SEMA News - December 2010

By the time this column makes it to readers, the winners of the first-ever SEMA Awards will have been announced. This exciting new SEMA Show award highlights the year’s most popular car, truck and 4x4-SUV, as selected by SEMA Show exhibitors. It is given to the most prolific vehicle models that SEMA manufacturers chose to trick-out, modify and display in their booths. 

Media anticipation of the winners was high months prior to the SEMA Show, as the industry looked to the annual event to see which vehicle models exhibitors were investing in and what cool, new products they had developed for those vehicles. With several vehicle models identified as contenders for the SEMA Award, the media provided their own commentary as to which vehicles they thought would win. Meanwhile, consumers made their own predictions by taking the SEMA
Challenge—an online contest that provided them with a unique opportunity to get involved in the action.

Below is some of the coverage highlighting what the media was saying about the SEMA Award before the SEMA Show. Check out these clips to get a sense of the excitement that existed before the SEMA Award winners were announced. Then be sure to look to your favorite automotive publications to see what they’re saying about the actual winners that were announced at the SEMA Show in November. Chances are, if you search the Internet (or visit SEMA’s website at www.sema.org), you’ll be able to learn what the hottest car, hottest truck and hottest 4x4-SUV are and get details about the products that SEMA Show exhibitors offer for these vehicles!

my.IS (Lexus IS Online Forum), September 10, 2010 “Will the Lexus IS Be the Hottest Car at the 2010 SEMA Show?” With 21 vehicles identified as contenders for the SEMA Award, enthusiasts everywhere were eager to support their favorite brands. The Lexis IS online forum my.IS stated: “We are proud to announce that the Lexus IS is among the 11 models nominated for the Hottest Car award,” and reported on how the editors were looking forward to seeing what was in store at the 2010 SEMA Show.

Specialty Automotive Magazine, September/October 2010 “Detroit’s sales gains, ‘vehicle appeal,’ and a new award for the ‘hottest vehicles.’” Editor Steve Relyea shared the news about the new award with his readers, noting that “we’ll bring news of the three winners of this award in our January/February issue.”

Road & Track Magazine, October 12, 2010 “Which do you think will be the hottest vehicles in Vegas?” Road & Track tapped into the notion that the SEMA Challenge gave enthusiasts a chance to get involved with the trade-only SEMA Show. The online contest gave those who accurately predicted the SEMA Award winners a chance to win a trip to next year’s SEMA Show. “SEMA is the world’s largest exhibition of automotive accessories built to make your car look cooler, go faster and sound louder,” reported Road & Track. “About the only thing you won’t find at SEMA is an invitation to the general public to come and join in the fun. The world’s biggest automotive block party is strictly an industry-only affair.”

Edmunds Inside Line, October 15, 2010 “$2,500 Trip to 2011 SEMA Show Up for Grabs in New Sweepstakes” Another publication that caught onto the idea that consumers taking the SEMA Challenge could win a trip to the SEMA Show was Edmunds Inside Line. Correspondent Anita Lienert went so far as to say that the VIP prize, which includes airfare and hotel accommodations for two, was “more appealing than any lottery.”