by Hillco Fastener Warehouse, Inc. under
Two Israeilis, two Palestinians and an Arab walk into a room
. . . sounds like a very bad ethnic joke doesn’t it? In fact, it is what my son Ryan and I experienced
at the SEMA show in
Las Vegas
last week. For those unfamiliar with the
SEMA show, it is the premier trade show for the automotive after-market
industry and is held in
Las Vegas
every year. Manufacturers and
distributors from all over the country present their new products and
prototypes to the automotive aftermarket industry. Seeing three groups of people who can’t get
along on the world stage but have a common interest in this wonderful machine
we call the automobile had a great impact on me. The desire to build and make available something
different and extraordinary is a common bond shared by all those attending the
SEMA event, and it is our goal at Hillco Fastener Warehouse as well.
The SEMA show is the largest trade show in Las Vegas.
Attendance is in the hundreds of thousands every year. Not only did we did we get to meet the folks
mentioned above, we also had visitors to Hillco’s exhibit from Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Qatar, Venezuela, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Sweden, and
Denmark, just to name a few.
You may be wondering why automotive enthusiasts from all over
the world come to the States to attend SEMA. I believe it is because of our wonderful,
unique in the world, American culture.
The Germans, French and Italians, as well as the English, began building
automobiles at about the same time or earlier than we were in the
U.S. What is it about the
U.S. market
that is so appealing? I believe it is
the unique laissez-faire (in French it means leave us alone) attitude of the
American car culture. The American hot rod industry is the very essence of
individual creativity and innovative engineering . . . sometimes good, sometimes not so good, and
much of the time extraordinary, and always interesting and exciting. I believe that is the allure for automobile
enthusiasts from all around the world. When one buys a chopper with all its garish
chrome and loud engine, they are buying American culture. The same is true with
a low rider bouncing up and down or going low and slow with music blaring, or a
Corvette going 220 mph at
Le Mans.
All these folks have a commonality of interest in creating something unique and
wonderful and it is what ties all of us together. That, my friends, is a very good thing. By
the way, did I mention Lichtenstein? See
ya soon! Maybe at the next SEMA show.
