2000 SEMA Auto Show

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Since 1963, the Specialty Equipment Market Association has been putting on an aftermarket trade show that has gotten bigger and bigger every year since its inception nearly four decades ago. Once known as the Speed Equipment Manufacturers Association, SEMA is the granddaddy of all automotive aftermarket trade shows in this country.

Some of us on the staff of Edmunds.com have been attending the SEMA show in Las Vegas for nearly a decade. Since 1992, we've seen the show evolve into much more than just a place to ooh and ahh over go-fast bits like cylinder heads, superchargers and camshafts. Today, the SEMA show is on the radar map for the automakers as well. While big American nameplates like Chevrolet and Ford have had displays at SEMA for quite a while, recent years have seen the addition of a number of other automakers, mainly those from Japan and Korea. While the big German makes like Mercedes-Benz and BMW have yet to show their wares at SEMA, we predict that many automakers that didn't attend the show this year will be there within the next five years.

For now, though, we can say that the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) presence at SEMA has more than doubled compared to last year, as the Big Three were joined by no less than eight other automakers, many of whom regard SEMA as an event on par with most of the major auto shows. Press conferences and model intros are common for several of the displaying automakers and we tried to get up close and personal with all the relevant ones for your perusal.

The final tally of carmakers with booths at the show included 11 nameplates and many more if you include all the divisions of the parent companies. While some of the OE booths were relatively small, these 11 had at least some presence at the show. The Detroit contingent included General Motors (with vehicles from all divisions including Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, Cadillac, GMC Truck and Saturn), Ford (including Lincoln Mercury and Mazda), and DaimlerChrysler (mainly Dodge). Also in attendance were Honda (including Acura), Nissan, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Isuzu, Subaru, Panoz and Hyundai. With five of the 11 nameplates on hand showing notable concepts or upcoming production models (among those multiple thousands of aftermarket firms), we've got plenty to show you from GM, Ford, Dodge, Honda and Toyota in the way of cool concepts and vehicles that are slated for production. Let's get to it.