June 2020 • By Nestor Cabrera, photos by Tony Thacker

I am a very lucky person I’ve been to the Promised Land, not once but every year for over two decades. Each November the world, well the automotive world makes a pilgrimage to Las Vegas for the annual SEMA Show. Established in 1967, SEMA has grown into one of the largest trade shows in the world. More than 2,400 companies and 160,000 attendees from 130 countries take over the Las Vegas Convention Center’s 1.9 million sq. ft. facility, surrounding parking lots and even part of the Westgate Casino. 

Take note: SEMA is a trade-only event and only qualified and approved individuals employed within the automotive aftermarket industry are permitted to enter the convention center. That said some of the show takes place outside and there is the Friday night SEMA Ignited that is open to the public. SEMA ignited is a car show within a car show, unlike SEMA where it is only open to the trade, Ignite brings most of the SEMA display vehicles out of the show and into an automotive extravaganza with vendors, drift and burn out exhibitions, the SEMA Battle of the Builders and celebrities galore. For more info visit www.semaignited.com

Let’s be real, the SEMA Show is about booths and vehicles and I can spend hours talking about what it takes to build a display or feature vehicle. A great car build can make or break an exhibit, the same goes for the parts offerings, if you don’t have the latest in technology or a part that is so revolutionary everyone must have it, then you’ll get lost in the sea of me-too. Every year there is a theme or a new vehicle introduction that everyone turns into a SEMA project. Last year it was the Supra, a few years ago it was C10s and before that it was Ford Mustangs and Camaros.  The same can be said about the theme in most booths, it seems every year there is a car or engine that everyone has to have parts for. GM LS1 or Ford Coyote engine parts one year, EFI and superchargers the next. Better bring your best walking shoes because there is a lot to see in a short period of time.

SEMA is awesome; I look forward to it all year. I love every aspect of the show, from seeing the latest new products, to seeing all the cool builds, I’m like a kid in a toy store. You could build the same car in hundreds of configurations just by walking 100 feet through Central Hall, where all the performance companies reside.  There is everything for everyone and that is what makes SEMA so cool. I don’t think there is a car show that exhibits such diversity. If you’re into drag racing you can get John Force to sign your AAA Auto Club hat at Weld wheels, or you love the TV show Overhaulin’, well Chip Foose is at 3M with his latest build or, you can’t get enough of Monster Jam, don’t worry the whole Grave Digger driver line-up will be at Magnaflow from 1-2. It’s like one of the best smorgasbords on the Strip with every food choice from all over the world.  Eat it up.

The real stars of the show are the cars and their builders so SEMA developed the ‘Battle of the Builders’ competition that recognizes and celebrates their accomplishments. All builders with a display vehicle are invited to participate, a panel of industry experts judge the cars and select the top 10 in four classes: Hot Rod, Truck/Off Road, Sport Compact and Young Gun (must be no older than 27 years of age by the start of the show) which then compete in their respective classes. From the 40 finalists the field is narrowed to 12 who then vote amongst themselves to pick the winner. The 12 final cars lead the parade of cars out of the SEMA show to the SEMA Ignited after party where the winner is celebrated.

With the current state of events around the world, the question on everyone’s mind is; will there be a SEMA Show in 2020? According to the latest news from SEMA, yes, the show will go on. SEMA is working with experts across multiple industries including healthcare, facility management and city and state leadership. “We are proactively calling on all our partners to pool our collective resources to establish best practice and deliver the highest levels of safety and security along with the business value SEMA is known for,” said Tom Gattuso. “Even with the Show still months away, we are well into planning what it will look like when we all gather in Las Vegas.”

For more information on the SEMA show, to register as an attendee or to stay up to date on the latest news about the show you can visit www.semashow.com and www.sema.org

Like many of you, I’m making plans to attend the show and hope we are in a better shape by the time November rolls in.