SEMA Rocks Sin City

On November 4th 2003, the floodgates once again officially opened for the inaugural SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show as car enthusiasts, consumers, manufactures and models poured in by way of planes, trains and automobiles to congregate at the Las Vegas Convention Center for four days of seminars, business acquisitions and exhibits displaying their hottest and newest products. It's no wonder the SEMA Show is the premier automotive specialty products trade event in the world: 2,000 exhibitors, packed in over 8,000 booths, were visited by 90,000 unique spectators and 200 stunning models wiped drool off their outfits. Imagine this all taking place in the city of Lost Wages-oops!-Las Vegas.

With over two million square feet of exhibits, there were companies ranging from those that provide portable urinal dispensers (were not kidding folks) to those that make 350Z supercharger kits by ProCharger. They offered consumers a wide array of material to visit and have discussions with exhibitors. Edlebrock has once again outdone themselves by introducing the highly anticipated 50-state legal B16 turbo kit, complete with ball bearing turbo, injectors and link fuel management. We have to admit Edlebrock has really done their homework. Turbo XS brought to our attention a cleverly engineered fuel management system that utilizes (get this) a Game Boy Advance unit as a monitor and programmer to fully log A/F capabilities and reprogram engine timetables.

LJ Garcia unveiled his project Scion xA with rave reviews and positive comments from spectators and manufactures. It's hard to believe a car I featured, that looked as bad as LJ's xA a few months back (December 2003; "LJ Garcia's Newest Creation") could be transform into such a beauty. Adding variety to SEMA, new to this year's exhibition was some professional drifting, located behind the Convention Center. Professionals such as Ueno, Tanaka, Ernie "Gung Ho" Fixmer, and Ken "Hanakuso" Gushi tore up the tarmac as newcomers to the drift scene stood over the railings with mouths open in disbelief. Is drifting finally being accepted in the world of automotive culture? Compared to last year, the response has been nothing but praise. Of course, what's SEMA without some nightlife and parties to attend? My counterpart Gary Castillo and his sidekicks Jensen Oda, and Lanny Higa wasted no time getting through the front door while drawing a line straight to the "open bar" (as evidenced by the pictures). Hey, who can blame them? If you had to walk those two million square feet for four days straight I can guarantee those drinks would look pretty damn good. Enough on SEMA babble; check out the pictures and judge for yourself exactly what you missed.