The Hottest Vehicles of the 2012 SEMA Show
The SEMA Award was established to recognize vehicle models that specialty-equipment manufacturers believe are the best platforms for accessorization and that showcase the year’s coolest products. The honors have been presented in four categories each year since 2010: Hottest Car, Hottest Sport Compact, Hottest Truck and Hottest 4x4-SUV.
Innovations of Generations Showcased in Las Vegas
As the specialty-equipment industry’s premier trade event, the annual SEMA Show is the number-one barometer of automotive specialty-equipment trends. If anything, the 2012 SEMA Show, held October 30 through November 2 in Las Vegas, indicated a vibrant, growing industry definitely bullish on the future.
Consider these Show statistics: Total attendance rose to 135,000—up 2% over last year. Meanwhile, exhibitors hit the 2,250 mark, with 500 of them being first-timers. There were more than 60,000 buyers plying the Show floor, along with 3,000 media representatives. All in all, the Show offered 1 million net square feet of innovation, education and business opportunities.
SEMA and its Automotive Restoration Market Organization (ARMO) and Hot Rod Industry Alliance (HRIA) announced that the next Collector Car Appreciation Day will be celebrated July 12, 2013. The date marks the fourth consecutive commemoration in what has become an annual event to raise awareness of the vital role automotive restoration and collection plays in American society.
Providing young automotive enthusiasts with an opportunity to develop and showcase their talents while being exposed to the automotive aftermarket industry, Hot Rodders of Tomorrow was launched in 2008 at the Race & Performance Expo in St. Charles, Illinois, and has been invited to compete at the SEMA Show every year since its inception. The organization’s goal is to reach out to high-school students before they graduate in order to provide much-needed future talent for the automotive specialty-equipment market.
Insider Tips for Taking Full Advantage of the 2012 Show
As a buyer, you realize that the annual SEMA Show in Las Vegas is the world’s premier automotive aftermarket trade event—and you wouldn’t miss it for the world. Yet with so many business opportunities concentrated under one roof at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), how do you make the most of your Show experience? It’s not easy to cover more than 1 million sq. ft. of products, exhibits, display vehicles and special events in just a few, short days. With the Show rapidly approaching, now is the time to get organized and establish your game plan. Here are eight insider tips to get you started.
Rolling Art Loaded With Specialty Equipment
Industry professionals from across the country and around the world will gather at the Las Vegas Convention Center from October 30 through November 2 to learn about the newest releases in automotive specialty equipment. There, they will make business connections that will bring innovative products to consumers during the coming year. Many of the products to be introduced by the approximately 2,000 exhibiting companies will be showcased on the vehicles for which they are intended. For the past few years, SEMA News has previewed dozens of these automotive artworks, and we’ve renewed the tradition once more for 2012. Enjoy a foretaste of the 2012 SEMA Show feature vehicles in the following pages, and get ready to see many more in Las Vegas!
Professional Builders Custom-Design Pinewood Hot Rods for Charity
Constructed last fall to the finest detail, these miniature pinewood hot rods were the brainchildren of 15 of the nation’s best custom-car and hot-rod builders. The hot rods could be mistaken for the real thing if only they weren’t small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. But they came to life as they raced against each other to benefit two children’s charities at the third-annual Hot Rod Industry Alliance (HRIA) Pinewood Builder’s Challenge during SEMA’s Installation Banquet & Gala Fundraiser, July 27, at the Sheraton Fairplex Hotel & Conference Center in Pomona, California. The cars will be autographed by the builders and will be displayed in the HRIA booth #23395 at the 2012 SEMA Show.
Stars and Industry Icons at the 2012 SEMA Show
The following personalities are scheduled to appear at this year’s SEMA Show. (Partial listings current as of August 31, 2012.)
Two of the biggest names in the automotive world are teaming up again, this time with Source Interlink Media, to build two trucks that will benefit good causes and to create new, limited-edition WD-40 Smart Straw cans that feature some of Chip Foose’s classic vehicle designs.
Taking Advantage of the Show Special Offers
The SEMA Show organizers have worked on special offers at numerous venues throughout Las Vegas, and all you have to do is let them know you are in Las Vegas for the Show. Many offers require only showing your SEMA Show badge. This is only a partial list as it existed at press time. Visit www.SEMAShow.com/discounts to ensure that you take advantage of every offer!