Quote:
Originally Posted by MrDinkleman
I've been to SEMA a couple of times and, even though I am not professionally connected in any way to the automotive industry and got my ticket through a friend of a friend, I was disappointed that there were so many non-industry people there. Yeah, I guess that is somewhat hypocritical...
Seems to me that SEMA is no longer a semi-secret aftermarket parts show anymore. I think they should just go ahead and open it to the public, it's so crowded now anyway. Leave the first one or two days closed to the public and then sell astronomically priced tickets for the rest of the show. They'd probably make a ton of money for a few years, anyway. As it is now, it might as well just be open to the public. They had drifting ride alongs, new car test driving areas, bunch of kids running around, and a whole bunch more crap going on that made me wonder how they can call it "closed to the public". When I asked a simple question about wheels (load capacity?), I usually just got a "hmmmm... not sure." I tried to pick up a wheel to check myself (Volk, Weds, Enkei), and they treated me like... I was some dumb retail customer, "please sir, we don't like people touching the wheels".
It's a HUGE show. We went for a couple days and we still could not cover everything.
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Yes, that is true. Closed to the public keeps it somewhat less crowded although it already is. And to make people feel more exclusive(you dropped 30 large, here's some tickets! ps can we borrow your car?)... It's a job for some and a hobby/passion for others. Some lucky folk make it both.
They don't want people touching the products because they don't want it stolen or damaged. They aren't behind glass so cameras can take good pics for the media and whatnot. It would be a nightmare to have pics of your damaged product online!! Picking up the wheel.... is your arm scale calibrated in oomphs or hnnngs? Load rating are different in different sizes and depends on what certification/testing they used. I'm sure if you were a dealer they would email the certification to you. The booth people can be anyone,, engineers, sales, drivers, business owners, car owners, or hotties. You need to talk to the right person to get the right answer. I'm not gonna ask a hottie about load ratings(engineer) or cost(sales rep). Always ask before you touch the goods.
Although it does feel like a public showcase and people act that way, it is still industry run. Go to aapex if you want to see a more professional atmosphere, and don't show up in shorts.