SEMA - the non-pro viewpoint

[RockJustRock]

3mbs internet connection in my $21.00 a night room and 197 pictures taken with my 'good' camera (hi-res).... I will not stay here extra nights to satisfy your prurient interests

$21@NIGHT! How do they keep people from LIVING there?

[SuperBuickGuy]

$21@NIGHT! How do they keep people from LIVING there?

plus 15/night tax....

[Loren]

Meanwhile, all the reps from the exhibitors are down at the Cosmo paying $160, ++. There's kinda two Vegas's, the old one w/ Binion's etc. which has struggled w/ the "Fremont Experience" being an effort to keep people visiting there (it is fun), and then the strip. We stayed at the black pyramid place once then last time Treasure Island which was only slightly cheaper then others and not worth it, I'd say. Man, they quote you some low price and then when you get there, whoops there is a "resort fee" that's the same amount, added on. Then taxes.

Between old Vegas and new Vegas is the huge, huge former "Fontainbleu" or whatever they call it now, that ran out of money halfway through it's development and has been a giant eyesore with construction fences and missing windows ever since. Is it still that way?

I went to Vegas a few years ago for a metal fabrication show (Chip Foose was there for that too) for which they packed the Convention Center up pretty well, my employer at the time put me up at a resort well out of town, I don't know why other than that's where the president of the company wanted to stay. The first morning he asked me to go fetch the rental car out of the lot and meet him at the door, having come in at night all that I remembered about the car was it was black with silver wheels and I got out to the parking lot which I could barely find my way around and there were f'ing forty other rental cars there that were all black with silver wheels. Yeah, funny now...

Never been to SEMA. I really miss the L.A. auto show since we don't live there any more and it's inconvenient to go to, and the WESTEC manufacturing trade show which I haven't been to for a while.

I could actually tell more stories about trade shows, some of them pretty awful. Have never exhibited anyhow, just one of the flock.

[SuperBuickGuy]

I didn't know what to expect, and I enjoyed it. It was basically car people hanging out with a billion things to talk about. That said there were three shows going on within each other. You had the carlebrities doing their thing, the stuff outside for those without badges, and a lot of business being done - and that even divides into two, because the Chinese were almost obnoxious in trying to be coy to get information about new products to copy; and the others (Chinese included) who were really there for a trade show to up their business game.... made for an interesting mix (and very entertaining).

Most of all it was a vacation in 75 degree, sunny weather.... and I think my dog is still mad at me for going without him.

I went to see the product of some of the I see - such as Vegas Rat Rods (Welder Up). They do nice work, I was very impressed by the craftsmanship of their builds. It was not the Overhaulin' crepe paper and glue crap, but amazing builds. Kindigit too had several cars there and those were amazing.

[SuperBuickGuy]

This Blazer, yes, Blazer was pretty damn cool. He started with a SB Chevy pickup then built it with a removable top.

[SuperBuickGuy]

367 pictures.... enjoy

https://imgur.com/a/lCofyNU

[RockJustRock]

BJ Vegas auction freaks me out. Something built to be driven in dirt as "collectible".

[SuperBuickGuy]

out of curiosity, you can see the pictures?

[cstmwgn]

out of curiosity, you can see the pictures?

Yes

[silver_bullet]

out of curiosity, you can see the pictures?

Yup! Thanks!

[Eric]

Bitter much?

Why in the world would I be bitter?

[oletrux4evr]

Good stuff, thanks!

[SuperBuickGuy]

This car was blogged on here.... apparently he gave up on his friend and had Roadster Shop build it.

blown LS (iirc) 3





My favorite builders were Kindigit - that 67 Chevelle is utterly amazing
Roadster Shop - because they're technical skills and finish (look at the replaced air intakes on the 50 Buick or any of their short YouTube videos)
Welder Up, of anyone there, I was afraid they'd be pushing their cars or stuff would look terrible in person, just the opposite, it looks even better (look especially at the metamorphosis coupe - those roses look real and are made out of metal)...

and my most favorite - though my lord that is a tough category....
is the Chevelle - even the 'drip rails' are billet, polished aluminum that are frenched into the roof. Second is the Caddy - it is perfect - not just that but it was a display for an air suspension that you could play with (yeah, I'm a kid)...

[SuperBuickGuy]

Meanwhile, all the reps from the exhibitors are down at the Cosmo paying $160, ++. There's kinda two Vegas's, the old one w/ Binion's etc. which has struggled w/ the "Fremont Experience" being an effort to keep people visiting there (it is fun), and then the strip. We stayed at the black pyramid place once then last time Treasure Island which was only slightly cheaper then others and not worth it, I'd say. Man, they quote you some low price and then when you get there, whoops there is a "resort fee" that's the same amount, added on. Then taxes.

Between old Vegas and new Vegas is the huge, huge former "Fontainbleu" or whatever they call it now, that ran out of money halfway through it's development and has been a giant eyesore with construction fences and missing windows ever since. Is it still that way?

I went to Vegas a few years ago for a metal fabrication show (Chip Foose was there for that too) for which they packed the Convention Center up pretty well, my employer at the time put me up at a resort well out of town, I don't know why other than that's where the president of the company wanted to stay. The first morning he asked me to go fetch the rental car out of the lot and meet him at the door, having come in at night all that I remembered about the car was it was black with silver wheels and I got out to the parking lot which I could barely find my way around and there were f'ing forty other rental cars there that were all black with silver wheels. Yeah, funny now...

Never been to SEMA. I really miss the L.A. auto show since we don't live there any more and it's inconvenient to go to, and the WESTEC manufacturing trade show which I haven't been to for a while.

I could actually tell more stories about trade shows, some of them pretty awful. Have never exhibited anyhow, just one of the flock.

IF I go again, I'll stay at a hotel on the monorail - by the time you add in the Uber and taxi fares, it's almost a wash (presuming you book at least a month in advance). The reason, I really wished I could take off for lunch then come back to some of the late afternoon/evening stuff but because I was 5 miles away - nope. The plan-right-now is 3 people going next year so we can share a cool hotel room and not fall over at the price.... alternatively, next year there should be enough parking so staying offsite with a car to transport.... unless I bring a car, then I can camp in my 'burb' since it's my tow vehicle. That said, I would have missed out on getting propositioned by a 60 something Uber driver.... thank you honey, but no. Just no. It was nice that the carpool guys in the back got a kick out of my embarrassment.

Other bits of advice.... carry a hydration pack, there are few vendors (not to mention $3.50 bottles of soda.) I'm used to a concession at the end of every aisle... oh hell no, you're lucky to have one in each of those huge buildings. Also a portable chair (tripod).

[Matt Cramer]

Maybe so, but it is just one big infomercial for industry insiders.
They don't set up and spend the funds on the displays, for nothing.
They are not needed for talking about tech or networking.
It be nice if they did one week for the industry and a 2nd one for those not in the industry.
The none stop news about a show you can't goto is, well. Like taking a child to a candy store and telling them they can't have any. lol

That is a fairly apt description, but the displays are there to get the attention of buyers to get them to stop and do the talking about tech and networking. They're a hook, a way to show off new products, or to present yourself to buyers who aren't familiar with your company.

The logistics of a "SEMA for the public" would be a challenge; you'd get a much bigger crowd and the potential sale per interaction would be a lot lower, giving manufacturers less incentive to exhibit. I'm not sure how you'd deal with managing the crowd size; it might have to be extended out for a week or more, and bringing a crew out for that long would be a challenge for smaller manufacturers since their show crew probably has other responsibilities. That said, a lot of companies are able to send a smaller exhibit and a smaller crew on the road for racing events.

Sema... Half or maybe a third of the skimpy dress models. It doesn't bother me in the slightest. I always thought it was weird hocking speed parts with bikini models.

It seems like a good way to get your booth spammed with junk male. At PRI, we often have a sponsored race car driver or builder to bring an exhibit car and provide customer testimony. One year, the racer was a woman and we had a pretty high volume of creepazoids who stopped by with no interest in what we actually did have for sale, as well as a long parade of autograph seekers who also didn't represent potential buyers. And she wasn't wearing a skimpy outfit. I find it hard to imagine that most of the booth traffic you get from a 20 year old bikini model would be useful business contacts. Could just be that whoever was in charge of the booth likes looking at bikini models.