Super Rare Japanese Cars Shine at SEMA Show with 2,400 Companies

200,000 visitors attended the show, which was the same size as Tokyo Disney Sea.

The SEMA SHOW is a huge aftermarket trade show sponsored by the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), an American auto accessory organization, The number of exhibitors this year exceeded 2,395 companies, and more than 200,000 people visited the show during its 58th year. Incidentally, the Tokyo Auto Salon and the Essen Motor Show in Germany, also one of the world’s three largest auto shows for modified cars, had 378 and 500 exhibitors respectively this year, which shows how large the SEMA SHOW is.

This year’s show was held from November 6 to 9, Japan time. The Las Vegas Convention Center, the venue of the show, is also huge. The total indoor exhibition space was approximately 290,000 square meters, and the outdoor exhibition space extended to every corner of the parking lot. In addition, events such as drift races were held nearby, making the total area of the venue over 500,000 m2. This is almost the same size as Tokyo Disney Sea.

The method of transportation connecting the vast halls was also impressive. The free shuttle service “VEGAS LOOP,” which was completed in 2009, will be used for transportation between the halls. This service is operated by Elon Musk’s “Boring Company,” and a huge tunnel runs underneath the venue, through which visitors will be transported in Tesla cars. Although the cars are scheduled to be self-driving in the near future, this year they were still being driven by drivers.

Among the exhibitors, Toyota drew the most attention. The fact that its booth was located at the entrance to the main center hall was a testament to its popularity. Toyota boasts the number one selling passenger car in the U.S., the Camry (254,832 units), and the number one selling SUV, the RAV4 (389,718 units), both of which enjoy overwhelming support in the United States.

In addition to the Land Cruiser (Land Cruiser 250 in Japan), which made its long-awaited debut this year, there was a spectacular debut of powerful custom models based on 4×4 (off-road 4-wheel drive vehicles), including the Tundra, Tacoma, Sequoia, and 4Runner. The booths were always crowded with an unusually large number of visitors.

It seemed as if most of the Japanese exhibitors who had been absent due to the COVID-19 crisis had returned, but it was not only the new products of major companies that attracted attention. The “Metal Impala” by Takahiko Izawa, a supreme custom painter and representative of IZAWA ART DESIGN, showed craftsmanship that astonished even the Americans. The unprecedented technique of applying a proprietary metal paint job to a 1958 Chevrolet Impala, a very popular car in the U.S., and then hand-engraving every inch of the body, shines through.

In 2008, the Impala was exhibited at the San Diego Auto Museum, and in June 2012, it will be on display for one year at the Petersen Automotive Museum, the largest museum on the west coast of the United States. In both cases, this is the first time a Japanese person has achieved such an accomplishment. There was a long line of people waiting to see the craftsmanship at the booth.

The cost of air transportation from Japan was a whopping 5 million yen each way. The Impala on display at the “SEMA SHOW” was moved from the Petersen Museum to the Las Vegas venue.

History of Japanese Cars that Sweep the SEMA SHOW

The author first visited the SEMA SHOW more than 30 years ago in 1993. In the 1990s, there were almost no Japanese demo cars or exhibits by Japanese companies, and the majority of exhibits were so-called “muscle cars” such as huge pickup trucks, 4x4s, Mustangs, and Corvettes. The surge in the number of Japanese demo cars occurred about 10 years ago, coinciding with the period when the prices of the Skyline GT-R and other Japanese-made sports cars of the ’80s and ’90s soared and became the object of desire for Americans.

How has the popularity of Japanese cars at the SEMA SHOW changed? We interviewed Mr. Katsuma Nakai, U.S. GM of TEIN, a world-class suspension manufacturer that has been exhibiting for 20 years.

When we first exhibited in 2003, two years had passed since the first “Wild Speed” movie was released (which sparked the popularity of Japanese cars in the U.S.), and Japanese tuning was gradually becoming popular. TEIN products were also rapidly gaining popularity in the U.S., and the booth was a big success. I’m wearing TEIN! I’ve got TEIN on my car! Honda Civic and Integra were very popular at that time.

The third movie in the series, “TOKYO DRIFT,” was released in 2006, and drifting events such as “Formula Drift” had started, so it was a perfect fit for America’s love of flashy tuning and dynamic racing.’ After the import ban on the Skyline R32 GT-R was lifted in 2002, the number of slightly older Japanese cars at the SEMA Show increased dramatically, and the show has been booming ever since.

Japanese companies and craftsmanship shone prominently in both new and old cars, as well as in the traditional American customization scene. 200,000 people were enthusiastic about the “car festival,” and Japan was definitely at the center of it all.