Automotive experts are speculating on what the top vehicle models will be at the upcoming SEMA Show taking place Tuesday - Friday, October 30 - November 2, 2012, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
With predictions for the SEMA Award ranging from traditional muscle cars to brand-new models, anticipation is high as to which vehicles actually take the top honors.
"The SEMA Award highlights the makes and models that are trending strongly within the specialty market," said Chris Kersting, SEMA president and CEO. "With each booth vehicle representing a 'vote,' the winners clearly tell us which cars and trucks are the hottest this year."
Last year's SEMA Award winners were the Chevrolet Camaro in the car category, the Fiat 500 in the sport compact category, the Ford F-Series in the truck category and the Jeep Wrangler in the 4x4-SUV category. Experts agree that traditional favorites such as the Camaro, Jeep and Ford F-Series will continue to have a strong presence with vehicle customizers. However, many are keeping a close eye on the all new Scion FR-S as the frontrunner to win the Hottest Sport Compact award.
Here's what some industry experts are saying:
"In our booth, we will have a 2013 Scion FR-S, because we know that it will be a huge part of the SEMA Show." – John Hotchkis, president at Hotchkis Performance
"Judging from what's going on this year, I expect the Scion FR-S platform will be very popular at this year's SEMA show. We're building one and I hear a lot of companies are in the process of building them, creating tremendous horsepower and adding a lot of different great applications." – Eddie Lee, general manager at Mackin Industries
"I believe this year's show will have a large contingent of pro touring cars, which have gathered huge interest in the past couple of years. However, there is a new crop of ultra high-tech vehicles coming out. There will be a small group of these new wave vehicles throughout the show that are truly breakout vehicles that will be must sees." – Nate Shelton, chief marketing officer at B&M Automotive Group
"There is no doubt that the Scion FR-S is going to be the dominant and prominent cars at SEMA this year, and I'll go out on a limb and say the same will happen again at the 2013 SEMA Show." – Neil Tjin, president at Tjin Edition
"4-door Jeep JK's will be strong, since the Jeep segment is growing." – Greg Adler, CEO of Transamerican Auto Parts
"The Scion FR-S platform has been getting much attention from the automotive aftermarket lately and a vehicle I believe will be seen quite a bit at the 2012 SEMA Show. I also believe that the current generation of Mustangs and Camaros are still a focus for many companies. I feel that their popularity will continue to be strong at this year's show. Of course, hot rods from across the spectrum will continue to be prominent as they are each and every year." – RJ de Vera, associate director of public relations and event marketing at Meguiar's Inc.
The winners of the SEMA Award will be announced Tuesday, October 30, 2012, at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information about the SEMA Award, visit www.sema.org/semaaward.
