SEMA News—March 2015

Events

SEMA Ignited

SEMA Ignited closed out the week of the 2014 SEMA Show with an afterparty like no other, and a public tribute to the best car builders on the planet. As the Convention Center doors closed and the trade-only Show ended on Friday, hundreds of custom vehicles roared to life, forming the now-traditional SEMA Cruise.

This year’s exit parade had a different destination, however—straight down Paradise Road and on to The LINQ in Las Vegas. With the high-roller observation wheel in the background, the world’s first car show that exclusively featured cars from the SEMA Show opened to the public. Enthusiasts were over-the-moon about the chance to get up close and pose next to cars built by true automotive legends.

The following photo highlights provide a glimpse of the excitement from the inaugural SEMA Ignited event. The on-site team welcomed more than 10,000 enthusiasts. This year the party will be on November 6, and new twists are in store.

Consider this your invitation to SEMA Ignited 2015!

Because It’s Fun Far more than just a car show, SEMA Ignited brought the sounds, sights and sensation of performance cars to an audience of thousands. Watching this car drift was a study in motion, proof that performance and style can go together, and a way to put smiles on the faces of young and old. Why? Because it’s fun.

Cackle For Me At SEMA Ignited, as several historic dragsters roared to life, attendees were treated to the unmistakable pulsing sound—the cackle—of a vintage dragster. Attendees crowded the area, covered their ears, and set their camera phones to video to capture the moment. Delighting the crowd with each touch of the accelerator, the drivers literally transported the crowd back in time, to an era when metal sleds dominated the drags.

Foose Selfie The ultimate souvenir from SEMA Ignited? A selfie with Chip Foose. Celebrated car builder, star of Velocity Network’s “Overhaulin’” and perhaps even an amateur photographer, Foose is truly an icon in our industry. At SEMA Ignited, attendees were treated to multiple opportunities to get up-close-and-personal with not just incredible vehicles, but also their creators. These once-in-a-lifetime moments, where enthusiasts meet their heroes, create the kind of stories that get passed down for generations.

Press Record Enthusiasts captured their experience at SEMA Ignited, constantly raising their phones and forming their own reports on the event. Whether it was cackling dragsters, tire-shredding burnouts or celebrity sightings, attendees documented it all. Social media was buzzing with updates throughout the night, and it hasn’t stopped. The tweets, the Facebook status updates, the Vines, the Instagram uploads, and even the text messages, every bit of data shared was a digital endorsement of American car culture and the specialty-equipment industry.

Face-to-Face SEMA Ignited was the largest showroom of SEMA Show cars ever assembled. Attendees couldn’t take more than a few steps without coming face-to-face with the car of their dreams. While showgoers have long understood the magnitude of eye-candy on display at the annual trade-only event, consumers have only seen highlights from the event in magazines and on television. SEMA Ignited was truly the first time consumers were allowed to share in the magic of the creations built specifically for display at the world-famous SEMA Show.

Rolling Royalty An enduring example of the rich heritage of American car culture, the iconic Batmobile attracted a crowd, a testament to the power of automotive design and its ability to impact young and old alike. Ignited attendees, some too young to remember the car built by George Barris, stood transfixed as they came to realize that they were in the presence of automotive royalty. “Couldn’t be the real Batmobile,” some mused out loud…but it was.