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Trackside-Brandy
12-15-2014, 04:50 PM
SEMA


Specialty Equipment Market Association


Established in 1968 and currently one of the largest tradeshows in the automotive industry to this day. Some will only dream about going to SEMA, while others dread the four day event. A show not open to the public, only for those in the automotive industry; SEMA is the biggest event of the year. Many manufactures spend the entire year planning for this event. The process is quite exhausting from booth design, product development, union contracts, arranging in-booth vehicle displays and endless appointments. Ask anyone who has ever gone to SEMA as an exhibitor and they can attest to the headaches and sleepless nights before the big event.



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Another type of attendee are those who bring vehicles to SEMA; either as an owner or a builder. SEMA exhibitors are required to own a company that consists of a consumer or wholesale product line (this includes media sources like magazine companies). Why I mention this is to explain that those who own build shops are not able to obtain a booth at SEMA unless they have a product line. The best way to market their name and company is with a featured vehicle or a booth vehicle. When trying to get your vehicle into SEMA, the competition becomes tough and space is limited. Want to have your vehicle in a display booth at SEMA? The arrangements for this must start early in the year. Owners and builders typically have close connection with the company they are looking to display in, but that does not guarantee you a spot. An exhibitor’s goal is to find a vehicle that draws attention to their booth while also displaying their product.



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Want to become a featured vehicle at SEMA? First you must fill out an application found on SEMA’s website. Only a handful of applicants are accepted to showcase their vehicles either inside or outside the show. It’s a compliment to be chosen to showcases your vehicle at SEMA; one that many can only dream of. If this might be something you’re interested in doing for the 2015 show year, we suggest to start looking at the SEMA website at the beginning of the year to make sure you qualify and to start the paperwork sooner than later.



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I started attending SEMA shows when I was just a teenager. My father worked in the industry which allowed me to experience SEMA before I joined the industry. For several years I have seen SEMA as an exhibitor. I will be absolutely honest, it was the one event I dreaded each year. The prep, the late nights, the swollen feet; it wasn’t something I looked forward to. I was fortunate enough to experience SEMA for the very first time as a builder/ spectator for the 2014 show. What a difference it makes when you’re not obligated to work a show! Ask anyone though from both an exhibitor and builder standpoint and they can agree on a couple common things. First, the prep leading up to SEMA can be very stressful; if it’s not planning a display booth, it’s finishing up the last minute details on your vehicle. Furthermore both groups can agree that before the show even starts, they can’t wait for it to be over. The work that goes into the show before it starts can make for a tiring week during SEMA. For those that have experienced SEMA first hand, everyone can also agree that the four day event go by extremely quick (for most people).



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It’s hard to cover everything at SEMA in just four days. With three main halls filled with cars, trucks and products, this alone can take a couple days. Don’t forget about the thousands of cars featured outside the SEMA halls and this came become quite overwhelming. SEMA has been expanding its attractions throughout the past several years. This year featured several spectator friendly main attractions including drift demonstrations, the GM Proving Grounds ride along experience, a global rally cross race, and the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 qualifying race (this is only to name a few, there were several more). There was literally something for everyone at this year’s SEMA show.



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In order to take everything in at SEMA, the best approach is to attend the show solely as a spectator. Though there are far and few that have this opportunity, many people attending the show with featured vehicles have the ability to do this. For those that were not able to walk the show or did not attend the event at all, here are some of the top lowlights (though we think they are highlights in the pro-touring community) from the 2014 SEMA Show:



Several of our sponsors attend SEMA each year debuting their latest products. Here’s a quick tour of Central Hall and some of our sponsors booths.

Detroit Speed and Engineering:


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Baer Brakes:


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JRI:


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RideTech:


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Wilwood Brakes:


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Optima Batteries:


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Speaking of Optima Batteries, we wanted to quickly highlight their amazing display outside named Optima Alley. It was announced that Optima Alley would be the first booth at SEMA to display the largest number of vehicles ever in one booth. Many of the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational competitors were featured in Optima Alley over the course of the four days. The best part of having displays outside is that you did not need a badge to tour the booths. A SEMA badge is only required once entering North, South and Central Hall. This allowed many people to check out the OUSCI vehicles, see the impressive builds up close and have a chance to talk to several of the drivers in person.


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Though many of the OUSCI vehicles were displayed in Optima Alley, a handful of them were scattered throughout the halls inside. Several vehicles were displayed in Central Hall including Brian Hobaugh’s Vette, Mark Stielow’s Camaro Hellfire and Bob Bertelsen’s C10. Booths like Optima Batteries, Royal Purple, JRI, and Wilwood Disc Brakes featured OUSCI vehicles. Many exhibitors benefit from having vehicles like these in their booths mainly to help drive traffic, but also as conversation pieces to help promote their product.



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Other exhibitors go the extra step to have unveilings featured in their booth throughout the week of SEMA. Some of these highlights include the best of the best builders along with some iconic cars that will be talked about for years later. Builders such Ringbrothers, Roadster Shop, Rad Rides by Troy, and Chip Foose have all debuted vehicles at SEMA throughout the years. This year there were a couple notable unveilings that we wanted to mention.


Ringbrothers was the most talked about unveiling upon arriving at SEMA. Their 1966 Chevelle drew a huge crowd during the initial reveal in the Royal Purple Booth. In order to get close to the vehicle, one either had to stay late or come in early before the show opened. The Chevelle maintained a constant stream of onlookers throughout the four days and it’s definitely obvious why.



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Amsoil debuted their Pfaff Designed 2015 Rapture Challenger. This car was also awarded one of ten Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational Golden Tickets.



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Skunkworks debuted their 1964 Plymouth Valiant which received a huge amount of attention for its unique eye catching look. Many had to do a double take when walking down the ramp past this car as most would not expect a Valiant to be at SEMA nor look like this.



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GoPro had a second gen Camaro in their booth that everyone was searching to find. Of course when we saw who the builder was we knew why. Roadster Shop built this beautiful 1970 Camaro that was debuted in the Go Pro Booth. In addition of the Camaro, Roadster Shop practically owned SEMA, featuring at least eight other cars (that’s what we had counted after walking only central hall; most likely there were more). They came out in full force and definitely made a statement with some beautiful builds.



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Besides some of the main unveilings, Central Hall was filled with several other vehicles that instantly went viral and received quite a bit of attention during the four days. Mark Stielow’s Camaro Hellfire was already getting tons of attention before it hit the SEMA floor. The beautiful build featured anvil Carbon Fiber on all four sides, a supercharged 427, Brembo ZR1 carbon brakes and several other goodies many could only dream of.



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Brian Hobaugh, returning champion of the 2013 Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational, brought out his 1965 Corvette. Though the Vette has been on the race circuit here and there and previously at SEMA, it still continued to turn heads in the Optima Batteries Booth. With 315/30/18’s on all four, the car and driver were a force to beat.



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Right across from the Optima Batteries booth sat a new vehicle to the race circuit. The PCHRODS’ C10R make its official debut at this year’s SEMA show in the Spectre Performance Booth. The sinister looking truck sat on 335/30/18’s front and rear. The combination of matte grey with gold Boze wheels grabbed everyone’s attention quickly. After taking a look under the hood, one could see the tightly tucked LS with a bright red Holly intake, but it didn’t stop there. Between aerodynamic modifications, prototype carbon fiber parts and the attention to detail, the truck received an overwhelmingly positive response with a crowd around it the entire week. It also was announced as another OUSCI Golden Ticket recipient during Thursday’s press announcement in the Optima Batteries Booth.



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Many know SEMA for halls filled with display booths and beautiful cars, but SEMA also features several events behind closed doors. Several award ceremonies take place throughout the four days including the SEMA Gold Awards, Gran Turismo Awards, and the SEMA Show Industry Awards Banquet. From seminars to televised show tapings, four days doesn’t give one enough time to cover everything SEMA has to offer. If you plan to attend SEMA in future years, we suggest touring their website, learn about the seminars taking place, what events are on and off site, after hours parties, award ceremonies, etc and make a list of what you might want to see while there.


For Pro-Touring.com’s complete coverage of the 2014 SEMA Event check out our slideshow below:


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We hope to see you at next year’s SEMA Show!

19736.o
12-17-2014, 12:51 AM
Thanks for sharing