SEMA SHOW ’nuff said

Dec. 1, 2007

There were more than 130,000 dealer and exhibitor attendees at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show this year, up from 2006. The number of dealers attending was up five-fold compared to four years ago, according to SEMA.

At the Performance Tires & Wheels section sponsored by the Tire Industry Association (TIA), the number of exhibiters increased by at least 17 versus last year, representing an additional 29,000 square feet of space. Attendance at TIA’s Welcome Reception and Breakfast with the President was up as well.

Attendees from more than 100 countries had the opportunity to walk 1.1 million square feet of interior exhibit space, and an additional one million square feet of space outside the Las Vegas Convention Center.

For those of you who couldn’t attend this year, Modern Tire Dealer did the walking for you. We discovered all sorts of new tires on and off the trade show floor. There were ultra-high performance passenger and light truck tires, luxury touring tires, all-terrain tires, even D.O.T.-approved race tires. The pageantry wasn’t limited to consumer tires, either.

We even checked out the Sands Expo and Convention Center, home of the Automotive Aftermarket Products Exposition (AAPEX) for more new products.

Our coverage of the 2007 SEMA Show also includes an update on tire pressure monitoring systems, which are now mandated on all 2008 model-year light vehicles, and a look at the hot topic of counterfeit tires through the eyes of new TIA President Peggy Fisher.

Mark Twain once described golf as a “good walk spoiled.” That was definitely not the case at this year’s SEMA Show. Check out our coverage in the series of articles on this Web site.

About the Author

Bob Ulrich

Bob Ulrich was named Modern Tire Dealer editor in August 2000 and retired in January 2020. He joined the magazine in 1985 as assistant editor, and had been responsible for gathering statistical information for MTD's "Facts Issue" since 1993. He won numerous awards for editorial and feature writing, including five gold medals from the International Automotive Media Association. Bob earned a B.A. in English literature from Ohio Northern University and has a law degree from the University of Akron.