SEMA 2012 – Opening Day

Let the party begin…

Story: T-bone, Photos: Billy and T-Bone

We started the day at the New Products Award Breakfast hosted by Dave McClelland with keynote speaker Chip Foose who spoke about the passion in our industry. When he left Boyd’s shop with only $700 in the bank, and his wife announcing that she was pregnant with his first child and a $1,600.00 mortgage payment coming quick he started his journey to open his own shop. Then they announced the awards for new product categories (details to come after the show) and we were off to roll the show floor to the New Products section.

We went around the South Hall truck/SUV/Wheel and Tire section. We ran into a cool little booth with highly detailed die-cast cars. Jeff from Greenlight Toys shared some of their lines from hi-end collectible to retail impulse buys. We dug the 1/64 scale cars that come with scale shop equipment such as floor jacks and cherry pickers.

We then headed up to the Central Hall to check out our friends in the Hot Rod and Restoration sections. We ran into Dan Woods of Chop Cut Rebuild and saw the ’56 Chevy that the “Jersey” and the boys at Classic Industries built for his show.

After a day on the floor we went to ARMO (Automotive Restoration Market Organization) reception. I had the opportunity to joke around with Eric from Steele Rubber, Sheila from Madstache and Dennis Gage of My Classic Car.

Whew! What a day. We hope you enjoy the photos of the cars, bikes, ladies and the show from today. Watch for more details soon. We will announce our detailed SEMA Show Review via our e-blast.