SEMA year end

[blacksheep-1]

https://www.motor1.com/features/744765/sema-show-becoming-center-of-automotive-universe/?utm_id=599808

 

[byronj]

I noticed a lot of that at SEMA this year.

 

[mavisky]

What's wild is all of that money the manufacturers spend to be there is offset by the warranty denials for basic failures by customers who purchase and actually use their cars. The marketing hand and the accounting/warranty hands are fighting each other and they are losing to themselves.

 

[5.2 liters of democracy]

What I've realized this year is PRI is exactly what I wish SEMA was. I've come to realize I spend more time at SEMA wondering who buys some of the products being showcased than I do having good conversations or finding cool new products. The presence a lot of the quality manufacturers have at PRI dwarfs what they show up to SEMA with. For instance, Penske Racing Shocks had a small booth at SEMA just showcasing a couple small islands. At PRI, they had multiple vehicles and probably 15 guys ready to answer anything. For someone like that that doesn't really care what one-off things the OEMs are bringing, PRI is a dream.

On top of that, the courses you can take for simply being a member at PRI are awesome. Gridlife had their state of the grid meeting which was great, we sat in on a meeting with sanctioning bodies and track owners to discuss challenges and share advice to address those challenges, and also had a great candid meeting discussing aero and how to make improvements at several different levels of budget. While I still appreciate SEMA and what they do to protect the industry, the show has trended a little closer to OEMs showing flashy stuff they'll never actually make, meeting YouTubers, and standing next to 285 other bearded guys in a flannel (Not hating, I'm one of them) while some internet famous person drifts in the parking lot.

Again this is all just my opinion from having gone in 2011 and then skipping forward many years to go in 2022, 2023, and 2024. PRI is where it's at in my opinion.

 

[byronj]

What I've realized this year is PRI is exactly what I wish SEMA was. I've come to realize I spend more time at SEMA wondering who buys some of the products being showcased than I do having good conversations or finding cool new products. The presence a lot of the quality manufacturers have at PRI dwarfs what they show up to SEMA with. For instance, Penske Racing Shocks had a small booth at SEMA just showcasing a couple small islands. At PRI, they had multiple vehicles and probably 15 guys ready to answer anything. For someone like that that doesn't really care what one-off things the OEMs are bringing, PRI is a dream.

On top of that, the courses you can take for simply being a member at PRI are awesome. Gridlife had their state of the grid meeting which was great, we sat in on a meeting with sanctioning bodies and track owners to discuss challenges and share advice to address those challenges, and also had a great candid meeting discussing aero and how to make improvements at several different levels of budget. While I still appreciate SEMA and what they do to protect the industry, the show has trended a little closer to OEMs showing flashy stuff they'll never actually make, meeting YouTubers, and standing next to 285 other bearded guys in a flannel (Not hating, I'm one of them) while some internet famous person drifts in the parking lot.

Again this is all just my opinion from having gone in 2011 and then skipping forward many years to go in 2022, 2023, and 2024. PRI is where it's at in my opinion.

Definitely too many social media tubers in the way at SEMA and it was a snore fest. Plus all of the vehicles that were display only because they were not finished in time.

 

[blacksheep-1]

What I've realized this year is PRI is exactly what I wish SEMA was. I've come to realize I spend more time at SEMA wondering who buys some of the products being showcased than I do having good conversations or finding cool new products. The presence a lot of the quality manufacturers have at PRI dwarfs what they show up to SEMA with. For instance, Penske Racing Shocks had a small booth at SEMA just showcasing a couple small islands. At PRI, they had multiple vehicles and probably 15 guys ready to answer anything. For someone like that that doesn't really care what one-off things the OEMs are bringing, PRI is a dream.

On top of that, the courses you can take for simply being a member at PRI are awesome. Gridlife had their state of the grid meeting which was great, we sat in on a meeting with sanctioning bodies and track owners to discuss challenges and share advice to address those challenges, and also had a great candid meeting discussing aero and how to make improvements at several different levels of budget. While I still appreciate SEMA and what they do to protect the industry, the show has trended a little closer to OEMs showing flashy stuff they'll never actually make, meeting YouTubers, and standing next to 285 other bearded guys in a flannel (Not hating, I'm one of them) while some internet famous person drifts in the parking lot.

Again this is all just my opinion from having gone in 2011 and then skipping forward many years to go in 2022, 2023, and 2024. PRI is where it's at in my opinion.

Good observation, I would liken SEMA to the NRA, and PRI to NAGR.
The NRA is the old school base that files lawsuits, gets things done, but has gotten a little fat with age, NAGR, goes to the throat with activism and grassroots mobility. In truth, both are needed to make things run.