Posted: 11/19/09
The last couple of years the attendance at the SEMA show has been down due to the economy, and it was probably only a three to four years ago the show was the biggest I've ever seen it. I've also seen the show grow because I've been attending SEMA on-and-off since 1994. One cool note: I attended my first show with my parents, haha
The SEMA show is a great venue to stay in tune with trends.
We aren't big ballers, but we got to live like some because the rooms in Vegas weren't anywhere near the rates of several years past.
This is what the rooms at Planet Hollywood look like..... no magic happened here.
Matt and Brandon chowing down on some crawfish, dungeness crab, and shrimp at Hot'n'Juicy Crawfish. Even though it sounds like a gentleman's club there were no Go'Go' dancers here.
23 Red hit 4x's! Maybe the next kit we come out with, we'll have to skip some numbers and come out with the AX90023
Brandon's entourage in Vegas
The new construction for I think what they're calling the "city". It's amazing how much things change in Vegas. It almost reminds me of the scene of all the old school hotels being imploded and demolished in the movie "Casino". A little trivia: The fictional hotel the Tangiers was actually the Stardust. That's the true OG hotel.
Brandon and Matt. Matt were starstruck by Rachael Ray who's eaten at Hash House a Go Go.
Rachael Ray sized portions
One nice rat rod which almost goes against what a rat rod is supposed to be about, but it gets old seeing rat rods with old school ignition coils and crudely done headers for the sake of authenticity. Instead, this was one bada** turbocharged diesel powered rat rod (yes, diesel)
It's all in the details
Trucks and the new Ford Raptor were a'plenty because they made up for the extinction of huge tyrannosaurus lifted trucks of years past.
Griffin Radiators had a really nice display/booth that drew a bunch of picture takers. It also didn't hurt that they had our AX10 Scorpions also on display.
We'll be posting more information about Griffin in a future post, so stay tuned
anti-theft zip ties kept people honest (the guy in black looks familiar)... funny since they also apprehend suspects with zip-tie styled handcuffs too.
The best view is from the drivers seat, but the passenger view would also be nice. The worst view for the competition is looking at the taillights.
Mainly antlered animals are used for hood ornaments like the ram, bull, etc. Unicorns aren't probably used because they're fantasy. That wouldn't be right.
Steve Beebe the big cheese over at Griffin. He got bit by the RC rock crawling bug..... the huge indoor rock crawling course he constructed in his pad is a testament to that. That outta make a great MTV Cribs special.
Mo, Mio... Bel, Lasino? ok, La Mia Bel(la). I think it's Italian for something "beautiful or beloved"? Well regardless the chick with the sword and hello kitty speak for themselves.
The front half speaks for itself too (that's her tatt's)
I think this was the best Camaro/Firebird at SEMA. It wasn't overdone like so many others, but instead it was done with a nostalgic twist like the Pontiac Firebird (unfortunately the company that also brought you the Pontiac Aztec)
that's one large rock crawler. This must be considered a "super".
One of the best parts of the SEMA show this year is the inclusion of the power sports industry/motorcycles, etc, and since I'm not really exposed to this industry, I probably enjoyed this the most. Really love the details such as the Red Bull catch-can.
One of the ever growing segments is the Honda Ruckus segment. Just google "Honda Ruckus", and you'll get to see a good vid of Dr. Charles (Madrid) drag racing one of these.
Be sure to check out the rest of the images. We do have more, but it's of all the models and I know everybody wants to see the vehicles of SEMA.
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