Well, here's the Strange Days look at SEMA and Vegas. Needess to say Vegas and SEMA were a perfect match this year. There must have been a hundred vendors displaying LED lights this year. Everywhere you went those goddam things were glaring and flashing at you. Vegas was the perfect setting. No shortage of custom grilles for your tuner or pickup either. Then there was the proliferation of vehicle wraps. At every corner there was a car being wrapped with vinyl film.It was nuts! Steve and I rounded a corner and saw a booth absolutely swamped with gawkers. We had to see what new product was grabbing everyones attention. A computer mouse that looked like a hot rod.... What can I say?.... Even the GMB's had a booth..... There was some great stuff there too. There were cars on display for every concievable taste. Sports cars , dragsters traditional rods and Dubs.. a bit of something for everyone. Cokers traditional radials were an award winner this year and looked like a great product! There were some great new innovations in the bodywork industry, and a bunch of paint suppliers were very well represented. Speaking about the overuse of vinyl , also looking good were the many "Spokesmodels" at the various booths... We always have a great time at the show and this year was no exception. It was 82 degrees most days, and we took advantage of the warm evenings to just walk around the town. For an old carnie like me its always a treat! Even though the number of vendors were down it was a great show. Everyone should add SEMA to their bucket list!
"Everyone should add SEMA to their bucket list!" I couldn't agree more! In fact, be sure to put it on your repeat bucket list. Just a gigantic candy store for gearheads. Do it BEFORE you get too old and your feet give out on you before you are done cruising the gazillions of displays.
Not invitation only, but you have to have a genuine business that is related to the auto industry. Most of the tags I saw were from hot rod shops and the like.
The Jalopy Journal
