[May
21-23 2004]
Atlantic City has always been known for
its beautiful boardwalk, the Miss America pageant
and more recently, the awesome empire that is
Donald Trump. Last weekend however, Atlantic
City was invaded by yet another genre.
Top show cars and tuners alike made the trip
down to the Atlantic City Convention Center
for the first ever SEMA International Auto Salon
held on the East Coast. SEMA on the East
Coast? Just what the doctor ordered.
Although the event took place in only one hall
of the Convention Center, IAS managed to bring
out the biggest names in the business. From
BF Goodrich to AEM, IAS featured an all star
line-up of the industry’s top anufacturers.
Walking through the show, one could not deny
how much it felt like a “mini” version
of the real SEMA in Las
Vegas. Complete with elaborate booths, celebrity
import models and crazy demo-vehicles, the show
kept spectators lingering around all day
long.
Some of the NCCA’s top competitor vehicles
were on hand as well. Jay
Laub’s unbeatable widebody RX-7 was well
displayed in the Toyo Tires
booth. Eddie Farcon’s carbonfibre E36 Bimmer
also drew a crowd in the
HCI booth sporting brand new HRE deep dish 19’s.
Nitrous Express
brought out a pair of impeccable 350Z’s
representing both the drag and
show scene respectively.
|
| |
Speaking of drag cars, JoJo Callos from
Team Castrol also unveiled his newly built
front wheel drive Acura RSX pro mod dragster.
Industry leaders such as RJ DeVera, Stephan
Papadakis and Christian Rado were all
present to greet fans. Import models such
as Mary J Castillo, Flo Jalin and Jolie
R all got pretty for the swarm
of snap happy camera holders. The stage
show was no disappointment either. Showgoers
were treated to the scratching talents
of both Kid Capri and DJ Scribble all
weekend long.
The thirst for a first class sport compact
show on the East Coast has finally been
quenched. SEMA’s IAS was a solid
representation of today’s sport compact
scene. We look forward to the return of
this
event next year and hope that it only
gets bigger!
|
|
