Las Vegas, NV
SEMA 2023 could not come soon enough. I was very much looking forward to my second year attending. What impressive builds would await me outside and inside the Las Vegas Convention Center? As soon as I landed and checked in to my hotel I wasted no time getting over the Media Center to pick up my badge. Exhibitors were still hard at work building displays and loading cars into the halls. Some cars were covered from view, patiently awaiting their debut the following morning.
Monday night the SEMA kickoff party hosted an array of feature vehicles and announced SEMA's 2023 Car of the Year.
SEMA Car of the Year: Ford Mustang
Full-Size Truck of the Year: Ford F-Series
Mid-Size Truck of the Year: Toyota Tacoma
4x4/SUV of the Year: Ford Bronco
Sport Compact Car of the Year: Nissan Z
Electric Vehicle of the Year: Ford Lightning
A very good year for Ford and the aftermarket world as these were recognized as some of the top trending vehicles for aftermarket modification.
Tuesday brought the first official day of the SEMA Show and welcomed more the 160,000 attendees. Also in attendance were 2,200 exhibitors and media personalities. Buyers, marketing agencies and guests from all around the country and even other parts of the world gather to see some of the industries newest and trending products and enjoy the prestigious Battle of the Builders Competition.
At the kickoff breakfast Dee Zee Inc. was named SEMA Manufacturer of the Year and Summit Racing Equipment was named SEMA Channel Partner of the Year.Dee Zee Inc. is currently working with Britedrop who is owned by GM to make structural aluminum components for electric delivery vans. Ready or not, the future of the automotive world is EV.
The morning of SEMA Day 1 was spent in the Toyo Treadpass admiring the (always) stunning cars on display for the year.
After seeing what Toyo had to offer, I head over to the Hoonigan display. Taxi Garage, based out of FL was there offering ride alongs in their custom electric Razor scooters. After the ride alongs, Hoonigan had put on their shows in the burnyard.
In the Hoonigan display was Sin City Air FX who was customizing Hoonigan License Plates.
Of all the things I took home from SEMA, this is probably my favorite. Among the cars and meetings, other booths were giving away items for the week as well.
The next day I met with Rebecca from the All Female Built Bronco Team from 2022. She is the owner or ROcco 4x4 which is a shop and distribution center. The shop has been open since 2006. Her first involvement with the SEMA Businesswomen's network was when they did the Ford Mustang Build. Since the 10 year anniversary of that build was coming up, they contacted Ford and said they wanted to do it again. They requested a full size Bronco and Ford ultimately delivered. Rebecca's role in this build was the procurement of parts. She had one criteria, that the parts they used were from woman owned companies. However, not all of the companies they needed were woman owned, so their next priority was making sure their contact was a woman. In addition they had to ensure that all brands used aligned with Ford.
250 woman were a part of the build and they were either from the companies that provided the parts or from woman owned shops around the country. The theme of the vehicle was Overlanding, which is a very popular theme for vehicles right now. Their primary goal was to equip the vehicle with everything needed for a woman to go out on her own for a week and feel completely safe and self sufficient. Mother and daughter and even mother, daughter and grandmother teams were involved in the build. All the parts and logistics needed to align in order for the build to unfold on time. Everyone involved learned something new and was able to make lifelong memories and connections.
When the All Female Built Bronco debuted in 2022 it "broke the halls." People wanted to see it and it was hard to navigate through the booth to get up close and personal. Rebecca said, "I look at it and yes, it's a vehicle. But for us it's a tool. It was a tool to demonstrate how women are imbedded in the industry in a different capacities, and how SEMA can be an instrument not only as a show, but also as a year round association that offers many opportunities for learning, for the empowerment of women, and for the ambassador of women in the industry."
Some of the key features of the vehicle include Oracle LED tail lights, a rear seat delete that allows for a twin sleep mattress, a drawer system which contains recovery gear, a kitchen system and a fridge. It also included the Baja Forged front and rear bumpers, AFE exhaust, Icon wheels, suspension and coilovers. SBN also had a social media contest where different women would submit different designs and the most popular one voted for on social media would be the livery for the Bronco. It has a cat skin leather interior, Yakima roof rack and Yakima roof top tent. Just in upgrades, there are $60,000 in parts. This does not include the cost of the vehicle or the hours of labor that went into the build.
The whole idea of this all female built Bronco was the coordination, skillset and network of woman to make it come together. The Bronco went up for auction at SEMA 2023 on ebay and ultimately sold for $59,900 with only 9,634 miles on it. Before being sold it went to events across the country before attending it's last one, SEMA 2023
Later on I met with Ryan Fielding, a fabricator for RingBrothers. He showed me around the Dodge Charger at his booth and then to several other builds that were revealed in other halls of the convention center. Ryan believes that everyone has to start somewhere, and success does not happen overnight, it is a grind.
The rest of SEMA consisted of capturing content and making connections. As a lover of all things automotive, making those connections is what matters. Without the visionaries behind the builds, there would be nothing for us to look at.
Here are some of my favorites from SEMA 2023.
Until next time.
Motor on.
