It's that time of year again when every magazine known to man converges onto the beautiful confines of Las Vegas for the annual SEMA (Specialty Equipment Marketing Association) Show. Yes, this is aftermarket parts heaven for all editorial people. It is where we collectively come together as a group (meaning all industry people) and show off our wares for the past year. It is where numerous top-quality show vehicles will make their formal debut into the show circuit. It is where the Truckin' editorial staff will pick up roughly 2-3 exclusive cover trucks and where, at the conclusion of the show, we will shoot roughly 8-10 of the best trucks for future feature spreads that will appear throughout the course of the next year.
So, what does all this mean to you, the reader who cannot attend this super, awesome show because it is not open to the public? Well, to some of you, it will mean absolutely nothing. It won't affect your daily lives one bit. To others, the annual SEMA Show is like rubbing salt into an open wound. You have heard about it, read about it, and dreamed about it for years, reading all of the automotive magazines out there that run show coverage on the event, but still you cannot attend.
Guess what, you need to actively write or call the SEMA organization and petition them to open the show to the general public on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Since the show closes officially on Friday, I don't see why the SEMA officials couldn't leave it open an additional two days for the public to consume all of its vastness just as we editorial types have consumed it for an entire week and accumulated more road blisters on our feet than are worth mentioning or showing. Yeah, it really is that large.
So until the show actually opens to the general public, you will have to read about all its glory here. Deeper inside this issue, you will find the coolest 101 new products to emerge from this past year's epic event. Some will make your life that much easier and make your truck or SUV perform even better. Some are just too damn cool not to want to put them on and show off. And then check out the show coverage and expect to see many of the trucks, SUVs, classic trucks, and whatever else we may think is super cool to appear at some point in these pages. Oh yes, at the beginning I stated we normally get 2-3 cover trucks and 8-10 features. Guess what, this was an exceptional year and hats off to my staff because they were able to pull in 8 simply over-the-top cover trucks and 22 feature vehicles. Take that!