Seen at SEMA

Trucks occupy a prominent place at any SEMA show, but there's not enoughroom for all the vehicles. Outside the convention center is a gallery ofvehicles that included this lowered custom GMC. Many arrived early justto look at the cars and trucks outside.

Just when you thought you'd seen it all, how about one of the largestFord trucks you've ever seen? This machine travels on treads and nottires. It cut quite an imposing figure in the impressive Ford MotorCompany booth.

For that night on the town, there are vehicles like this stretchedToyota Tundra. It was impossible to get a picture without someonechecking it out.

Ford had a large presence with the introduction of the new Mustang andthe appeal of the GT40 dominating the attention. If you want to be seenat SEMA, you have to do it right because the competition is matchingyour efforts in eye-catching displays.

The chopper craze was evident at SEMA as custom bikes were found indisplays like the Miller booth. This custom-made machine also had awelder painted to match. The work of the Orange County Chopper folks ofAmerican Chopper TV fame was scattered throughout. The Teutels, Paul andPaul Jr., were seen checking out the show.

When you have cool cars, you have celebrities. Car guy Jay Leno was afirst day visitor.

Racing champion Tommy Kendall was on hand at the Bosch booth to meet themedia. Bosch is celebrating the 20th anniversary of their platinum lineof premium spark plugs.

How do you keep those show cars nice and shiny? You might ask Mr. Clean.He was on hand supervising the demonstration of the Mr. Clean AutoDrycarwash product.

When you have cool cars and hot celebrities, you have TV cameras.Several programs, such as Hot Rod TV, used the show as a backdrop forproductions. This TV crew checks out the Chevy in the Primedia boothbefore the booth was constructed. The TV studio would be in constant usethroughout the show. On the other side of the booth, Bob Long and MotorTrend Radio interviewed a number of top automotive celebrities.