Every November, the SEMA Show brings the world’s leading automotive aftermarket manufacturers, suppliers, and enthusiasts together in Las Vegas. Eastwood hit the ground last week to uncover the latest aftermarket innovations and trends at SEMA Show 2024. This year’s event showcased groundbreaking products, revealed cutting-edge builds, and redefined what’s possible in automotive customization and restoration. Our team walked four huge convention halls in search of everything from high-performance upgrades to sleek design trends.
Officially, the SEMA Show (Specialty Equipment Market Association) is an industry-only event for professionals in the field. However, the show ultimately influences what’s available to hobbyists, inspiring new ways to enhance and personalize their vehicles. Known as the ultimate gathering for the industry, SEMA is where the latest performance parts, tools, accessories, and automotive technologies are first unveiled. For DIY automotive hobbyists, SEMA offers a glimpse into the future of car customization and restoration. It showcases the tools, techniques, and innovations that can make projects easier, more efficient, and more impactful.
Having fully recovered, we can now offer you a glimpse behind the curtain of this amazing show. Here are five of the biggest trends we picked up on as we examined the hundreds of incredible builds that filled the floors. We can’t wait to see how soon some of these concepts find their way into show cars around the country.
Overland Everything!
Twenty years ago, overlanding was simply called car camping. But over the last two decades, it has taken on a higher form. Equipping an all-capable vehicle with all the amenities of home and hitting the road less traveled is all the rage today. We credit publications like Overland Journal for inspiring us all to get outdoors and discover. Of course, the Covid years helped fuel growth in this segment as well.
Today, what was once reserved for Land Rovers, Jeeps, and 4 Runners is now available to anyone willing to mount a rooftop tent and a set all-terrain tires to whatever vehicle they have on hand. We saw overlanding-equipped Porsches and Lamborghinis ready to tackle the zombie apocalypse, along with all the usual 4×4 suspects. The West Hall of the convention center was filled with an array of new brands with roof tents, solar power generation, electric fridges, and all manner of elevated camp furniture.
Engraved Metallic Paint Finish
Forget about ghost flames and carbon fiber for a minute. We saw one of the most exotic finishes ever on a pair of cars painted by a Japanese artist. The 1958 Chevy Impala by Rohan Izawa Art looked to have been hand-engraved and left in bare metal. The black Mercedes G-wagen next to boasted a similarly ornate finish.
An optical illusion created by a proprietary paint surface preparation process and finished with ultra-fine metallic paints, the two vehicles had us fooled into believing someone had hand-tooled their body panels. Look at the pictures and tell us you’re not also convinced.
Mellow Colors
There was certainly no shortage of brilliant-colored projects at SEMA this year. Nor was there an absence of perfectly painted deep black paint jobs on show-worthy vehicles. However, among the more traditional show car colors we also noticed a distinct lean toward more subtle hues.
Echoing trends in the new-vehicle market, a number of top-quality builds (some of the best, in fact) featured muted shades. These included grays, tans, off-whites, and other demure colors. The look may not be everyone’s shade of milky tea, but it certainly puts the focus on the quality of the work. Rather than wow you with the shock of candy brilliance or a deep sea of clear coat, these neutral tones allow you to reflect more deeply on other details of the build.
The trend may not last forever, but it’s an interesting twist on tradition. We’re fans of the look when the right color is chose for the vehicle. And with so many great OEM colors in the mix right now, there’s no shortage of inspiration.
Sophisticated Interiors
It used to be a nice leather hide with contrasting stitching and maybe some embroidery made for a nice interior. Today, that seems boring. For one thing, leather is now ubiquitous. There were literally dozens of companies showing off quality leather either as full hides or as ready-to-install kits. And many of the ready-fit options could be specified with countless customizations from contrasting inserts to diamond quilting and more.
However, the most interesting projects of included a mix of leather and… cloth? That’s right, patterned cloth inserts with leather outer bolsters is the hot trend at the moment. We blame VW for kicking off the trend with the fifth-generation GTI nearly 20 years ago. What was once a quirk is now the rage.
We saw houndstooth cloth on the seats AND on the dashboard inserts of one custom Jeep build. Countless cars and trucks incorporated various plaids and check patterns of all colors into their interiors. Many of the upholstery suppliers had samples of retro-themed and traditional cloth patterns in their books.
Foor coverings have also become more sophisticated, with several vehicles using carpet alternatives. A cream-white Ford Bronco used a woven fiber matting on its floors, perfectly complementing the tone-on-tone look of its interior. A Blazer built by Ring Brother featured a similar treatment, as did an immaculate ’57 Chevy. And we saw many top-quality builds returning the subtle luxury of German wool carpet in a square weave.
Small Details Matter
Finally, we noticed a lot of the nicer cars had small details that matched the overall theme. That cream-white Bronco we just mentioned had a pair of leather-wrapped suitcases in its roof rack that matched the interior leather. It also had a duffle bag of the same material sitting on its back seat.
At the other end of the spectrum, we saw a Cummins diesel engine detailed with 24-carat gold plating on its engine components. When asked about the cost, the builder said a mere scratch in the gold represented $30 worth of damage. It’s anything but subtle, but it’s hard not to look at.
