2001 SEMA Show - SEMA 2K1

Every year during the first week of November, Las Vegas is flooded with custom vehicles of all shapes, sizes, and colors, along with representatives of practically every major aftermarket automotive manufacturer that exists. The annual Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show is an all-inclusive event where custom automotive component manufacturers have a chance to introduce new products and promote their companies customizing capabilities. The 2001 SEMA show brought an aggressively styled collection of custom trucks and SUVs built by long-time veterans of the automotive aftermarket to showcase their hottest restyling products.

For magazine staff members, SEMA is an opportunity to check out these hot new products and discuss possible technical articles for the items later in the year. The SEMA show is an indescribable business opportunity for several companies because enthusiasts who are constantly searching for new ways to modify their truck view the company's products.

Usually every year, one or two new vehicles from General Motors, which the aftermarket companies scramble to make parts for prior to the show, dominate the show. Last year, the dominating custom force seemed to be Chrysler's popular PT Cruiser and Ford's F-150 crew cab truck deemed the SuperCrew. This year at SEMA, the display vehicles included trucks and SUVs from various years built to different degrees of customizing. Everything from hot-rod-styled '67-to-'72 Chevy pickups to lifted Ford Super Duty pickups and slammed late-model Chevy pickups filled the inside of the Las Vegas Convention Center, offering a diverse sampling of automotive eye candy for all in attendance.

Over in our Primedia booth, our once airbagged and flamed Ford SuperCrew was back in lifted form sitting on 35-inch off-road tires. The World's Fastest Street Truck, built in the pages of Truckin' magazine, was also on hand so readers could take a gander at our efforts to build the ultimate 200-mph road warrior.

The battle for the biggest aftermarket wheel and tire raged on at this years SEMA show for the second year in a row. Last year, 22- and 23-inch rims and rubber were the rage at SEMA. This year, the envelope was pushed even farther with a 26-inch tire from Yokohama and a handful of manufacturers producing 24-inch wheels. When is it going to stop?

A walk outside revealed another handful of bright-colored show vehicles occupying the concrete in front of the convention center and across the road at The Beach, a popular nightclub. Capping off the end of each show day was an assortment of afterhour gatherings where representatives came together to discuss future products and talk business.

The 2001 SEMA show was a smash for all of the staffs of the Primedia titles. We flourished in gathering new material for our magazines while at the same time building new business relationships. We recommend that if you know someone who owns an aftermarket parts business, beg and plead with him or her to take you to the show next year. Anything and everything for body-dragging pickups and sky-scraping SUVs was visible at this year's SEMA show. For information on next year's show, visit www.SEMA.org.