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SEMA 2007 – Rockin’ with the Swedes!
If you are a regular reader to this Web site, you know that Automotive Rhythms holds it down. We travel the world to bring you the 411 on the latest shows, from Tokyo to Frankfurt to D.C. And we travel annually to SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association show in the land of glitter, Las Vegas, Nevada.
 SEMA is all about gear. From rims and tires from CEC and Michelin, to DVD systems and GPS units from Sony and Beltronics, to tools from Craftsman and gauges from SunPro, SEMA has three large convention center halls brimming with automotive toys and necessities. And the cars are there too. Custom designers Boyd Coddington and Chip Foose showed their latest. They boys from West Coast Customs held it down with a custom trailer to display their works. GH Wheels showed unique wheels fashioned after Olympic-style weight plates (the wheels were off the charts!). And there were plenty of trucks and sport utes. The great thing about SEMA is that from Bentley and Rolls, to Lamborghini and Ford with a ton of customized Mustangs, all of the hot rides are shown at SEMA, tricked out in ways that boggle the mind. The perfect example was a 2008 Mustang with a twelve cylinder Lamborghini engine stuffed into the rear of this one-off masterpiece! Seeing is believing!
Automotive Rhythms was hosted at SEMA this year by the good folks at Volvo Cars. Volvo at SEMA? It’s a legitimate question. But check it – Volvo showed five concepts that plain blew onlookers away. From the all-new Volvo XC70 to a high performance version of the Volvo S80 T6, to an eye popping Volvo C30 and C70 Convertible, to a custom Volvo Hot Rod, SEMA 2007 marked Volvo’s most ambitious and successful SEMA effort ever.
 The five cars shown were the “Heico Sportiv” C30 and S80 T6, “Caresto” Hot Rod and C70 Convertible, and XC70 “Surf Rescue” concepts. All looked like tricked out versions of the production models with one notable exception – the Caresto Hot Rod. First shown at last year’s SEMA show, the Caresto Hot Rod was so well received Volvo Cars brought it back for an encore. It is completely hand assembled from aluminum and carbon fiber, and features many stock Volvo parts, including the 311 horsepower V8 engine found in the S80 and XC90. Premium leather adorns the interior of this stunning concept.
So you know when the Swedes rocked the show the whole event was a keeper. Enjoy our photo gallery from SEMA 2007 and stay tuned to AR for more dateline auto show coverage!
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