The Specialty Equipment Market Association Show, a once niche aftermarket performance and parts trade show, continues to evolve as it approaches its 50th anniversary. At this year’s show, major automakers, including the Detroit Three, gathered in Las Vegas and pumped the show full of news and custom vehicle unveilings.
DETROIT, MI- The Specialty Equipment Market Association Show, a once niche aftermarket performance and parts trade show, continues to evolve as it approaches its 50th anniversary.
At this year’s show, major automakers, including the Detroit Three, gathered in Las Vegas and pumped the show full of news and custom vehicle unveilings.
“The vehicle manufacturers have come to recognize the show as a really important and valuable stop among the various shows that they do each year,” said Chris Kersting, SEMA President and CEO, in a recent phone interview with MLive. “The show this year has been tremendous. It has been our largest show that we’ve ever undertaken.”
The first SEMA Show was held in 1967 under the bleachers of Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Less than 100 exhibitors attended. But by 1969, exhibitors had grown to 200 with thousands of people in-attendance, according to Kersting.
This year, some 130,000 professionals from more than 130 countries and more than 60,000 spectators attended the ’13 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, which ran from Nov. 5-8. Hundreds of vehicles were showcased at the show, including about 120 vehicles from the Detroit automakers.
Kersting said although some may believe the foreign automakers were really the first to adopt SEMA Show in the '90s thanks to the explosion of the compact performance segment, also known as import-tuners, the Detroit Three have a history going back to the 70s.
Chevrolet Performance's COPO Camaro program returns for 2014 with another limited run of factory-produced race cars and a pair of new racing engine choices. Each production car is fitted with an NHRA-approved roll cage and other safety equipment, along with racing chassis and suspension components.“The history of the automakers started with the Detroit automakers,” he said. “They were really the anchors from the very beginning, where of course the orientation was mainly around racing and performance.”
That’s not necessarily the case anymore. While some brands, such as Chevrolet, continue to showcase performance vehicles, each of the Detroit automakers now bring something different to the SEMA Show.
“It is kind of like a playground for them,” said Karl Brauer, Kelley Blue Book senior analyst. “There’s no pressure or concern for having some kind of a product launch that’s a volume model that the company’s going to live or die on.”
GM’s Chevrolet brand went to the 2013 SEMA Show with a fleet of custom and performance vehicles, including the return of the COPO Camaro.
Chevrolet showed 39 custom and concept cars and trucks at the show. Headliners from Chevrolet included three 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray concepts; six 2014 Camaros, including a Z/28 and COPO; an array of pickups and sport utility vehicles; and a handful of vehicles in-partnership with celebrities and other third parties.
Ford also showed off a bit of performance when showcasing 60 vehicles, and even made a few headlines thanks to a legendary classic rocker and a new partnership.
KISS frontman Gene Simmons and his wife, actress Shannon Tweed, helped Ford unveil a custom 1956 Ford F-100.
Custom 1956 Ford F-100, aptly named Snakebit, features styling cues that pay homage to classic Shelby Mustangs; power is supplied by Ford's supercharged 5.4-liter V8 engine.The Shelby Mustang-inspired pickup truck -- named “Snakebit” – features 20-inch rear wheels, a Ford Racing supercharged 5.4-liter V8 estimated at 550 horsepower and custom wheelbase, headlights and sequential taillights.
The Dearborn-based automaker also announced its plans to get back into the boating industry after a more than 20-year hiatus and the addition of Telca/TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates switching to the new Ford EcoBoost sports car engine package starting next year.
Edmunds.com senior editor Bill Visnic said automakers are becoming more a part of SEMA not only because they think it’s a great marketing opportunity, but because the technology in the vehicles and powertrains is becoming more advanced.
“In the last decade or so, the carmakers themselves have become a much more central part of the show,” he said in a recent interview with MLive. “You almost have to have their cooperation now to get this stuff done because a lot has become locked away in the computer.”
Visnic, who has attended the show a handful of times, added that the show is really "a natural fit" for the Detroit automakers, as the nostalgia at the show has always been about their muscle vehicles.
2014 Dodge Challenger R/T ShakerChrysler and its Mopar division really reached back into time for this year's SEMA Show.
Besides showing off 20 custom vehicles at the show, the Auburn Hills-based automaker and its parts, service and customer care brand resurrected the ''Scat Pack" club, performance kits and the Dodge Challenger R/T with a ''shaker'' hood. It also debuted its Mopar ’14 vehicle, a customizable Dodge Challenger.
Kersting, who has been with the organization since 1989, said he expects future SEMA Shows to continue to grow – particularly from a technology standpoint, as automakers and the companies continue to become more involved in the show.
“There are a lot of different ways the show has grown and really become more valuable to the industry,” he said. “It really was, and still is today, the opportunity for the industry to come together and see all of the new innovative products developed over the past year.”