The Annual SEMA Show Isn't Open To The Public, Doesn't Offer Trophies For Tossing A Keg The Farthest, And Yet Still Manages To Draw 400,000 Spectators A Year
How does this sort of thing happen, really? SEMA is a trade show, yet it draws rock stars, movie stars, fabricators, television personalities, and wannabes to the Las Vegas Hilton Convention Center the first week of November each year. It also draws about 400,000 folks like us to sweat out the 30-plus miles of carpeted aisles jammed with aftermarket auto parts. You want to know why this show is so popular? It's because it combines the four basic food groups of automotive customization success: amazing trucks, hot women, parts we can't afford but love to look at, and beer. It's true. Beer is sold in every hall of the convention center, so that if you aren't working and trying to look respectable like us, you can drink yourself silly while gawking at spokesmodels and rappers. Heck, if you are really into building trucks, you can even tackle guys like Boyd Coddington or Chip Foose as they walk the floor. That might get you kicked out, so save the tackling for the end of the show.
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Sergio Ristie's Ford would be one nice truck to go on a cross-country drive, with all its mobile entertainment. The passenger can't complain, since there is a 42-inch plasma TV basically in the lap on the seat. |  |  |
The Women
The second coolest thing about this show is the willingness of the aftermarket companies to hire hotties just to draw attention to their booths. Oftentimes, the chicks have no clue about the product they are supposed to be pushin', but that's OK because we really don't listen when they talk, anyway.
Things That Made Us Go "Hmmmm"
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Asanti had a 34-inch rim under plexiglass. Take a good look. We have now reached the point of pure insanity here, folks. Note that there isn't a tire on the market for that rim. Also note that a 34 won't even fit on an H2 Hummer, the prime target for 30-plus-inch rims. We're gonna go out on a limb and say that this 34 will either never see the street, or if it does, it'll be on a damn donk. | 
First, we had truck nuts to dress up your trailer hitch and show off your personal style, and now we have...well, pretty much everything else under the sun. Hitchcritters.com has a farm animal ready and willing to make your truck look retarded. We are kinda partial to the singing trout. |