Cue Andy Williams, as a result of it’s probably the most great time of the yr—and no, we don’t imply the vacation season.
We’re speaking concerning the annual SEMA Present.
Yearly all the automotive aftermarket business descends on Las Vegas, Nevada to showcase new merchandise, function unbelievable venture autos, and mingle with racers and automotive celebrities. From Jaguars to Jeeps, off-road or on-track, there’s one thing for each aspect of the gearhead world all underneath one…err…a number of roofs on the Las Vegas Conference Middle.
And it’s additionally a bellwether occasion that showcases the long run tendencies, autos, markets, and improvements that’ll information our gearhead tradition within the coming yr and past. So earlier than we cram onto our flights to Sin Metropolis, the OnAllCylinders employees is opining aloud on some questions we hope the 2024 SEMA Present will reply for us.
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5 Burning Questions Forward of the 2024 SEMA Present
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1. What’s the New Sizzling Automotive or Truck on the Block?
It looks like yearly there’s at all times an overwhelmingly standard car that exhibits up in dozens of cubicles and shows. In years’ previous, it’s been the brand new Ford Bronco, the mid-engine Corvette, and the next-gen. Toyota Tacoma.
Nevertheless it’s not at all times as simple as selecting the most recent, biggest, most unique automotive or truck mannequin that’s simply hitting the showrooms. For instance, the Ford Maverick sport truck was fairly standard with SEMA customizers in 2023, regardless of being launched years prior. Conversely, the brand new Nissan Z automotive wasn’t as omnipresent as we figured it’d be both.
In different phrases, predicting what will probably be subsequent yr’s “sizzling experience” is anybody’s guess—however the SEMA Present at all times offers us some actually good hints.
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2. What’s the New “In” Customizing or Construct Pattern?
Is chrome making a comeback? Are rat rods nonetheless en vogue? The place does Professional Touring go subsequent? What about #VanLife?
Past the recognition of a particular automotive or truck make/mannequin, the SEMA Present is a superb predictor of what car tendencies will take the gearhead world by storm. And it’ll additionally reveal how these already established tendencies have developed during the last 12 months.
At any given present, we’ve seen halls crammed with lifted present vehicles adopted by donks, restomods, sport compacts, slabs, and past. And we will’t wait to see what’s subsequent.
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3. What Occurring within the Off-Highway Market?
For the previous few years, overlanding has been *the* development within the off-road market. From rooftop tents to pull-out kitchens, it appeared like everybody was taking their rig off the grid for some critical adventures.
However the hardcore wheeling people have been toiling away tirelessly within the periphery too. Upgrades like crate axles and relay swap panels popped as much as fill crucial wants within the off-road market, and improvements like retractable truck steps confirmed that an previous canine can be taught a brand new trick or two.
Extra importantly, we acquired some newcomers to the market just like the aforementioned Bronco and Jeep Gladiator truck. Now with a reborn Toyota Land Cruiser and the return of the beloved Worldwide Scout, it’s at all times fascinating to see what the off-roaders have up their mud-caked sleeves.
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4. Have Electrical Drivetrains Hit Mainstream?
What began a long time in the past as an occasional vehicular oddity has now grown into a whole part of the SEMA Present. Certainly, from house age battery tech to showcases crammed filled with EV-swapped classics, electrical autos at the moment are a spotlight of the SEMA Present for us.
A complete EV conversion business has sprung up seemingly in a single day, and it’s getting enriched with help from main OEMs, together with Ford’s Eluminator and GM’s eCrate programs. Heck, final yr we noticed a transformed E-Kind Jag that maintained its guide transmission and didn’t have a single exterior modification that may trace on the electrical drivetrain beneath.
All instructed, we attempt to cease into no less than one EV tech seminar through the present simply to get a glimpse of what the long run holds for electrical autos.
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5. What’s Going to Steal the Present?
From all kinds of hi-tech improvements to classic race automotive restorations, there are at all times loads of standouts throughout every SEMA Present. Typically it’s a elaborate new product, different occasions it’s a jaw-dropping barn discover—higher nonetheless, it’s not unusual for a serious automaker to do a shock reveal or a vendor to carry an outside stunt showcase within the parking zone.
To place it one other means: We’d by no means seen a Nissan Pao in particular person earlier than…or a Flachbau Porsche…or the Hoonicorn…till we began attending the SEMA Present.
Briefly, there are about 100 various things we’re anxious to see on the 2024 occasion—however what’s extra thrilling for us is the stuff we’re not anticipating. Fingers crossed.
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Is there something you’re wanting ahead to through the 2024 SEMA Present? Something you’d like us to trace down on the occasion? Allow us to hear about it within the feedback part beneath.
