agree with ScaleModelMadman. I've seen a black background work well, also a grey background.

I also feel that a rusty vehicle is fine in with the shiny ones. I will say that people do dig beat vehicles. People appreciate the nice shiny one but the rusty ones add alot of character that may possibly appeal to a broader audience. I pretty much new that TRM would win because he spent alot of time on the details and the build had alot of character. It appealed to more people than the same truck in new condition probably would have. My truck had character too but I didn't go the extra mile that TRM did.