If enduring* the Vlogs was too much for you : forum.retro-rides.org/thread/200874/goes-sema-2017-vlog-doughnuts : then here is the text and image version.
I'll not give you lashing of background detail of the trip as that is in the videos, suffice to say it was me, rmad, HARDCORE and VIP in an AirBnB for a week at the biggest aftermarket and tuning event in the world**. It is genuinely hard work and we were exhausted at the end of each day. This will be a multi part post as there is too much to cover in a single post.
Let us begin
The thing with SEMA is that it covers a lot of areas, modern stuff, old stuff, high end hot rods, drifty things, trucks, trucks and more trucks. It houses a huge hall of tools that are suitable for top end workshops and garages. It has an outside section with loads of cars on display as well as an action area where there are drift demos and all sorts of other things happening. With all this mashing together of stuff the even can be somewhat overwhelming, and more importantly it can be surprising. With that in mind, my first pick is not a retro car, a hot rod, a race car or anything of the sort, but something that really is a twist on all of that in a more modern shell.
A Porsche 997 with a flat nose conversion on the Spyder Auto stand
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
Let’s go straight in the opposite direction to something that was a bit of a theme at SEMA this year, and may just be a US thing, but it seemed much more prevalent than in previous years. Trucks! This one with a big V12 if I remember correctly
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
This was more the thing that was the bread and butter of the show halls, pro touring spec (but evolved a bit) American coupes. This Camaro was pretty trick with its carbon fibre insets and repeated clever little details throughout (none of which you can see in this picture)
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
I surprised myself this year by being very taken with this Corvette, not normally a car I'd go too far out of my way to check out, but I loved the tech look of this one, and the way the black bodywork wasn't just 100% murdered out but had the grey detailing on the bumper and interior. Sometimes a little restraint when building outlandish cars can be a good thing.
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
I do like a car that looks like it'd take you down an alley way, steal your money and shank you. Or perhaps more likely scare the cuss out of you on a track
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
Ford take over one end of the hall each year and whilst other members of the group were very taken with some ridiculous monster truck thing that had been made into a passable semblance of vehicle through a load of modifications, I was a touch more drawn to the original GT40, perhaps mainly because it didn't have anyone standing in front of it.
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
A lot of the highlight cars around the show are taking part in Battle Of The Builders, which is a judged affair that takes sixty cars and reduces it down over the four days of the event and ultimately picks a winner. This did not win, but it shows the quality of the detail that goes into these builds.
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
Look at that!!
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
Talking of detail, the House Of Kolor paint stand never fails to have some of the brightest and most bonkers vehicles. This year I was surprised and delighted to see one of my favourite cars in the metal finally. This Corvair low rider was built in France and I was hoping to get him over to The Weekender, I don't think this is going to happen though as they are planning to sell this in America.
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
Here is an interesting pair, these are steel kit rods. For about £25-30k you can get yourself an all steel rolling chassis, just need to add engine and box (and maybe rear axle). Now I'm not sure you'd get anywhere near passing a BIVA or whatever with one, but they looked damn good
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
At the other end of the spectrum Toyota had a display about their new Camry. This was just a load of light up perspex, but when you took a photo it came out as a pretty convincing 3D display
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
Off road 911 looked a bit too clean to be ready for business, but looked like it could be a lot of fun
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
I had planned to record some more podcasts there, but I just didn't have the time, it was manic and exhausting. One of the semi-scheduled meetings was with Mike who owns/built this (and another famous Beemer)
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
This is how shiny wheels get made
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
There was a fairly strong Japanese showing this year, although more than a couple still had that American edge to them
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
Finally for the time being, given the difficult conditions shooting at the event, people, light, framing, businesses actually wanting to do business! It was nice of SEMA to set up this shot that any idiot could take. So this idiot did.
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
More to follow!
* Actually they do give a good flavour of SEMA if I do say so myself.
** I'm assuming this, but if there is a bigger one I need to know about it.
I'll not give you lashing of background detail of the trip as that is in the videos, suffice to say it was me, rmad, HARDCORE and VIP in an AirBnB for a week at the biggest aftermarket and tuning event in the world**. It is genuinely hard work and we were exhausted at the end of each day. This will be a multi part post as there is too much to cover in a single post.
Let us begin
The thing with SEMA is that it covers a lot of areas, modern stuff, old stuff, high end hot rods, drifty things, trucks, trucks and more trucks. It houses a huge hall of tools that are suitable for top end workshops and garages. It has an outside section with loads of cars on display as well as an action area where there are drift demos and all sorts of other things happening. With all this mashing together of stuff the even can be somewhat overwhelming, and more importantly it can be surprising. With that in mind, my first pick is not a retro car, a hot rod, a race car or anything of the sort, but something that really is a twist on all of that in a more modern shell.
A Porsche 997 with a flat nose conversion on the Spyder Auto stand
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
Let’s go straight in the opposite direction to something that was a bit of a theme at SEMA this year, and may just be a US thing, but it seemed much more prevalent than in previous years. Trucks! This one with a big V12 if I remember correctly
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
This was more the thing that was the bread and butter of the show halls, pro touring spec (but evolved a bit) American coupes. This Camaro was pretty trick with its carbon fibre insets and repeated clever little details throughout (none of which you can see in this picture)
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
I surprised myself this year by being very taken with this Corvette, not normally a car I'd go too far out of my way to check out, but I loved the tech look of this one, and the way the black bodywork wasn't just 100% murdered out but had the grey detailing on the bumper and interior. Sometimes a little restraint when building outlandish cars can be a good thing.
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
I do like a car that looks like it'd take you down an alley way, steal your money and shank you. Or perhaps more likely scare the cuss out of you on a track
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
Ford take over one end of the hall each year and whilst other members of the group were very taken with some ridiculous monster truck thing that had been made into a passable semblance of vehicle through a load of modifications, I was a touch more drawn to the original GT40, perhaps mainly because it didn't have anyone standing in front of it.
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
A lot of the highlight cars around the show are taking part in Battle Of The Builders, which is a judged affair that takes sixty cars and reduces it down over the four days of the event and ultimately picks a winner. This did not win, but it shows the quality of the detail that goes into these builds.
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
Look at that!!
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
Talking of detail, the House Of Kolor paint stand never fails to have some of the brightest and most bonkers vehicles. This year I was surprised and delighted to see one of my favourite cars in the metal finally. This Corvair low rider was built in France and I was hoping to get him over to The Weekender, I don't think this is going to happen though as they are planning to sell this in America.
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
Here is an interesting pair, these are steel kit rods. For about £25-30k you can get yourself an all steel rolling chassis, just need to add engine and box (and maybe rear axle). Now I'm not sure you'd get anywhere near passing a BIVA or whatever with one, but they looked damn good
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
At the other end of the spectrum Toyota had a display about their new Camry. This was just a load of light up perspex, but when you took a photo it came out as a pretty convincing 3D display
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
Off road 911 looked a bit too clean to be ready for business, but looked like it could be a lot of fun
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
I had planned to record some more podcasts there, but I just didn't have the time, it was manic and exhausting. One of the semi-scheduled meetings was with Mike who owns/built this (and another famous Beemer)
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
This is how shiny wheels get made
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
There was a fairly strong Japanese showing this year, although more than a couple still had that American edge to them
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
Finally for the time being, given the difficult conditions shooting at the event, people, light, framing, businesses actually wanting to do business! It was nice of SEMA to set up this shot that any idiot could take. So this idiot did.
SEMA 2017 by Retro Rides, on Flickr
More to follow!
* Actually they do give a good flavour of SEMA if I do say so myself.
** I'm assuming this, but if there is a bigger one I need to know about it.
...that FD RX-7 is positively upsetting and I don't care how much it costs to import that stupid FEED Type VII kit, it doesn't match anything about the car... how do the wheels on that blue lifted Mustang actually turn? They look much wider than the arches 
...Looks like poor old Herbie's fallen on hard times and is now sleeping in a dumpster off his nut on crack 
