Sema report

[Trackside-Suzy]

Thank you Martin for capturing so much!

[Trackside-Suzy]

After writing up my general SEMA observations, it got me thinking about all that I didn’t say. I didn’t get to see even half of the show so I wasn’t able to adequately form opinions that were any more than generalizations. I did want to take a moment to call out some specifics from what I did see though. I tried to capture some of my enthusiasm about cars that I saw but maybe a little bit of the back story would make it more real for anyone who cares.

Several of you saw my video (before the show opened, I tried to be the first) of Greg Thurmond’s car “Scar”; a beautiful orange Corvette in the K&N/Spectre booth. I think I adequately described the car in my video but I didn’t tell you much about it (and I was called on the carpet by a Facebook troll who thought someone with more knowledge of cars should be let into SEMA. But that’s another story.) What I didn’t tell you is that Greg Thurmond, is one of those One-man shops. In a shotgun building in Simi Valley, California, Greg plugs along at building some of the most beautiful Corvettes for some very discerning customers. Primarily, Greg is a paint and body guy, smoothing out fiberglass like a sculptor to marble but he dabbles in engine and suspension work with the help of Lingenfelter and a long-time Pro-Touring member Newman Car Creations. (I’ll get to that in a minute.) Up to this point, Greg’s claim to fame was the beautiful red early-model (I don’t know years, sorry) Corvette named Scarlett – primarily driven by his wife Jane (another claim to fame that Greg has is his charismatic wife) and seen on the autocross scene up and down the West Coast.

http://vid385.photobucket.com/albums...psbes1kva8.mp4

What I didn’t tell you about Greg is that when I finally got to see him at the booth he was so tired and delirious that I am not sure that it had even set in that his car was one of the most popular at the show. I would venture to say it was the most sought after Corvette, for sure.

SEMA builders KILL THEMSELVES for the opportunity to show off their craft to a global audience.

Greg was visibly exhausted (no offense Greg, you’re handsome as heck), had easily lost 15-20 pounds and was literally smiling while staring off into space or shaking hands with congratulatory strangers. Will Greg get hundreds of thousands of dollars in new customers from this? Doubtful. Will Greg be known for years to come as the builder that killed it at SEMA in 2015? Doubtful. But will paint and Corvette enthusiasts know him and his company? I hope so, I really, really hope so. I want to add that Greg not only got the car to SEMA but it was fully-functioning and drivable – so much so, he got the optima golden ticket and raced the car immediately following the show (and another three or four times that week!).

I don’t know if this is widely known but most cars at SEMA are barely running (if they are running at all). The crunch to get the cars done in time usually means that mechanicals aren’t fully functioning in lieu of making the car pretty enough to be in a booth. I was representing a 2015 Camaro that was not capable of getting above a couple hundred RPMs, to give you an idea of what it’s like. Builders who bring the whole package to the show, have gone above and beyond to get their fifteen minutes of well-deserved fame.

Another car… truck actually, that I took video of was the ice blue truck from Strange Motion (Tim Strange). While most of this crowd will know Tim from his days on a TV show or even more recently as the Master of Ceremonies for the Goodguys autocross – is a builder. Not just any builder, but a Hot Rod Hall of Fame builder. Yeah, you heard that right. At 30-something years old, this guy has been recognized by the industry elite with the highest honor. Again, Tim runs a one-man shop in an old corner car dealership building in a small town in Southern Tennessee. There are no fancy signs (he likes it that way) and there are no TV crews. Just Tim working away on a few projects at a time moving from engine building to suspension to paint and body like a team of ten. Tim too was bleary-eyed and going through the motions when I finally caught up with him. I think the first words out of his mouth were: “I cannot do this again.”

http://image.hotrod.com/f/158558168+...-sema-2015.jpg
Courtesy of HotRod.com

I have the great fortune to know both Tim and Greg personally and I know them to be perfectionists who cannot delegate and only want to build the very best for this discerning audience. These guys are the craftsmen who are too good for TV, who give back 100% and kill themselves for five barely-coherent days in Vegas. Remember this when you critique what they do and be cognizant of all that they do for the industry.

http://image.hotrod.com/f/158558165+...-sema-2015.jpg
Courtesy of HotRod.com

Back to the various companies that get involved in these builds including long-time pro-touring member Kyle Newman of Newman Car Creations, who provided the chassis and custom suspension for Greg’s car ‘Scar’.

http://www.newmancarcreations.com/dr...auto-cross.php

The Newmans were not at SEMA this year. I didn’t ask, but I can assume that it is because they needed to be back at the shop earning money building chassis. So many craftsmen cannot afford to even attend SEMA because they are small shops doing amazing quality work and providing the underpinnings and components that make these beautiful SEMA builds possible. Let’s face it, I’m pretty sure that Tim Strange would not be announcing at Goodguys (during SEMA build season) if he was sitting back on a fat stack of cash building cars at his leisure.

This is yet another representation of how much influence the ‘little guys’ have on our industry that should not be ignored or overlooked in lieu of the big-money flashy vendors assaulting our senses at the Las Vegas Convention Center every November. If you are building a car, think about the smaller shops who will build to your specs for what (in most cases) isn’t more than what you’ll pay a big name vendor. Think about supporting Made in America and the family-owned shops that strive to bring the best quality and workmanship. Consider supporting the guy who gives away more information and knowledge here on the forum for the oft chance of getting some of your business. Some amazing things are happening across this great country of ours and if we don’t support it with our minds and dollars, much of it won’t live beyond this generation. Let’s face it; the news of George Barris’ passing during this year’s show was a reminder that creativity and innovation in car building could be a thing of the past if we don’t show our support for today’s amazing builders. At the very least, find the builders of the cars you like and shake their hand or send them an email to tell them that you appreciate what they do and how much they put on the line for our enjoyment.

[Trackside-Suzy]

I'm sorry, for some reason the pictures are not posting and I'm frustrated so the links are going to have to stay.