Sema 2005

[FaceYogurt]

The 2005 SEMA Show
11/11/2005

Honda wows SEMA with 19 2006 Civic Si project cars



The 2005 SEMA show in Las Vegas, NV was something entirely different than your regular “Car Show”. The SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) Trade Show is a ‘who’s who’ of the automotive aftermarket industry. This years show included over 10,000 booths for companies catering to every sector of the aftermarket world; muscle cars, sport compacts, luxury vehicles, trucks, SUV’s, exotics and everything in between.




What does Honda have to say?
As the Vehicle Manufacturer of the show, Honda presented several modified Ridgelines and 19 Civic Si project cars modified by tuners GReddy, AEM/DC Sports, Neuspeed, Mackin and many more. Unfortunately Honda did not bring a Fit to SEMA, and focused on the performance attributes of the new Civic Si to regain the hearts and minds of people in the import tuning scene. While we haven’t driven one yet, on paper it should be a great car, reasonable light weight, 197-horsepower DOHC 2.0-liter i-VTEC engine, 6-speed manual transmission, a limited slip differential, and a performance-oriented exhaust system.



What did the Honda Representatives have to say about the new for North America Fit? The bad news is Not much at all. Honda did tell us that the Fit will be released Mid March 2006 but would not give any details about equipment, engines, options or any changes that would be made for the US or Canadian markets. The Good news is that Mid March is only a few months away!

Tuners and the Fit!

While Honda was mum about the specs for the Fit, popular Honda tuners were more than happy to talk about parts they planned to offer for the Fit.. Rays Engineering, HKS and Project Mu brakes said they would bring parts for the Japanese Fit to the states. While US based tuners such as AEM, Hondata, and Neuspeed were looking forward to starting R&D work on the new Small Honda. 2006 will be a very interesting year, while Honda is keeping quiet about the final specifications for the Fit the leading tuners are ready and waiting for US and Canadian customers and their upgrade needs.



While Honda did not have a Fit or sexy models on display at SEMA, the Nissan and Toyota had examples of their new small cars for 2006. The 4 door Versa and 2 door Yaris are on display below and in out SEMA gallery.

Yahoo Challenge Build Off Stole the Show!
The Yahoo challenge consisted of two teams competing to modify stock Mitsubishi Evolution VIII's the first two days of SEMA. The teams did all of this on display for the SEMA crowds while "Yahoo Girls" danced and handed out hats. The competition ended Thursday night with dyno runs to chart the gains achieved and a 3 am. Drag race on the Strip. You have to love Yahoo and all the fun you can have in Vegas.

Please visit our gallery for more pictures from the 2005 SEMA Show