SEMA 2025: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

I must admit that SEMA 2025 felt a bit off this year. We had a car there with one of our partners, the Apex Auto Works Pikes Peak Hill Climb Road Runner, but it was clear on Day 1 that the attitude had shifted even more away from being a show where the best automotive builders and brands come to do business. With the uncertainty around tariffs, the international halls were, as expected, essentially empty. However, there were significant gaps throughout every hall in the Las Vegas Convention Center, with exhibitor no-shows or large empty spaces, some filled with cars, while others were scattered with tables and chairs. Traffic did pick up as the week went on, most notably outside, where a badge was not required to walk around most of the publicly accessible displays.

SEMA International Pavilion in the West Gate Hotel

The traditional media was also noticeably absent this year; in years past, magazines, TV Networks, and even some of the larger automotive websites would have large booths with multiple project cars on display. These publications and networks have been on a steady decline for years, reducing booth size or not exhibiting at all. Still, this year at the show, it was apparent that independent media, including influencers and YouTubers, have largely replaced traditional automotive media at SEMA.

Many of the exhibitors I spoke with said they were considering making this year the last, as they just aren’t seeing the return on investment of being at the show. Even our partners with their display car had to arrive 3 days before the show opened, meaning they were away from the shop for a full 11 days with travel time, making it harder for the growing number of automotive companies that have left the West Coast to justify the time and expense of coming to SEMA.

That being said… here is what was trending at SEMA 2025.

SEMA 2025: Gen-Z has discovered the original Fast & The Furious

Throughout the show, cars paid homage to the early Fast & Furious films, driven mainly by Gen Z, who are watching the films for the first time. I chatted with a few of them, including one young lady who is building her own version of the Suki S2000 from 2 Fast 2 Furious. She said she likes the early movies because they depict a car culture built around community, rather than the crazy action films that the franchise has evolved into. Plus, cars from the late 1990s and early 2000s are affordable. Essentially, Gen Z is restoring cars from the 1980s and 1990s, just like the generation of the 1980s started restoring 1960s classics.

SEMA 2025: Kit Cars Are Back

While many Daytona Coupe replicas were on display to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of Shelby’s FIA Championship in 1965, several kit car and replica car manufacturers and suppliers were also present on the floor, including three Shelby Cobra kit car makers. With the new law allowing small manufacturers to produce up to 300 cars a year without having to comply with federal crash test or emissions standards, the golden age of turnkey replicas and “continuation” cars is here.

SEMA 2025: The Classic Datsun Z Has Arrived

The Datsun Z has always been popular, but this year the Z was everywhere, from Veilside’s twincam build to fully restored classics. There were Z cars with LS and Ferrari swaps, some built for the track, and even a Chinese manufacturer offering complete brand new 240Z body shells, allowing you to build a brand new 1970s 240Z.

2025 SEMA: Tech Slow Down

One of the most interesting cars was a Tesla with a bumper that featured a built-in video screen. The idea is that the flexible, thin screen could be used for advertising, emergency vehicles, or, most likely, bro trucks to share offensive videos. But what it really showed me is that we are hitting a wall when it comes to vehicle technology. There wasn’t anything awe-inspiring in the tech section of the show. Does anyone really need an 8K dash cam or an AI-powered headunit that doesn’t work with your iPhone? Probably not.

2025 SEMA: The Bro Truck is King

While I saw a lot of Z cars, tons of Porsches, and a stable full of Mustangs… nothing was more represented than the bro-truck. Lifted, glow lights, train horns, crazy lifts, and wheels and tires that make the truck far less functional. Each year, I return hopeful that the bro-truck has run its course, but each year, I am disappointed to find the builds get crazier, like this WhistlinDiesel truck with so many turbos that it takes 3 minutes to spool all of them up.

Did you attend the SEMA Show? Let me know your thoughts on what stood out to you at SEMA 2025 in the comments down below.