REQUIRED READING
SEMA Members in the Media
By Juan Torres, Rachel Tatum and Carr Winn
Part of the SEMA Show preparation process for many exhibiting companies includes identifying which products they will enter into the New Products Showcase. As the number-one destination at the SEMA Show, the New Products Showcase provides companies with an opportunity to highlight their latest offerings and generate foot traffic to their booths.
Exhibitors that participate in the New Products Showcase also have a chance of winning a Best New Products award. These awards are given to the most cutting-edge automotive aftermarket products based on a variety of factors, including superiority of innovation, technical achievement, quality and workmanship, consumer appeal, and marketability.
The following is a sample of the different media that wrote about new products at the 2021 SEMA Show.
MOTOR TREND
Editor K.J. Jones ensures that he spends some time in the New Products Showcase every year. In his article highlighting 15 top new products at the 2021 SEMA Show, he wrote, “The New Products Showcase is one of the most important areas at the SEMA Show. It’s an area you do not want to miss.”
CarAUDIONOW
Brian Jones’ SEMA 2021 coverage included a report on the Best New Products Award winners in the Mobile Electronics category. His article highlighted Sony’s winning product as well as products from Cube Tracker and Vias Technology, which were runners-up.
“It won’t be long before SEMA Shows are filled with speakerless immersive systems and more AI,” he wrote.
REPAIRER DRIVEN NEWS
Dana Caldwell’s article on Keco winning the Best New Products-Collision Repair & Refinish award included coverage of Keco President Chris White’s acceptance speech.
“To be voted as the best new product is truly something that so many have put effort into at Keco,” White said.
Drift Spec Nissan Z
@Chris Forsberg got his hands on a ’23 Nissan Z and made it into a drift car. Debuting at @Formula DRIFT Streets of Long Beach, SEMA caught up with Chris to see what he did and what the aftermarket might want to consider.
F-150 Lightning Rolls Into SEMA Garage
For the first time in SEMA Garage history, they hosted a measuring session featuring an electric vehicle: the F-150 Lightning. Luis Morales, director of vehicle technology, talks us through it.
Fredric Aasbø Shares Why Supra Is Built For Tuning
Reigning @Formula DRIFT Champion Fredric Aasbø talks about his Toyota Supra and why it is built for tuning.
Faces in the Crowd
Bri Lynch
@helmethairr
Lynch is a 26-year-old professional stunt driver, business owner and hobby mechanic. Working on the big screen since 2014, Lynch has more than 50 film and TV credits under her belt. In addition to her driving adventures, Lynch is behind Chasing Checkers Racing, an enthusiast brand creating unity in motorsports. You can follow along as she tears down, rebuilds and races her own project cars—especially the Nissan Z.
Brooke Berini
@brookeberini
Berini is a builder, racer and influencer known as the “Alpha Princess” and you can’t miss her hot-pink ’09 GT-R. Brooke is a huge advocate for female empowerment in the automotive industry and uses her platforms to highlight women in motorsports and share opportunities for young girls to become involved in the industry. With one of the fastest female-driven GT-Rs in the world, she loves to share her partners’ newest products and upgrades to stay on the top of import drag racing.
Kyle Kuhnhausen
@kckuhnhausen
Kuhnhausen is a familiar face with SEMA and its Battle of the builders program, being named Top Young Gun in 2018, Top 3 Hot Rod placement in 2020, and our Young Guns judge at the 2021 SEMA Show. Since his SEMA debut, Kuhnhausen has dedicated his social platforms to promoting his own business, Kuhnhausen Metal Concepts, and documenting his future SEMA builds while highlighting brand partners. Kuhnhausen does an incredible job of incorporating his audience into his builds so make sure you’re following along.
Garrett Reed
@americanmusclehd
Reed is one of the most recognizable names on social media with more than 2.2 million followers, sharing all things automotive to connect builders and enthusiasts to show what is happening worldwide in the automotive community. He is focused on what the future holds and how he can contribute to the next generation to support the automotive industry, frequently appearing on SEMA programming like Young Guns Takeover and FLN’s Live Chats.
HEARD ON SOCIAL MEDIA
“SEMA’s annual New Product Awards competition recognizes outstanding achievements in the development of products being introduced to the automotive specialty-equipment market at #SEMA2021.”—Racing Equipment News, via Twitter
“Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. swept the Best New Products Awards in the tire categories at the 2021 SEMA Show.”—TireBusiness, via Facebook
“SEMA announced its Best New Products Award winners Tuesday. In the Performance-Street Product category, the winner was the ZZ632/1000 Crate Engine by General Motors.”—Vette Vues Magazine, via Twitter
“We are checking out some of the new off-road and 4WD products at SEMA.”—Gone-Gpn, via Facebook
