As someone who went to SEMA every year from 2004 to 2014, a part of me got very sick and tired of attending. After a long hiatus, I finally returned in 2025, but only spent a single day at the show. It was the first time I could attend with no obligation to shoot everything, which was a very nice change of pace. Still, SEMA is a massive show, and trying to cover as much ground as possible in a single day is exhausting.
This year, I returned to deliver coverage for Tunerzine and gave myself two days to cover the show. What I didn’t account for was how much time I’d spend catching up with old friends, meeting new ones, and making it to a few prescheduled meetings. Covering the rest of the show today took a lot of speedwalking, more than 10 miles of it, but I managed to make it through most of what I wanted to see.
I got to the show a little early to photograph some of the featured cars parked outside and ran into the @enjukuracing Formula DRIFT championship-winning GT86 built by @jerryyangracing and driven by @conorshanahan79 at the GT Radial display, alongside @amanda.sorensen12’s BMW.
Inside, I came across plenty more Rocket Bunny builds, including another two at the @inozetek booth. There was also @larry_chen_foto’s freshly built 1996 Accord SiR, which won the Hagerty RADwood Build Challenge last month. The car took the fan vote at RADwood NorCal, resulting in a $50,000 award to the RPM Foundation.
Other highlights included some carbon fiber Skylines, plenty of luxury and exotic builds, and more Liberty Walk than I can remember seeing in one place. I also spent some time catching up with the folks at Meguiar’s, who continue to support Tunerzine just as they did many years ago. They gave me the rundown on all the new products in the 2027 lineup as the brand closes out its 125th anniversary year, and you can expect me to put all of them to the test once I get my hands on them.
My personal favorites from today included the Auto Fashion K-powered 240Z and a Backyard Special EK at the Hondata booth. The South Hall, which houses the Global Tire Expo and Wheels & Accessories sections, was pretty disappointing this year. Other than Konig Wheels, much of the hall was filled with overseas manufacturers, and there was a surprising lack of cars I wanted to photograph in a space that used to be home to displays from brands like Falken Tires.
Two days was enough for me this year, but we’ll see how I feel in another 12 months. SEMA still has some amazing builds, but the overall quality felt all over the place this time around. Nonetheless, if you weren’t able to make it to Las Vegas yourself, enjoy Part 2 of our coverage below, and catch up on Part 1 if you missed it.
GalleryPhotos by Jason Siu
