It's October and another SEMA is upon us. For those of you who've never been, this industry-only show set in anything-goes Las Vegas is a match made in car-guy heaven. Nothing says pure American excess like Vegas. Where else in the states can you fire off automatic weapons, visit some of the best bars, gamble your salary away, and review a staggering array of mild to exotic entertainment? (And who would have thought that machine guns would be easier to get in Las Vegas after the mob stopped running things?)
And the SEMA show matches the nightlife's crazy pace. Back when I started going to this thing in 2001, it was a massive event. These days, thanks in part to a boom in aftermarket performance and the resurgence of the musclecar hobby and their wildly popular auctions, it's gargantuan-in 2006, there were two million square feet of exhibits at the Las Vegas Convention Center!
And the show has the energy to match; the displays are getting bigger and wilder every year. The huge domestic crowds are being buoyed by international visitors, the SEMA display vehicles are way radical, and you can find anything that bolts, snaps, screws, or sticks to a vehicle.
And I'm also looking ahead a couple of months to the Performance Racing Industry show in Orlando, Florida. Held at the Orange County Convention Center, PRI really started to hit its stride in 2006 with one million square feet of floor space and the most hardcore racing and street performance goodies on the planet. There's really nothing like walking through the aisles in Machinery Row and seeing blocks being bored and heads being ported by the newest, most high-tech equipment. And as if that isn't enough, December 3-5 the Advanced Engineering Technology Conference is in town. This technical conference for racing professionals is the gathering place for the best minds in racing, with seminars that are on the razor's edge of technology. Great stuff.
But the PRI show isn't all business. Orlando is a very vacation- and family-friendly city. Great bars, restaurants, and clubs for us big kids, and Disney World and SeaWorld for the little shavers.So which one do I like better, SEMA or PRI? Yes.
I love SEMA for the sheer spectacle of it all. Las Vegas plus the biggest car show on the planet equals a car-guy mecca that is almost too much to believe. While it's true that you do have to wade through aisles of huge wings and ridiculously large rims to get to the good stuff (not to mention the never-ending waves of people), it's a damn nice feeling to see this industry as strong as it is.
I love PRI for the performance focus. Just like GM High-Tech Performance, the Performance Racing Industry show is a dedicated niche of the aftermarket; its only job is to present the tools and parts needed to go fast.
Our corner of high-tech EFI rides and parts has gotten a nice boost from the bevy of LS-related products that hit SEMA and PRI a couple years back, and with the new Camaro rolling ever closer to the showroom, the latest and greatest LS/LT goodies will be all the rage at these outstanding trade shows, before coming to a shelf near you!
While these events are considered "industry only," meaning you have to pre-qualify as someone who works in the industry, they are totally worth an attempt at getting in just to see it for yourselves. Have a buddy with a shop? Go sweep his floor at night and beg to be put on the list-you won't regret it!
But rest assured that if you aren't able to make it, we'll be there and will be bringing the best EFI GM products to these pages and our Web site as soon as possible. Now get out there and enjoy the last few days on the tracks before they close for the winter.
SEMA runs from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2 in Las Vegas, and PRI is December 6-8 in Orlando, Florida.