When the SEMA (Specialized Equipment Market Association) Show (held in Las Vegas, Nevada from October 30-November 2, 2018) kicks off it seems that the whole automotive industry comes to a screeching halt as all roads lead to the Las Vegas Convention Center. Over 165,000 people attended the four day event to meet with 2,400 companies (including 400 new first time exhibitors) concerning everything and anything automotive.
Over 3,000 new products are presented in SEMA’s showcase and over 1,500 vehicles are on display among the over 2.2 MILLION square feet of display space. Trust me that is a ton of walking and it seems every time you retrace your steps you see new cars and trucks on display!
The display vehicles are nestled in vendor booths to help demonstrate the new products and draw in the crowds. They also are on display in every spare inch of space, indoors and out, to tease the attendees to highlight their creativity and imagination.
Car manufacturers use their space to show both existing models and some concepts that might never see production. And the concept cars are not always done by just the suits from Detroit, but some independent builders show what could be, using base models as a template.
This was the 52nd SEMA Show and each years it gets bigger and better. Celebrities are brought in to help draw in the crowds, but to be honest some of the “names” are from some reality TV shows or podcasts and I wouldn't know them from Adam or what makes them a draw. But two of the biggest names that draw lines for their meet and greets are Richard Petty and Chip Foose. Now those two surely have some car culture DNA in their souls!
For the past five years SEMA has staged a Battle of the Builders where they start off with 100 cars and trucks built from across the nation and over the four days, the field is narrowed down until twelve builders make the final cut. Then these builders judge their competitors (and not their own ride) to decide the finalist. Cool stuff and some fierce competition.
Hot Wheels brought out some classic full size recreations of their iconic cars. It was awesome to see how these pint size toys can be stretched into a life size model. One of my bigger treats during this “Halloween” show was to wander the rows of builds and find a car that pulls at my heart and makes me stop and say whoa. American ingenuity and craftsmanship is alive and well my friends.
Unfortunately the SEMA Show is “trade only” and not open to the public so the only way most folks can see the show is coverage like on these pages. So enjoy and look for future articles for more SEMA inspired cars and builders.
** Special thanks to all the staff at Classic Car Round-Up that allowed me to modify their production deadlines so we could get the freshest news from SEMA to you readers as quick as we could!
© 2019 Mark C. Bach