Getting noticed at SEMA is very important. Show cars, trucks, and motorcycles are there for only a couple reasons. Either to show off products the company sells or to draw attention and get foot traffic through their booth (this is a trade show after all!). Whatever the reason is, everyone is trying to a different approach to draw attention. If you want to figure out which cars or booths are the best at the show, all you need to do is look for crowds around a booth. There you’ll find either an exceptionl car, a celebrity, or an attractive model; regardless you won’t be disappointed if you take a peak.
Shooting pictures of some of the high profile cars at SEMA is really tough. There’s always crowds surrounding the cars and often people are so excited about checking the car out, they’re oblivious to the line of photographers waiting for that small window when they can fire off a few shots of the car. I can tell you from personal experience, it takes a mix of patience, skill and luck! The custom ford above is a perfect example. It had the performance of a super car and the looks of a classic muscle car all blended together to create what I’d call a “retro super car”. The crowds were relentless around this car and we had to make our way into the show early just to check it out beforehand.
Then there were cars and booths that were built just for shock value to get the attention of the thousands of cameras in attendance. The typical formula for a busy booth is to get a vehicle with some flashy/shiny paint, lots of chrome, some giant wheels, and a beautiful model standing next to the vehicle. Hyundai and an artist teamed up to take this idea to the next level and they built a Zombie support vehicle out of a new Hyundai. They then employed some attractive (is that possible?) zombies to pose with the car and show-goers! This idea was pretty cool and timely for the SEMA show taking place around the Halloween holiday each year.
Aside from the gimmicks and crowds, there were some really nice classic cars at the show. We tried to catch some of our favorites shown below in the Mopar display. They put together one of the nicest selections of Dodge, Plymouth, and Chrysler classics we’ve seen in a while! Check the rest of our favorites from this portion of the show in the gallery below.