Top 10 SEMA 2013 Predictions from HOT ROD

[fleetus macmullitz]

"On our way out the door, we thought we’d make a few prediction about what’s going to be big at the 2013 SEMA Show.


1) SELF-TUNING EFI: This has been a big deal for a few years, but we bet we’ll see even more new revisions from existing manufacturers as well as some new players on the scene.

2) LAND-SPEED RACING: True Bonneville race cars and hot-rod styling inspired by salt racing will continue to be a minor but noticeable thematic element in the show.

3) 2014 CORVETTE STINGRAYS: No-brainer here. There may not be pervasive on the show floor, but there will be plenty of ‘em, and companies will be scrambling to be the first to announce parts for them. We predict many new Stingray products “revealed” that only exist in theory. Vaporware, as they say.

4) BLOWN SRT CHALLENGERS: Mopar may not release the real news that the hottest Challengers will be supercharged next year, but one way or another, we’ll hear the most solid news yet about whether the rumors are factual or not.

5) GREENIE PERFORMANCE: We don’t think that electric cars and hybrids will make a huge splash, but we’re predicting that we spot at least a handful of performance upgrades for those cars.

6) 1,320 FEET: With NHRA having recently sent out a survey that asked in at least 10 different ways if they should bring nitro drag racing back to a full quarter-mile rather than 1,000 feet, we’re guessing that John Force will say something about it at the always-fun NHRA Breakfast. He won’t say anything politically dangerous about it, but he’ll bring it up.

7) STREET OUTLAWS: This street-racing show on Discovery seems to have the most gearhead focus of today’s reality shows, and we bet there are manufacturers who will will be marketing their associations with the cars and the stars of the show.

8) BROWN CARS: Last year, we spotted non-metallic gray colors as a minor trend in SEMA’s show cars. This year, we’re betting on brown going more mainstream.

9) DOMESTIC DRIFT CARS: Drifting was big talk when it first showed up a dozen years ago, and folks saw it as the future of youth’s interest in the hobby. Then the fad faded away for a while when the import craze died down. Now that top drifters have been in domestic cars for five or six years, industry attention is swinging back onto drifting. We bet we see drift-inspired show cars and drift-driver endorsements on more products than before.

10) TRUCK TRENDS: The fresh Chevy Silverado bodystyle will dominate the street-truck portion of new product releases, and the latest Dodges will lead the way in the 4×4 and work-truck worlds."