Cue Tom Jones, to the background sound of hollow, dinging slot machines and raucous drinking, and you’ve got the stage set to host one of the largest automotive trade shows of the year. SEMA – Speciality Equipment Marketing Association, (though the ‘S’ used to stand for ‘speed’ and we find that acronym preferable by a quarter mile,) really couldn’t happen anywhere but Las Vegas.
With a convention center double the size of some private islands, more than 125,000 participants, and the ability to book Vegas solid for the week, the SEMA Show is a bubble of the classic, wacky and wonderful, inside an even bigger bubble of classic, wacky and wonderful – and we’re bringing the highlights to you.
NHRA Breakfast
We’re barely one cup of coffee into Wednesday morning, and half sleepwalking through to door, admittedly not expecting much from the morning’s event, when we’re pleasantly surprised. In a line up for the ages we watch Antron Brown, Tony Schumacher (pictured in photo right), Gary Scelzi (pictured in photo left) and John Force make their way to the stage, among a series of ribbing and off color commentary, to celebrate 50 years of NHRA finals.
As if that’s not cool enough, each of these racers, with all but Scelzi still actively racing, have seen success, and failure, at the very end – champions and losers. The way they’re acting this morning would show no sign of the latter, however.
Emcee, and over 40 year veteran of NHRA announcing, Bob Frey, does his best to keep his boys in line – though he does partake in a little bit of the fun. To the point, when Brown is asked about fighting after races he motions to Schumacher and himself and says, ‘Tony and I, we’re lovers, not fighters,” to which Frey responds, “and if you’re keeping score, I’m the only heterosexual still on this stage.”
With a nice combination of boyish behavior and drag racing history, the NHRA breakfast provided a great way to start the morning – from the image of Force opening a newspaper on stage, with his colleagues still talking, to parting chats that you ‘should never race hungover’. More than that, however, it celebrated 50 years of passionate, driven, spirited individuals, who will take anything that might get thrown their way and make the very best of it – whether that thing is an early morning breakfast, or being a loser and a winner of NHRA finals.
Jeep Renegade
We got a chance to see the 2015 Jeep Renegades in person – and trust us, they’re that small in real life. While the production models will come in the Trailhawk and the Latitude, we got to see the possibilities for these neat Crossover Utility Vehicles (CUV) when they’ve been gussied up for surf or snow.
The Riptide showed in Vibrance Grandeur Blue, with painted black wheels. The Jeep Performance Parts logo is printed up on the back, in the imitation of a surfer, and we saw teak floor mats inside, with, naturally, a surfboard on top. While the Renegade’s look may cause alarm in some of the more traditional Jeep enthusiasts, we have to admit that the Riptide was surprisingly cool – a modern adaptation of the ultimate beach car, with the amenities, and the attitude, to match.
For the Frostbite we got a pearlescent white, with trimmings in aqua blue, a color scheme that continues to the interior, reminiscent of the slopes – just in case the ski roof rack and snowboarding Jeep Production Parts graphic didn’t get the message across. All in all, neat decor on a car that turned out cooler than expected.
The Renegades are not yet on sale, expect them in the upcoming year, but the display showed the potential for customizing and really using these rounded, smaller, and somewhat cartoonish little Jeeps. They may not look the rough and tumble part of Jeeps past, but we’re thinking that when rubber hits the road – or sand or snow, they’ll more than live up to their reputation.
Local Motors
Remember the cool little company that could (allow you to buy and build your own rally racer?) They’re back, and bigger than ever. As if their Rally Fighter isn’t cool enough, (and it really, really is,) we got a chance to check out their coming soon Verrado electric-powered drift trike, which is likely to be opening many doors for the company in the future. Basically, it’s a tricycle with a 20” front wheel, and 10” back wheels, wrapped in PVC or HDPE pipe, which allows for easy drifting, even at low speeds. We’ve definitely got our eye on this project.
The Local Motors headliner, however, was something out of a futuristic movie – able to give even Marty McFly’s pink hovercraft a run for its money. Center stage was the 3D printed Local Motors car – a dune buggy look alike, with material-rough edges, and a quirky little smile – all printed in one fell swoop. The wheels are almost too big for the body, giving the whole model a lego-like feel, but this is definitely more than kid’s play.
We got to watch the 3D print in action – a massive machine five times the size of its creation, as it pumped out a handful of Bauhaus inspired chairs, a series of movements akin a pastry chef frosting cupcakes. In addition to being mesmerizing, the 3D printer and its monster represent a movement forward, as Local Motors works to combat the cost and energy of producing a new car from design to completion.
This movement forward is leading the way, and led the way, as the front of the parade to the SEMA ignited event on Friday night. With Local Motors proving that little start ups can make big splashes, we can’t wait to see what’s next for the future of the company, and the auto industry as a whole.
Futurliner
This week we got a chance to see the future, and the past. Located just outside of Barry Meguiar’s Car Crazy set was the 1939 fully restored GM Parade of Progress Futurliner. Only 12 were ever built, and by 2007 only 9 were still functioning, with each displaying modern technology for the time, from microwaves to televisions to stereophonic sound.
This particular renovation was done by the team at Kindig-it Design of Salt Lake City, who features many of their cars on Bitchin’ Rides, and whose shop owner and show host, Dave Kindig we saw at the Velocity Live event. From the rusted remains of the third Futurliner ever built by GM to the shop in Utah, to the SEMA show this renovation has been an amazing overhaul. It was built with the help of a specialist in 3-D laser scanning, which allowed the team to remain as original as possible, though the project took a little help from all of the 29 workers in the shop.
Want to know what futuristic theme this giant took on? Try a Allison J-35 jet engine on for a size, with a cutaway version inside, to help explain the technology to the masses. Sure enough, the team at Kindig-it rebuilt that too. And,of course, written across the top of the door is the phrase “Power for the Air Age.”
This amazing restoration is so much more than just building from the ground up. It’s a coming together of the past and future on two levels. When the Futurliner was new it predicted the future of technology. Now, technology has given us the ability to bring the old beauty back to life.
SEMA Ignited
For the first time in the trade show’s history it was opened to the pubic. Well, the show itself wasn’t actually – though that’s a discussion for another time, but the enormous parking lot just two stops down on the monorail became an afterparty for the masses. Hundreds of cars from the show made their way to public view by parade, and food trucks lined the path with half a dozen cuisines.
Against the background of the High Roller, the newest addition to the Las Vegas view, and currently the world’s tallest observation wheel, Chip Foose unveiled his latest master creation on a Overhaulin’ public reveal (pictured left). We don’t want to spoil the fun, since the episode has not yet aired, but we promise that it’s a good one.
There was a separate section for SEMA participants, (and where this lucky editor got her picture taken with Edd China from Wheeler Dealer, in a hilarious selfie of height disparity,) and we got a chance to sit and take in the surroundings. In addition to the ever color changing ferris wheel the SEMA logo and classic drag racing footage was broadcasted against the side of a building, and off in the distance you could see the Eiffel Tower – a true Vegas experience.
Admittedly, by the time Friday afternoon rolls around most of the SEMA crew is exhausted. Give us the chance to swallow our cheap beer instead of one more networking opportunity and we might just take it. But when it came to SEMA Ignited that was all easy to forget for a while. This wild, open after party was a thank you to the car enthusiasts, a real celebration of cars, and the people and market that fuels them.