Now on to what we saw that was bad at SEMA. We are still seeing a bunch of knock-off companies at SEMA, which in our eyes do not bring any benefit to the industry. However, this year we noticed the number of knock-off companies was reduced compared to previous years but the numbers is still staggering. The copycats, which we like to call them, do not help to elevate the industry but in fact hold the industry back.
The truth of the matter is legitimate companies are scared to release new products at SEMA because they are worried that a knock-off company will copy the product and bring the inferior product to market before ample testing. If a consumer purchases the inferior product and something goes wrong it leaves a bad taste in their mouth, no matter what company it comes from. The backlash can hurt the product before the legitimate company can release the part. The copycats can prevent the industry from taking evolutionary steps forward.
And lastly, the ugly part of SEMA is the number of cars at SEMA that do not belong there. I am talking about a bone stock car with wheels and lowering job but nothing else. This is not a car show even though it feels like one. This makes our jobs harder to locate the truly unique rides at SEMA. When you have to look at 10 cars and only find one out of the bunch that is worthy of acknowledgement it can be frustrating and time consuming. For those guilty parties please do everyone and favor and leave your bone stockers at home or at least put some more accessories on to make it worth our while.