GMC Acadia

The GMC Acadia is reportedly moving to GM’s new Chi architecture, which is said to result in a slightly downsized crossover.

Nissan Maxima Sport.

This new Nissan Maxima test car has less camouflage around key elements of the design, including its C pillar and side-window profile.

Breaking news from SEMA member companies, including Lucas Oil Products, Turn 14 Distribution, Luken Communications, Champion Oil and more.

Exhibitors participate in the SEMA Show primarily to connect with buyers from throughout the world. The main objective of the exhibitor is to sell and promote products, and journalists are often attracted to the innovations that appear at the SEMA Show.

For the first time in its long history, the 2014 SEMA Show ended with an “after party” called SEMA Ignited, where the general public viewed hundreds of cars and trucks from the trade-only event. Thousands of enthusiasts came out to get up close with one-of-a-kind cars, trucks and SUVs. Reporters flocked to SEMA Ignited as well to witness the thrill and excitement of this brand-new venue. Read on to see what reporters had to say about the first-ever SEMA Ignited. And tune in to the one-hour TV special scheduled to air on the Velocity Network in March 2015 to see footage of the event and the Battle of the Builders competition that culminated at SEMA Ignited.

The Los Angeles Auto Show has developed a reputation as a “green” show that strongly focuses on alternative fuels and novel forms of propulsion. This may have been the case in prior years, but the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show had more to offer enthusiasts than in recent years, as a burst of “track-ready” performance cars and creative variants on existing platforms came to light. That made it more like the SEMA Show—an optimistic environment in which OEM exhibitors launched fun-to-drive new models and showed off interesting concept cars that may very well enter production. Among them were several vehicles that could be of special relevance to SEMA members.

Hot Rod magazine’s LeRoi Smith took this photo in the spring of 1963 outside of Barr’s Muffler Shop in Studio City, California, for an article on building a cost-effective exhaust system for an Olds-powered hot-rod roadster. That’s Bobby Barr in the foreground talking to Jerry Eames by the tube bender. This photo is an outtake from the shoot; in the photo that appeared in the magazine, Barr and Eames are far more intent on their work.

According to Smith, the whole exhaust system—the open headers plus cut-outs to glasspack-filled pipes running under the car—cost just $150.

Breaking news from SEMA member companies, including Wes-Coast Marketing, Truck Accessories Group, Air Lift Co., VP Racing Fuels, Challenger Lifts and more.

Nissan Maxima and Scion iM

While the 2014 SEMA Show is now in the history books, highlights from the annual event live on as media coverage continues to highlight the vehicles, products and activities from the event. One consistent theme year after year is that the SEMA Show is a place for the industry to discover new automotive aftermarket trends.

Porsche 911 Race Car, Camaro Convertible, ’80s Camaro Testing With Next-Gen Model, Nissan Maxima