SEMA 2009 with Optima Batteries

By James Robertson
Musclecars.net editor at large

The leaves are falling, the air is crisp and that means one thing. it's SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) time.

The OPTIMA Battery team hosted 15 automotive bloggers and forum contributors at the 2009 SEMA show and we were lucky enough to be one of them. During the week we attended a few round table meetings with the Optima team and Doe Anderson. We discussed everything from our perceptions and experience with Optima Batteries, to the differences between the red, yellow and blue top batteries. Did you know over 30% of the batteries that are returned to Optima are perfectly fine? All they needed was a proper charge.

At the Optima press release, they announced the cars that will be in their Ultimate Street Car Invitational www.optimainvitational.com on Saturday November 7th. The race is at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump, NV.

For those of you who don't know what SEMA is, it's an elite auto enthusiast show happening NOV. 3rd-6 in Las Vegas. Who needs trick-or-treating when you have a car lover's candy store with thousands of accessories and performance parts?

At motor shows around the world, exhibitors have recently vied with eachother to present an image of modesty. Not so in the US gambling mecca of Las Vegas. The American tuning and accessories industry had a turnover of over $30 billion last year, a trend that looks set to continue. Trade representatives from more than 100 countries attended the event which is held on over 2 million square feet of exhibition space.

There are around 2,000 exclusive models on display. This show has the lot, from beefed-up muscle cars and pick-ups to show cars and the full gamut of tuning components. To nobody's surprise, the new Camaro registers as the most 'pimped' vehicle.

You couldn't seem to take ten steps without running into one, and by the end of the day, we had witnessed just about every way a Camaro could be customized. You want Lambo doors? You got 'em. How about slammed? Sure. Green? Yellow? Gold? Matte Blue? How about a convertible? Make it two. How about wide? Or ever wider. Engine swaps? Don't get us started. Try an LS7 oreven an LS9.