by Matt Konkle
Managing Editor
LAS VEGAS — The annual Specialty Equipment Market Association show opened to huge crowds on a crisp, sun-splashed Tuesday morning in the Nevada desert.
According to show organizers, more than 150,000 people descended on the Las Vegas Convention Center for day one, ready to wander through 2,400 brands that took up space in five convention center halls in exhibit space that ranged from small table areas to wide open areas with multiple display vehicles and all kinds of product layouts.
It is impossible to march through everything on day one at SEMA, but a good place to always start is in the show’s North Hall, where loads of new manufacturer product is propped up on tables and display racks.
Lighting, wheels, tires, technology, suspension — you name the category and SEMA has a spot for any manufacturer debuting a new product.
From there, a short walk over to West Hall reveals the Off-Road section of the show, where nearly all of the top vendors have set down roots for SEMA week, and where we spent most of our first event day.
And as we roam the aisles and visit vendors and manufacturers, we’ll pick out one of the top things we’ve done each day, as well as a product we’ve seen that should make some noise in 2025, and find one vehicle that really stands out in the SEMA crowd.
We call it the SEMA Three.
One: SEMA Beyond The Show
While all those scores of thousands of people roamed the LVCC hall floors Tuesday, we took some time to meet up with SEMA CEO Mike Spagnola and Senior Vice President of Public and Government Affairs Karen Bailey-Chapman to discuss what SEMA’s role is in protecting access to aftermarket products for automotive consumers.
Short answer – a lot.
Longer answer: SEMA is heavily invested in attacking legislation designed to restrict, or even eliminate, consumer access to aftermarket automotive products.
Among other things, the organization has sued California to stop the state’s efforts to eliminate Internal Combustion Engine vehicles statewide, helped push through a law legalizing doorless driving in Pennsylvania — the only state where it previously had been illegal, and is also fighting efforts in that state to eliminate access to aftermarket exhaust kits.
Additionally, through SEMA’s Political Action Committee, it helps lawmakers focus on legislation such as a consumer’s Right to Repair, Driver’s Assistance Systems, California Air Resources Board issues, Warranty problems, Electrification and Emissions Compliance.
We’ll have our entire interview with Spagnola and Bailey-Chapman on Torque shortly after SEMA week.
Two: Tyri Baseline Lights
We all know just how popular aftermarket LED lighting is nowadays for Jeep vehicles. Heck, there is a light for pretty much everything now — interior and exterior.
However, nearly all of those lights achieve price stability because they are sourced from overseas suppliers.
Well, TYRI lighting is changing that a bit now with its new Baseline auxiliary lights.
TYRI, if you don’t know, is the company that supplies all the OEM lighting for Jeep Wrangler vehicles and has become heavily involved in aftermarket off-road lighting over the past few years.
And its Baseline lights are perfect for bumper or cowl mounting. These lights come in two versions: a round series that throws out 2,800 lumens of light and a square edition tossing 2,000 lumens.
The best part?
Each one is made in the USA and will have a sub $100 price point — almost unheard of for American-made lighting of this caliber.
We’ll have more on this light later on Torque in our SEMA show wrap-up.
Three: Best Jeep
On the edge of Crown Automotive’s exhibit area in the right corner of West Hall sat a beautifully reconstructed 1968 Jeepster Commando, complete with a muted blue paint finish, jet black hardtop and matching black wheels.
The build was, once again, set up for Crown by Wisconsin-based Max-Bilt Off-Road, and definitely followed the mantra Crown provided of ‘Just build something cool’.
Max-Bilt started this vehicle off with a 6.2-liter LS3 engine and a 4L70 automatic four-speed transmission. Next, it threw in Dana 44 axles, Bilstein shocks, and that black custom-built hardtop.
Additionally, this build features custom Adams Driveshafts, Rough Country Powersteps, Yokohama 265/20R18 tires, a throwback sound system for that late ‘60s era, custom interior to match the outside color scheme, anti-rock sway bars and a Holly Sniper fuel tank.
Oh, and of course, nearly all of the replacement parts needed for this build came right from Crown.
Max-Bilt definitely built something cool for the Crown SEMA booth this year.
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