Fall is in the air. Want to know how we know? The smell of tires burning up the asphalt and all the cool, custom cars hanging out at the Las Vegas Convention Center!
Custom Car buffs wet dream comes true. If it has wheels and you can customize it, chances are it was somewhere on display at the 43th annual SEMA Show. (its 33rd consecutive appearance in Las Vegas) SEMA stands for Specialty Equipment Market Association.
This is where about 100,000 people who make, market, buy and sell after market tools, parts and toys for the automotive world show up to meet, greet, show off and see what’s new in the automotive specialty market world.
It was fun to browse the isles, see all the new toys, gadgets and tools for doing whatever you want to your vehicle. Of course, this was off limits to the general public. These are the buyers and sellers only. Looking at what will be in the auto stores soon…. But it was still cool.
No matter the product being displayed, from hub caps to valve covers, the star of the show was the car/truck it was mounted on. Chopped, cut, customized, restored, one of a kind and modified. Nothing was sacred to these people. Even this 1961 Mercedes Benz had been extensively modified!
What car show would not be complete without a trip back to the 50′s… Well, almost… I think they had a person permanently stationed there to wipe the drool off the windows….
The neatest thing about the SEMA show were the people. I think this is one of the few industries where it is actually managed mostly by couples. It’s not just a man’s thing or a woman’s thing.
You saw a lot of mom and pop store owners and dealers here looking, talking, kicking the tires and making the deal. Both people were a part of the deal.
SEMA Awards Show:
The inaugural SEMA Award was presented to the Chevrolet Camaro for the Hottest Car, the Ford F-Series for the Hottest Truck and the Jeep Wrangler for the Hottest 4×4-SUV, during the 2010 SEMA Show in Las Vegas.
Go Ahead, Stalk Us