SEMA Show 2017 #2

November 10, 2017

The 2017 SEMA Show has come to its usual dramatic end. For those of you who are automotive fans, it was another extravaganza of everything that rolls and a few things that don’t. The numbers are not in yet, but if the attendance of the 2016 SEMA was 160,000, you can bet this year topped 200,000 when you consider all the people that came in from the street and those who visited SEMA IGNITED on Friday night. We weren’t able to spend too much time at our truck during the day, but conversation was challenging. Being next to the drift track, the sound of full-blown 750-horsepower Cobra 427’s was music to some peoples’ ears, it was deafening as they burned around the asphalt in a cloud of smoke.

Inside the halls things were a little tamer with some of the most beautiful works of automotive engineering you will see anywhere, from lifted trucks to restored classics to hot 4X4s that will never see dirt. We were busy walking the aisles and saying hello to our many sponsors who have participated in the building of our five expedition trucks over the past 45 years. We did take a short break for a test ride in one of those 4X4 go-carts that are now plaguing the backroads of Baja. They are undoubtedly fun, but if we ever meet one of these wanna-be-racers coming over a hill at high speed on one of our favorite two-tracks, we hope there won’t be a loud “SPLAT” with blood running off our windshield.

Mothers sponsored a box of cleaning products for every vehicle entered in the SEMA Show.

Friday night was sort of the grand finale. All the cars and vehicles inside and all the specialty vehicles outside like our own Turtle V slowly wound their way out of the show and across the street on the official “CRUISE” to the Gold Lot. Bleachers had been set up and what felt like thousands upon thousands of people were lining the streets to watch the millions of dollars’ worth of sheet-metal roll by. The main thoroughfare of Paradise Road was blocked off completely and it was quite a procession to say the least.

Paris by night…Las Vegas style.

Arriving in the Gold Lot for the start of SEMA IGNITED, there were side-by-side drifting competitions, two or three live bands, a few dozen food vendors, and of course, all of the vehicles that had just participated in the “CRUISE” were lined up and parked everywhere for people to walk around and visit and take a closer look. We didn’t get out of the show’s Gold Lot until after 10 o’clock and it was 1 o’clock before we actually went to bed, exhausted but happy that another SEMA Show was behind us. By rough count, we have attended SEMA for 32 years and running.

We decided to take it slower going home and managed to stop in a few places we hadn’t visited in the past. Our favorite camp at the deserted military housing tract just outside of Hawthorn waited for us. We turned down a little side road just to watch the odometer turn over 200,000 miles. As luck would have it, we snuck over Donner Pass on dry roads, just missing the first snowstorm of the year. Let these pictures tell you a little bit of the story in case you missed the 2017 SEMA Show, undoubtedly the largest display of aftermarket automotive products in the world.

: The sound of full-blown 750-HP Cobra 427’s and other drifting competitors giving rides to spectators was exciting but deafening.

: We would just be guessing that the attendance this year was around 200,000.

: An official SEMA photographer was snapping pictures at the Battle of the Builders gathering. We were still in our cleaning Turtle V gear….

: Of course, we signed up for the Battle of the Builders Competition, but as usual, but The Turtle V is far too functional to attract the attention of the judges.

: Gary is pointing at the photo of The Turtle V which was selected for the Battle of the Builder truck category.

: Walking along the Strip Halloween night.

: The giant WARN Industries party after the SEMA show on Tuesday is always a highlight for us. We met many people including our old friend Rodrigo Yrarrázaval from Santiago, who assured us that Chile would be a perfect place to ship The Turtle V to for our upcoming expedition around South America.

: It was fun to touch bases with Bruce Essig at Odyssey Batteries, one of our most important product sponsors. We have known each other for years and he is retiring soon.

: SEMA is a showcase for the most beautiful works of automotive engineering you will find anywhere, from lifted trucks to restored classics to hot 4X4s that will never see dirt.

: Jim Dvorak from Mother’s is always happy to see us.

: A truck fully illuminated with Grote Ind. LED light strips.

: We did take a short break for a test ride in one of those 4X4 go-carts that are now plaguing the backroads of Baja.

: Early morning at SEMA is a quiet time. The colorful Las Vegas monorail zoomed overhead.

: Many people who came to watch the amazing drift track were equally excited about seeing our expedition truck, the only one like it at the entire show.

: Luis Salazar from Las Vegas was totally mesmerized by The Turtle V.

: We always have many curious visitors when we are by The Turtle V.

: Thousands of spectators lined up hours before the start of the SEMA CRUISE when all the specialty vehicles parade from the convention halls to the Gold Lot for the start of SEMA IGNITED.

: Our Spanish friend Andres Gomez shot this photo when The Turtle V entered the SEMA Ignited parking lot.

: Monika was taking pictures of the crowd lined up behind the guard rails at SEMA Ignited while our Spanish friend Andres Gomez and many others snapped photos of The Turtle V.

: We have been experimenting with Rugged Radio’s Intercom Headsets and it’s amazing how we can talk in a normal voice in our rather noisy cab.

: The long drive home across Nevada’s Highway 95 is uniquely scenic but also straight-as-an-arrow boring if you’ve driven it more than once.

: The landscape on 95 is ever changing with some interesting colors and forms.

: Our favorite camp at the deserted military housing tract just outside of Hawthorn waited for us. It felt a little like a wild camp in Baja’s desert, but no lobster for dinner.