s I scribe this month’s editorial, it’s a few days post SEMA and I’m attempting to unpack some of the happenings from the event, which includes recalling the many conversations that took place with the plethora of industry folks. It’s all still a blur that generally takes weeks for me to process. Heck, at my age remembering only half of what went down ain’t as easy as it used to be, but I always recognize the importance of SEMA and what it does for the aftermarket industry.

The first SEMA Show took place in 1967 in the basement of Dodger Stadium. It was a relatively modest event that featured around 98 exhibitors and attracted roughly 3,000 attendees. This was 57 years before Freddie Freeman’s unforgettable walk-off grand slam against the New York Yankees in the 10th inning of Game 1 of the 2024 World Series, an achievement that will forever mark Freeman’s legacy in baseball history, which happened at the very same venue.

As that memorable home run is sure to shape the minds of young baseball fans for a lifetime, the SEMA Show plays an important role in determining the direction of the automotive aftermarket industry. Just as SEMA has done since its humble beginnings, it still brings an outstanding number of new performance products and muscle car builds that influence future projects. In some instances, those influences can be small incremental pieces less noticeable at first glance, while other large aspects make bold statements that can overshadow the subtle details.

While it’s sometimes the wild, extreme, and shiny things that grab our attention, I tend to focus on the subtle touches that bring to life the larger things. Whether it’s a finely tucked bumper or precise hood and door gaps, those things can sometimes get overlooked by the casual enthusiast but are the aspects I appreciate most, as I know skilled fabricators spend so much time and effort painstakingly perfecting those details before any build leaves their shop, especially if that build is being shown at SEMA. The bodyworkers and metal fabricators are the true heroes of the hot rodding world.

Speaking of heroes, as I sit here reminiscing about all the beautiful cars from SEMA, it’s Veteran’s Day 2024, so I’d like to draw attention to all the Veterans and active-duty military members who have made and continue to make tremendous sacrifices while protecting our country and allowing us the freedom to enjoy driving our classic cars, attend car shows and events like SEMA, and witness bottom-of-the-10th, walk-off home runs. Without your selfless heroics, none of these freedoms would be available to us.

To all the active-duty and military Veterans, you are the true heroes of this country, and on behalf of us in the Chevy muscle car hobby, thank you for your service.

We are in!